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NATCHEZ — Natchez’s own Jennie Guido is in Pasadena, California, helping Visit Mississippi get its first float ready for the 136th Tournament of Roses Parade on New Year’s Day.

Guido, who works for the Mississippi Tourism Association, and others are in California to support Visit Mississippi.

“Mississippi Tourism Association works hand in hand with Visit Mississippi,” Guido said. “We have several days of activities leading up to the parade. We had brunch Sunday morning with media partners. It was their opportunity to come and learn about Mississippi.

“It’s fun to see all of these floats,” she said. “Louisiana has done this for years and they have seen great returns from it.”

As do other participants, Visit Mississippi contracted with a company in Pasadena, which builds the basic structure of the float. The float is then moved to a warehouse, where the decorating begins.

“What we saw Sunday was the base of the float with various dried flowers on it. Today, we will start putting on 13,000 yellow roses,” Guido said. “It is very meticulous. There are hundreds of people there cutting roses and sticking them in place. It’s kind of like paint by numbers. There are varieties of flowers here I didn’t know existed, and the colors are so vibrant.”

The Mississippi float’s theme is Birthplace of America’s Music.

“In 2025 is B.B. King’s 100th birthday and Elvis Presley’s 90th birthday, so we are celebrating our two kings,” she said.

Brandon Bennett, an Elvis tribute artist, will be on the float singing Elvis tunes and Chapel Hart will be on the float singing B.B. King’s songs. “It will be kind of a B.B. King and Elvis mashup,” Guido said.

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves and his family will ride on the float, which she said begins at 10 a.m. CST and will air on ABC and NBC.

Guido and the Mississippi delegation will sit in the grandstands in the “TV corner” to view the parade. “We will get to see each stop and performance,” she said.

Guido and the others from Mississippi also have tickets to the Rose Bowl, which features No. 6 Ohio State versus No. 1 Oregon. The game begins at 4 p.m. CST.

The Mississippi group will be in Pasadena until Jan. 3.

The Float Fest begins on Jan. 1 after the Rose Parade and continues through Jan. 3, Guido said. “People buy tickets and get up close and personal with the floats and we will showcase Mississippi to all who attend Float Fest,” she said.

She said one of the highlights of the experience so far was Sunday afternoon’s Jackson State Sonic Boom of the South band performance.

“For three days prior to the parade, they have Band Fest, which features the bands that will participate in the Rose Parade,” Guido said.

Band Fest began Sunday and continues until Tuesday.

“We saw the Jackson State Sonic Boom perform last night with several other bands, such as the University of Oregon band and the Salvation Army band and several others. All of them were good, but when the Jackson State Sonic Boom came out, they were unlike any of the others. It was fun to see others who didn’t know what to expect, stand up and cheer for them,” she said.

The Jackson State Sonic Boom will be in the 17th position in the Rose Parade, followed by the Mississippi Float in the 19th position.