Seventy two to forty eight hours prior to the parade day visitors can view several of the floats being decorated at the various 'float barns' throughout the Rose Bowl area in West Pasadena. It is a rule of the parade that all surfaces of the float framework be covered in organic material (such as flowers, plants, seaweeds, seeds, bark, vegetables, or nuts, for example). Occasionally, last-minute volunteering opportunities are available.

The parade culminates with a raucous college football game, pitting two of the nation’s top teams against each other in the mild southern Califnornia climate.