The 119th Rose Parade themed Passport to the World's Celebrations, will take place on Tuesday, January 1, 2008 at 8:00 a.m. (PST) featuring spirited marching bands from throughout the nation, majestic floral floats, and high-stepping equestrian units.
The Grand Marshal for the 2008 Tournament of Roses is Emeril Lagasse (pictured with TORA President CL Keedy). On television, Lagasse is known for his light and jovial hosting style as well as several catchphrases, including "BAM!", "Kick it up a notch", "Feel the love", "Oh yeah, babe", and "Spice it up", usually said before or after adding something spicy to a dish, or after the reaction to adding something, respectively. For instance, often when he adds garlic to a dish, the audience cheers enthusiastically. He commonly refers to food that is not seasoned as "not happy" and will add seasoning to make it "happy". When frying or making dishes like sausage, Lagasse advocates using genuine lard, boasting "Pork fat rules!" This style developed fully and Lagasse became more comfortable when a live studio audience was added in the change from Essence of Emeril to Emeril Live. He is also known for the unusual sentence constructions he uses on his show, such as "And now we're going to beginning to start."Lagasse calls his cuisine "New New Orleans". He describes it as using local (Louisiana) ingredients in new and different ways. It should be noted, however, that the styles of cuisine from Lagasse's many restaurants vary a great deal. Tchoup-Chop in Orlando is "Pan-Asian" while Delmonico Steakhouse at The Venetian in Las Vegas is a traditional steakhouse.
Lagasse can be found in his restaurants' kitchens a good part of the year and can often be seen at his flagship restaurant, Emeril's New Orleans.
Rose Queen and Court:
A place of honor is reserved in each Rose Parade® for the float carrying the Royal Court. Every September nearly 1,000 young women vie for the honor of riding that float - participating in a month-long interview process designed to find those participants with the right combination of poise, personality, public speaking ability and scholastic achievement.
The Pasadena Tournament of Roses crowned the 90th Rose Queen, Dusty Gibbs, in an official Coronation ceremony last October 2007 at the Tournament House presented by Citizens Business Bank. As her first official act, Queen Dusty helped Tournament of Roses President CL Keedy unveil Roses on Parade, a new initiative designed to provide art for the public and funds to support art in Pasadena-area schools.
“I can’t think of a better way for Dusty to begin her reign than by joining me on stage to usher in this exciting art program,” said CL Keedy. “Rose Parade floats are a unique American art form. Supporting art education for our children through Roses on Parade will help us foster their unique and creative talent and hopefully inspire the next generation of local artists.”
Queen Dusty and the six Rose Princesses were selected from more than 1,100 Pasadena-area young women based upon a combination of qualities, including public speaking ability, poise, academic achievement and community involvement. Dusty is only the fourth Rose Queen to wear the recently designed crown made by Mikimoto featuring 10 white South Sea pearls, 632 Akoya pearls and 6.09 carats in diamonds set in sterling silver. The handmade crown is valued at $100,000. Each of the six Princess tiaras are valued at $45,000, bringing the total value of the crown and tiaras to $370,000.
As an official ambassador of the Tournament of Roses, Queen Dusty, a 17-year-old Senior from Arcadia High School, will participate in approximately 100 community and media functions along with Rose Princesses Zena Brown, 18, Alverno High School; Chloe Ghoogassian, 17, Pasadena High School; Kelsey MacDougall, 17, La Cañada High School; Katie Merrill, 17, Pasadena High School; Courtney Rubin, 17, San Marino High School and Gaelen Stanford-Moore, 17, South Pasadena High School.
The Rose Queen® and six Rose Princesses will reign over the Rose Parade and Rose Bowl Game®. They will attend nearly 150 public and media functions during their year in the spotlight, spreading the word about the Tournament and Pasadena wherever they go. Tournament of Roses Association (TORA) President Keedy revealed Passport to the World’s Celebrations as the theme for the 119th Rose Parade. “I chose Passport to the World’s Celebrations as the theme for this coming Rose Parade because New Year’s Day is a global celebration of the year to come,” says Keedy. “The Rose Parade provides the perfect opportunity to showcase traditions from around the world. I am passionate about this because growing up overseas I was exposed to a variety of different cultures. It made me appreciate foreign traditions and celebrations as well as those within the United States.”
“Every year on New Year’s Day, the Rose Parade provides the world with a passport to our celebration and I want our Parade to give people a glimpse at other festive traditions around the world,” he adds. “It will be fun for our global audience to see the traditions of their culture parade down Colorado Boulevard on New Year’s Day.”
CL Keedy has been a volunteer member of the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association since 1975 and was elected to the Tournament of Roses Executive Committee in 2000. Throughout his extensive Tournament career, Keedy has served on, and chaired, various committees including Budget and Finance, Business Development, Game Policy, Government and Community Affairs, Guest Luncheon, Membership, Music, Parade Operations, Personnel, Post Parade, Public Relations, Queen and Court and Real Estate. He has also served on the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Foundation Board and has been at the helm of the Tournament’s recent strategic planning process.
In addition to his many years as a Tournament of Roses volunteer, Keedy’s community involvement includes being a member of the Optimist Club of Pasadena, a former member of the Pasadena Rotary, AYSO referee and a graduate of the Pasadena Police Department Citizens Police Academy. He also serves on the Board of Directors and is a Medical Council Member for the Huntington Medical Research Institute. Professionally, Keedy is the owner of a Jackson Hewitt Tax Service Franchise.
Born in Norfolk, Virginia, while growing up, Keedy spent two years in Heidelburg, Germany and five years in Hong Kong and has continued to travel internationally for business and pleasure. Keedy earned his Bachelor of Arts in History at the University of California at Irvine. He then went on to earn a Masters degree in International Relations and a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Southern California. He and his wife of 27 years, Adrienne, reside in Pasadena, California. The Keedys have two children, Amanda, 20, and Neil, 17. An avid history fan, Keedy enjoys collecting King Arthur books, reading, golf and skiing.
Stay tuned for celebrity, behind the scene and extensive event coverage of the 119th Rose Parade by the pool reporters and photographers of www.philippinepressclub.com and www.pinoywired.com who will be reporting from Pasadena on the final preparation up to the end of the five and a half mile stretch of the historic Rose Parade and anything that happens in between.
Merry Christmas and a very Happy and Prosperous New Year 2008 to one and all.
(Compiled by Jay Fermin ppp-usa)