Orlando citrus parade
Encyclopedia
Parade
A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually celebrations of some kind...
in Orlando, Florida
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
which celebrates the holidays and two annual college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
bowl games, the Champs Sports Bowl
Champs Sports Bowl
The Champs Sports Bowl is an annual college football bowl game that is played in Orlando, Florida, at the Citrus Bowl. The bowl is operated by Florida Citrus Sports, a non-profit group which also organizes the Capital One Bowl and Florida Classic...
and the Capital One Bowl
Capital One Bowl
The Capital One Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played in Orlando, Florida at the Citrus Bowl, and previously known as the Tangerine Bowl and the Florida Citrus Bowl...
.
The Orlando Citrus Parade was also known as the Florida Power (Progress Energy
Progress Energy Inc
Progress Energy , headquartered in Raleigh, N.C., is a Fortune 500 energy company with more than 21,000 megawatts of generation capacity and $9 billion in annual revenues. Progress Energy includes two major electric utilities that serve approximately 3.1 million customers in the Carolinas and...
) Super Holiday Parade and started in 1980. In 2005, Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines, Inc. is a major airline based in the United States and headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The airline operates an extensive domestic and international network serving all continents except Antarctica. Delta and its subsidiaries operate over 4,000 flights every day...
sponsored the parade, being called The Orlando Citrus Parade, presented by Delta Air Lines. Since 2007, Spherion
Spherion
SFN Group, Inc is a North American temporary work agency headquartered in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, that operates under a variety of brand names.-History:Spherion was first known as City Car Unloaders, a Chicago company created by Leroy Dettman in 1946....
has become a major sponsor of the parade along with Delta Air Lines as co-sponsor, being called The Spherion Orlando Citrus Parade, presented by Delta Air Lines. In 2011, the parade will be sponsored by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, renaming the parade as Fresh From Florida's Parade. This event is planned and produced by the Florida Citrus Sports
Florida citrus sports
Florida Citrus Sports is a not-for-profit membership organization dedicated to increasing community spirit and pride, promoting tourism, stimulating economic development and ultimately benefiting charities, educational institutions and the quality of life in Central Florida through its four...
Foundation.
The parade is videotaped and syndicated to over 100 television station
Television station
A television station is a business, organisation or other such as an amateur television operator that transmits content over terrestrial television. A television transmission can be by analog television signals or, more recently, by digital television. Broadcast television systems standards are...
s for broadcast during the New Year's Day Holiday; TVS Television Network
TVS Television Network
The TVS Television Network, or TVS for short, was a syndicator of American sports programming. It was one of several "occasional" national television networks that sprang up in the early 1960s to take advantage of the establishment of independent television stations and relaxation of the AT&T...
handles distribution. The parade has been seen in the USA and internationally broadcast to other countries like The UK, Bahamas and Canada. The City of Orlando can receive over 80,000 visitors for the parade.
The parade consists of high school and college marching bands, along with theme park characters from Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando
Universal Orlando Resort
Universal Orlando Resort is a theme park resort in Orlando, Florida. It is wholly owned by NBCUniversal and its affiliates. The resort consists of two theme parks , Universal CityWalk , and three Loews Hotels...
and Sea World Adventure Parks
SeaWorld
SeaWorld is a United States chain of marine mammal parks, oceanariums, and animal theme parks owned by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment. The parks feature captive orca, sea lion, and dolphin shows and zoological displays featuring various other marine animals. There are operations in Orlando,...
. The main feature is the citrus
Citrus
Citrus is a common term and genus of flowering plants in the rue family, Rutaceae. Citrus is believed to have originated in the part of Southeast Asia bordered by Northeastern India, Myanmar and the Yunnan province of China...
-themed floats
Float (parade)
A float is a decorated platform, either built on a vehicle or towed behind one, which is a component of many festive parades, such as those of Mardi Gras in New Orleans, the Carnival of Viareggio, the Maltese Carnival, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, the Key West Fantasy Fest parade, the...
. These floats are similar to the Tournament of Roses Parade
Tournament of Roses Parade
The Tournament of Roses Parade, better known as the Rose Parade, is "America's New Year Celebration", a festival of flower-covered floats, marching bands, equestrians and a college football game on New Year's Day , produced by the non-profit Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association.The annual...
in Pasadena, California
Pasadena, California
Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...
, but instead of the Rose Parade's petals, the Citrus Parade's floats are decorated with orange
Orange (fruit)
An orange—specifically, the sweet orange—is the citrus Citrus × sinensis and its fruit. It is the most commonly grown tree fruit in the world....
s, grapefruit
Grapefruit
The grapefruit , is a subtropical citrus tree known for its sour fruit, an 18th-century hybrid first bred in Barbados. When found, it was named the "forbidden fruit"; it has also been misidentified with the pomelo or shaddock , one of the parents of this hybrid, the other being sweet orange The...
s and tangerine
Tangerine
__notoc__The tangerine is an orange-colored citrus fruit which is closely related to the Mandarin orange . Taxonomically, it should probably be formally named as a subspecies or variety of Citrus reticulata; further work seems to be required to ascertain its correct scientific name...
s.
The citrus floats are prepared and filled by over 600 volunteers who give their time during the 4 days period between December 26 and 29 of the year.
Then, generally on December 30 of every year (In rare occasions, the parade is done on the 29th, because December 30 is a Sunday, or 31 December, if the Capital One Bowl game comes on January 2), the streets of Downtown Orlando
Downtown Orlando
Downtown Orlando is the historic core and central business district of Orlando, Florida, United States. It is bordered by East Marks St in the north, Mills Ave in the east, Orange Blossom Trail in the west, and Kaley Ave in the south...
are packed with visitors from other places who come to see their high school marching band and the marching bands for the two universities
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
which will have the match up at the Capital One Bowl that year.