If you're still pondering taking the Christmas lights down, and finally stowing the last of the ornaments and holiday gewgaws festooning the living room, ponder this: The Tournament of Roses has already selected its 2017 theme and the bands that will march in the next venerable, planet-famous parade.
Rose Parade, you do inspire, even as you remind us that our long-range goals might be lagging a bit.
And while the theme for the almost-in-a-year parade was revealed in January -- "Echoes of Success" is the stirring motto -- other elements had not yet been revealed.
That changed on Thursday, Feb. 18 when the line-up for the 2017 band slate was announced. Well, let's put "nearly complete" ahead of "line-up" there; there are still two bands to come, of course, but they'll be known when the teams set to play the Rose Bowl are known.
So what schools made the roster, which is about as big a feather in one's band cap as one can hope for? The Arcadia High School Apache Marching Band and Color Guard will play on the big day, as will the Los Angeles Unified School District's All District High School Honor Band.
They're among the 19 bands chosen for the honor.
Pasadena City College's Tournament of Roses Honor Band & Herald Trumpets will again make a showing, as is tradition -- BandFest, a two-day music event that happens just prior to the parade, is at PCC -- and the United States Marine Corps West Coast Composite Band, out of MCAS Miramar, MCRD San Diego, and Camp Pendleton will be there, too.
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Several spots from around the nation, and world, will also be represented, including Oklahoma, Nevada, and Japan.
But as these talented groups practice ahead of playing for hundreds of thousands of spectators, and we await on news of the two bands -- and teams -- to come, let us remember this: The 2017 Tournament of Roses is not on New Year's Day. January 1 falls on a Sunday, and the Rose Parade has a "never on a Sunday" policy that stretches back into its past.
So Jan. 2 is your date to be dazzled by the tubas, drums, and color guards making their way down Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena. Congratulations to all the bands on this major music-sweet triumph.
