Louisiana Serves Up Culture, Music at Rose Parade to Launch Year of Food

Louisiana will mark its grand return to the 136th Rose Parade on New Year’s Day, officially launching its 2025 Year of Food celebration with an elaborate 55-foot float.

The state’s tourism showcase, standing 27 feet high and 18 feet wide, will feature a festive celebration gator with moving head, tail, and toes, embodying Louisiana’s characteristic joie de vivre.

Rising Universal Music Group Nashville artist Timothy Wayne, a current Louisiana State University student who recently toured with Tim McGraw and Carley Pearce, will perform “Louisiana Saturday Night” aboard the float.

“Along the sides of our float will be buckets of some of the iconic seafood Louisiana is famous for, including shrimp and crab,” said Jennifer Berthelot, Director of Communications for Explore Louisiana. “Louisiana is one of the top producers of seafood in the country and it’s a huge part of our culinary culture.”

The float, designed by John Ramirez and built by Artistic Entertainment Services, will showcase Lafayette’s Blue Moon Saloon, a neighborhood honky-tonk known for authentic Louisiana music.

Seasonal culinary traditions will be prominently displayed, from Mardi Gras king cakes to spring crawfish boils, summer snowballs and crabs, fall tailgating, and winter gumbo.

Float walkers dressed as chefs will accompany the display, reinforcing Louisiana’s reputation as a premier culinary destination amid significant tourism recovery for the state.

Berthelot said Louisiana welcomed 43 million visitors in 2023, over 10 million visitors more than 2020at the height of the pandemic.

“Our whimsical animated alligator really brings our joie de vivre to life,” Berthelot said of the float, which will promote the state’s “Feed Your Soul” tourism brand.

This will mark Louisiana’s fourth Rose Parade appearance, following impressive showings that earned the Showmanship Award in both 2023 and 2024, and the Wrigley Legacy Award in 2022.

The state’s tourism vision encompasses all 64 parishes, with the float serving as a launching platform for Louisiana’s broader initiative to establish itself as a premier travel destination.