Mice crash this tea party on the City of Sierra Madre’s 2017 Rose Parade float, “The Cat’s Away”. (photo by Prayitno, Wikimedia Commons)

On Thursday, officials for the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California, announced that the event on New Year’s Day 2021 would be cancelled. Ongoing concerns with COVID-19 and the delays in reopening for large events prompted the decision.

“The health and well-being of our parade participants and guests, as well as that of our volunteer members, professional staff and partners, is our number one priority,” Bob Miller, 2021 President of the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association, said in the announcement. “Obviously this is not what any of us wanted, and we held off on announcing until we were absolutely sure that safety restrictions would prevent us from continuing with planning for 132nd Rose Parade.”

This is the fourth time the parade has cancelled since it began in 1891. The other three times were during World War II, in 1942, 1943, and 1945.

The Rose Bowl game is still on as of today but could change. Updates about the game will be posted at the Tournament of Roses website.

Organizers are planning an alternative New Year celebration and will make an announcement soon. As soon as I find any details, I will update this post.

“Children’s Dreams The World’s Potential”, the Kiwanis International float at the 2017 Rose Parade in Pasadena, California (photo by Prayitno, Wikimedia Commons)