The 1966 Rose Parade - Part 7

What happened to Part 1 through 6 did you ask? Well, I posted a six part series last year covering the 1966 Rose Parade. Walt Disney was the grand marshal and the parade's theme was "It's A Small World." I had withheld some of the parade photos for one reason or another, but I am going to go ahead and post those today....one year later. Better late than never! Before we get to the floats, here is the official program for the parade.

The first entry for today is entitled, "Big Sky Country" and is from the State of Montana.

This float is for American Field Service and is from the City of San Gabriel, California.


Here is Kern County's entry, "California's Golden Empire."

The next float has a very long title...."St. Paul Winter Carnival - Land of Blue Sky Waters Salutes Sao Paulo."

This entry from the Native Sons and Daughters of the Golden West is entitled, "It's The Small Things That Count" and features Smokey The Bear.

And what about the bands? Well, here's the UCLA band......

...and here's a close up of Michigan State's band. UCLA and Michigan were playing in the Rose Bowl that year.

Last up from this series is a shot of the Long Beach Mounted Police.

If you would like to view the rest of the 1966 Rose Parade, including photos of Walt Disney as Grand Marshal, Fess Parker as Davy Crockett, and the Walt Disney Studios/Burbank float, click here: (Link)

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Happy 2010 to everyone!

The 1966 Rose Parade - Part 6

HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE! Well, we have finally come to the end of this series.....and the beginning of the parade. This is the 1966 Rose Parade and below, is the official grand marshal of the parade, Walt Disney.

Following Walt Disney was the City of Burbank's float entitled, "Our Small World Of Make Believe." Note Mary Poppins and the penguin waiters on the table in front of her. "Mary Poppins" would have had it's Los Angeles premiere just 16 months prior to this.

I've included three publicity shots below. The first photo is of the 1966 Rose Queen, Carole Cota. I wonder what she's doing these days?

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The next photo was labeled, "1966 Theme - It's A Small World." (Once again, at that time, the "It's A Small World" attraction had already been seen by millions of visitors to the 1964/65 New York World's Fair, but it wasn't going to have it's grand opening at Disneyland until later that year.) I think the lady on the left is Carole Cota....at least it looks like her and she is holding the larger of the two bouquets. Anyone out there happen to know who the lady on the right might have been?

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This last photo wasn't labled at all and it was the most faded of all of them. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to do too much with the color. I don't think either one of these ladies is Carole Cota, but I can't be sure. Any ideas? The two ladies actually look like they might be twins. The two headlines on the prop newspaper read, "Pasadena Is Home Of Roses" and "Millions Enjoy Sunshine (last word not legible)". I leave you for now with this strange, faded, confusing photo! I hope everyone has enjoyed this series!

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The 1966 Rose Parade - Part 5

We have been working our way backwards through the 1966 Rose Parade. This is the second to the last post in the series. Tomorrow's post will include Walt Disney himself, Mickey Mouse, Peter Pan, Captain Hook, Pinocchio, Mary Poppins and the Disney version of Cinderella (see the second photo below for the non-Disney version.)

First up today is, the 1966 Rose Parade Queen and her royal court.


Next....a non-Disney version of Cinderella riding inside of the Huntington-Sheraton Hotel's float entitled, "Cinderella Returning From The Ball."


Below, is San Francisco's float entitled, "Osaka - Sister City."

Next we have an Apollo space capsule that appears to have just landed on an alien planet. This entry belonged to the City of South Pasadena and was entitled, "It IS A Small World."

Last up today, is Dr. Pepper's float, "The Land Of Oz."

The 1966 Rose Parade - Part 4

This is Part 4 in a 6 part series on the 1966 Rose Parade. Once again, the theme was "It's A Small World" and the grand marshal that year was Walt Disney. Check back on New Year's Day for a photo of Walt and Mickey riding in the parade.

First up today....Cal. State Poly's float, "It's A Child's World."


Next we have the City of Los Angeles' float entitled, "June in January."

Below, is the Union Oil Co.'s float, "The Old Swiss Clock" Note the large fork and knife and the plate of Swiss cheese with a rat poking it's head out through one of the holes. Weird!

The City of Long Beach, California sponsored this float entitled, "Marco Polo Returns From The City of Cathay."

And last up today is British Columbia's float, "A Royal Welcome - Centennial 1966."

Stay tuned....only 2 more days of the parade remaining. Tomorrow's floats will include The Land of Oz, Cinderella, and a visit to an alien planet via an Apollo space capsule.....after all, it was 1966!

The 1966 Rose Parade - Part 3

We continue with our next installment of the 1966 Rose Parade. The theme: "It's a Small World." The grand marshal: Walt Disney.

The first float is from the City of Alhambra, California and is entitled, "Gator-A-Go-Go." Groooovy!

Next, we have floral butterflies on the front and back of the Chevy/Division of GM float. This one is entitled, "World Of Roses."

Below, is the Occidental Life Insurance Company's float entitled, "Boys Day in Japan." For more information on what Boys Day was (it is now called Children's Day), click here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kodomo_no_hi


The Florist's Transworld Delivery Association's float was called, "Gift to the World."

And the last one for today, is the Bakery and Confectionery Workers Union float with the title, "A Small World of Sugar and Spice."

The 1966 Rose Parade - Part 2

We continue today with the 1966 Rose Parade. Again, the theme was, "It's A Small World" and Walt Disney was the grand marshal. We are working our way backwards through the parade and will end this series on New Year's Day with photos of Walt Disney, as well as the Disney Studio's float.

First up, we have the Negro Rose Parade Committee's float entitled, "The World of Culture."

Below, is the Salvation Army's float, "No Man Is An Island."


The American Trucking Association's float is next. The title of this float was, "A World of Music - Swan Lake."

Redondo Beach's float was entitled, "Mexican Fiesta In Early California."

And last we have the Al Malaikah Temple with their entry, "Love Makes The World Go Around."

Again, I will be posting every day from now until New Year's Day with more photos from this parade. Coming up......Cinderella, The Land of Oz, Mary Poppins, and Go-Go girls!

The 1966 Rose Parade - Part 1

What do Walt Disney, Mexico City, Go-Go dancers and The Land of Oz all have in common? They were all part of the 1966 Rose Parade! I thought I would take a break for a while and post on something other than Tokyo Disneyland. I've been going through family photos and slides and came across these shots from the 1966 Rose Parade. The parade's grand marshal that year was Walt Disney (along with Mickey Mouse) and the theme of the parade was, "It's A Small World". At that time, the It's A Small World attraction had already entertained millions of visitors to the 1964/65 New York World's Fair and was scheduled to open later that year at Disneyland in Anaheim.

First up today is "Peacock Throne", which was a float sponsored by the City of Glendale, California.

Next, we have Fess Parker as Davy Crockett standing on the National Rifle Association's Float, entitled "Land of the Free, Home of the Brave". I like the miniature Cherry trees in bloom around the model of the Capitol Building.

Below, we have the National Orange Show's float entitled, "All Aboard."

Next, is Rotary International's float entitled, "A Closer World Through Rotary."

The last entry for today is Mexico's float, promoting the New National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City. I wonder if that giant disc at the front of the float is a calendar and if so, I wonder if it goes beyond the year 2012?

I will continue to post photos from this parade up until New Year's Day.....ending with the Disney Studio's float and the parade's grand marshal, Walt Disney himself!