Prior to the parade, most of the bands will participate in one of three "Bandfest" shows at Pasadena City College and at other Southern California venues.
For example, Pasadena City College's Lancer Marching Band always marches in the Rose Parade, along with high school band and color guard students from all over Southern California, who are selected by audition the previous autumn.
The Tournament of Roses Honor Band is a coveted position,[citation needed] and those selected are among the best student musicians in California.
On New Year's Day in 1891 it was the first musical organization to march in the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena.
In 1998, the Washington Township High School Minutemen Marching Band from Sewell, New Jersey, became the first band in the history of the Rose Parade to decorate its entire ranks with live flowers, in keeping with the practice of decorating the parade floats.