First held on January 1, 1890, the Rose Bowl Parade is watched by hundreds of thousands of live spectators, every year. The Rose Bowl college football game was added in 1902 to help fund the cost of staging the parade. In 2024, the New Year’s Day floral extravaganza included floats, bands, equestrian units and lots of musical performances - with a record-breaking 800,000 people lining the streets in attendance.

Named one of the top ten Parades in the world by International Festivals & Events Association, the Chinese New Year Parade in San Francisco is one of the few remaining night illuminated Parades in North America and the biggest parade celebrating the lunar new year outside of Asia. This extraordinary parade starts off at 2nd and Market Streets, goes around Union Square and ends at Kearny Street & Columbus Ave. In February 2024, massive crowds showed up to celebrate the Chinese New Year in San Francisco’s Chinatown, as Hollywood actress and comedian Awkwafina led the annual parade to celebrate the Year of the Dragon.

Established in 1886, the State Fair of Texas is the longest-running fair in the nation, as well as one of the largest. Through its rich and lengthy history, it remains evident that the State Fair serves not only as a Lone Star celebration but as a unique destination that brings people from all walks of life together to create lifelong memories. In 2023, the annual State Fair of Texas welcomed more than 2.3 million people through its gates.

The annual Chicago St. Patrick’s Day Parade is one of the largest St. Patrick’s Day parades in the country and the centerpiece of the city’s unforgettable St. Patrick’s Day festivities. Irish taverns fill with revelers, cultural celebrations pop up in every corner of the city, and the Chicago River sparkles brilliant shades of emerald green. The history of St. Patrick’s Day in Chicago goes back more than 175 years. Now a longstanding tradition, Chicago’s Irish parade was first held in 1843 and became an official city event in the 1950s. The dyeing of the Chicago River was added in 1962, quickly becoming one of Chicago’s most famous events. Each year, the Chicago St. Patrick’s Day Parade hosts over 10,000 marchers and more than 200,000 spectators.

With an estimated 3 million attendees each year, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York is known as the most famous parade in the world and the entry of Santa Claus is the main attraction in the three-hour-long parade. The lineups usually feature dozens of giant helium balloons, hundreds of heritage and novelty balloons, 30-40 floats, marching bands, performance groups, a host of musical stars, and more than 700 clowns.  Each year the Thanksgiving Day Parade is broadcast live to viewers on NBC and Peacock, hosted by household-name celebrities, and kicks off the holiday season in style.