2008 Rose Parade

Dancers perform in front of the Palazzo Resort Hotel Casino’s inaugural Rose Parade entry, “Viva Italia.” The float, sponsored by the new Las Vegas hotel-casino, features some of Italy’s most iconic landmarks, including the Campanile Tower of St. Mark’s Square and the palazzi along the Amalfi coastline.  (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

Rose Queen Dusty Gibbs, a student at Arcadia High School, enjoys the spotlight from a float sponsored by Macy’s.  (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

The members of the Tournament of Roses’ royal court grace a float sponsored by Macy’s: Rose Queen Dusty Gibbs of Arcadia, at top, is surrounded by princesses (clockwise) Katie Merrill, Gaelen Stanford-Moore, Kelsey MacDougall, Courtney Rubin, Chloe Ghoogassian and Zena Brown.  (Karen Tapia-Andersen / Los Angeles Times)

The Long Beach Mounted Police entry features reserve specialist officers riding golden palomino horses with sterling silver saddles. The officers wear costumes reminiscent of early cowboy movies.  (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

The Missouri State University Pride Marching Band heads down Colorado Boulevard after helping kick off the parade. The group, from Springfield, Mo., is directed by Jerry Hoover and features more than 300 members.  (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

“Salute to the Rose Parade” features a 20-foot-tall sculptured rose that blooms from bud to full blossom. The float, sponsored by Bayer Advanced and built by Phoenix Decorating Co., won the Queen’s Trophy, awarded for most effective use and display of roses in concept, design and presentation.  (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

“Carnival of Taiwan” was awarded the International Trophy for most beautiful entry from outside the continental U.S. The float, sponsored by China Airlines Ltd., was built by Festival Artists.  (Karen Tapia-Andersen / Los Angeles Times)

The Lakota West Marching Firebirds, from West Chester, Ohio, feature more than 300 band members. The high school group is directed by Greg Snyder.  (Karen Tapia-Andersen / Los Angeles Times)

“The Circus Comes to Town” brought traditional circus fun to the parade, including a steam-spewing locomotive leading an animal car and a trapeze car with performers perched three stories above the street. The float is sponsored by Western Asset and built by Phoenix Decorating Co.  (Karen Tapia-Andersen / Los Angeles Times)

University of Illinois musicians toot their horns at the start of a busy day for the marching band, which will be rooting for the Fighting Illini in the Rose Bowl in the afternoon.  (Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times)

A University of Illinois marching band cheerleader stands on strong shoulders.  (Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times)

“Life Takes Flight” features four colorful balloons on a float that carries 24 riders whose lives have been saved by renewed organ, tissue and blood donations. Eight donors or their family members carry tether lines. The float, which won the Judges’ Special Trophy, is sponsored by Donate Life and built by Phoenix Decorating Co.  (Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times)

Leslie Hulbert of Indio gets into the Rose Parade spirit, showing that not all the flowers ended up on floats.  (Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times)

The American Chinese Culture Assn. performs a dragon dance alongside the “Happy Chinese New Year” float sponsored by the city of Alhambra and built by Phoenix Decorating Co.  (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

Spectators maneuver for the best angle to see the floats and marching bands.  (Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times)

USC Trojan Marching Band drummers set the beat as they march down Colorado Boulevard. They’ll do quite a bit of pounding and marching Tuesday, including their appearance later at the Rose Bowl game.  (Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times)

Kayla Wootens, in Native American-made regalia, rides with the Scripps Miramar Saddlebreds.  (Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times)

A carnival character rides “The Magic of Mardi Gras,” sponsored by FTD and built by Fiesta Parade Floats. The entry won the Tournament Special Trophy for exceptional merit in multiple categories, including floats over 55 feet.  (Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times)

A woman paddles on “The Lewis and Clark Expedition,” winner of the President’s Trophy for most effective floral use and presentation. The float, sponsored by the city of St. Louis, was built by Phoenix Decorating Co.  (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

FTD’s “The Magic of Mardi Gras,” featuring a lion, jesters and carnival characters, won the Tournament Special Trophy for exceptional merit in multiple categories, including floats over 55 feet.  (Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times)

The Los Angeles Dodgers mark 50 years in Southern California with “Celebrating America’s Favorite Pastime,” the team’s first-ever Rose Parade float.  (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

Grand marshal Emeril Lagasse opened the parade with his trademark refrain: “Let’s kick it up a notch. Bam!” The celebrity chef traveled the route in a 1910 Pierce-Arrow convertible.  (Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times)

Floats and marching bands traverse Colorado Boulevard during the parade, which enjoyed fair weather and a respite from the previously forecast Santa Ana winds.  (Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times)

Members of the Akashikita High School Green Band sprint down the parade route. The students, from Hyogo, Japan, earned their “green” name by playing charity concerts to promote efforts to fight global warming.  (Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times)

Santa Fe Springs entered a two-float unit, “A Celebration of Life -- Dia de los Muertos,” commemorating the 3,000-year-old holiday celebrating the cycle of life. The float won the Extraordinaire Trophy for most spectacular entry over 55 feet.  (Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times)

Protesters dressed as Vice President Dick Cheney, left, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and President Bush are part of the unofficial scene along the parade route.  (Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times)

Spectators watch the University of Illinois Marching Illini band along Sierra Madre Boulevard.  (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

Dancers march with the Chinese Olympics-themed float “One World, One Dream,” featuring the five official mascots of the 2008 Beijing Games. The float won the Theme Trophy for excellence in presenting the parade theme.  (Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times)

The Chinese Olympics-themed float “One World, One Dream,” featuring the five official mascots of the 2008 Beijing Games, was sponsored by the Roundtable of Southern California Chinese-American Organizations and Avery Dennison Corp. and built by Festival Artists.  (Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times)

In the city of Sierra Madre’s “Valentine’s Day,” lovers in swan boats made of coconut glide on a lake of irises, orchids and roses. The float, built by volunteers, won the Princess’ Trophy for most beautiful float 35 feet or under.  (Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times)

American Honda’s “Passport to the Future” won the Crown City Innovation Trophy, awarded for best use of imagination and innovation to advance the art of float design. The Honda Ridgeline-inspired truck rises from a cloud of smoke and converts into an airborne craft that blasts off. The float was built by Phoenix Decorating Co.  (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

The Trader Joe’s entry “Getting There Is All the Fun,” featuring a flying train, was awarded the Craftsman Trophy for exceptional showmanship and dramatic impact, over 55 feet only. The float was built by Phoenix Decorating Co.  (Karen Tapia-Anderson / Los Angeles Times)

Rain Bird International’s “Preservation Celebration” won the Sweepstakes Trophy for most beautiful entry with outstanding floral presentation and design. The float offers a flowered representation of India’s Bengal tigers and peacocks around temple ruins. It was built by Fiesta Parade Floats.  (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)