As I type this, the clock is slowly ticking toward the first Tournament of Roses Parade of the new decade.
Around this time, 100 years ago, the parade had no theme (and wouldn’t have one until 1918, with the theme of “Patriotism”). The grand marshals of the 1910 parade were Dr. Francis F. Rowland and professor Charles F. Holder, both founders of the Tournament of Roses Parade. Rowland is the only person with the distinction of having been grand marshal seven times, according to the Tournament of Roses organization.
The Tournament of Roses we see today is actually a resemblance of a similar event called the festival of roses in Nice, France, held over a period of 10 days leading up to the eve of Lent, or Mardi Gras.