BATON ROUGE - The capital city will be participating in the Rose Parade in Pasadena, CA for the first time in history. 

“We are excited to bring a little of Baton Rouge to Pasadena in January and celebrate the great strides being made in the Capital City,” said Jill Kidder, President and CEO of Visit Baton Rouge. “This will be a great opportunity for Louisiana to be represented on a national stage in 2023 and we couldn’t be prouder to be a part of this moment in history.”

Rose Hudson will be representing Baton Rouge on the float. Hudson is a cancer advocate, community leader, President and CEO of the Louisiana Lottery Corporation, and the Immediate Past Chairman of the Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Foundation Board. Hudson was also crowned Queen of the Karnival Krewe de Louisiane Mardis Gras Ball in 2020, and was the first African American woman to do so. 

“The Baton Rouge area has so much to offer our state and our country culturally, musically, academically and economically,” said Hudson. “I am truly honored to represent and celebrate our city’s contributions by riding in the historic Tournament of Roses Parade.”

The Rose Parade will take place in Pasadena, CA on January 2, 2023. 

Southern University's Human Jukebox marching band was previously invited to the parade in 2020, where the band's performance stole the show.