HGTV's Coverage of Rose Parade Offers Colorful Floats and Favorite Celebrities

NEW YORK, Dec. 21, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- A vibrant display of more than 7,700 roses, 2,700 carnations, 1,100 gerbera daisies, a freshly made snowman covered in white fine cut everlasting and a snowmobile overlaid with shiny grey silver leaf and black seaweed will surround four popular HGTV personalities as they ride on a magnificent floral replica of the 2012 HGTV Dream Home, a featured float in the 23rd Tournament of Roses® Parade in Pasadena.  During the network's live, commercial-free coverage of the parade on Monday, January 2, at 11 a.m. ET/8 a.m. PT, designers John Gidding, Curb Appeal; Casey Noble, Design on a Dime; and contractors/designers Anthony Carrino and John Colaneri, hosts of Kitchen Cousins will be among the more than 1 million parade attendees. 

Viewers will enjoy a front row seat for the parade as Entertainment Tonight co-host, Emmy® Award-winning entertainment reporter and 10-year veteran Tournament of Roses Parade host, Nancy O'Dell, joins internationally acclaimed landscape designer/HGTV host Jamie Durie of The Outdoor Room and television producer/host Robb Weller on the announcer's platform for this year's festivities.  Together they will provide entertaining perspectives on each breathtaking floral float, band and equestrian unit.

HGTV's comprehensive parade coverage also includes a special appearance by DIY Network host Matt Blashaw of Professional Grade who will be stationed street-side to conduct celebrity interviews and keep home viewers posted on the status of their favorite float as it travels along the legendary five-and-a-half mile parade route down Colorado Boulevard.  

Immediately preceding the parade featuring Grand Marshal J.R. Martinez, the network will air a half-hour special Rose Parade Countdown 2012.  Hosted by Blashaw, the special will include interviews with some of the 1,200 volunteers who spent 20,000 hours building and decorating floats that exemplify the spirit of the parade's theme, "Just Imagine." The special also will give viewers a backstage pass to the building of the HGTV float, highlighting such additional features as its two huge snow-tipped evergreens covered with real cedar branches and a smoking chimney. The float was inspired by the 2012 HGTV Dream Home, a modern, western ranch home nestled on the banks of the Provo River and the grand prize in the network's annual HGTV Dream Home Giveaway.

"The HGTV Dream Home Giveaway is the most successful consumer promotion in cable television and our viewers look forward to seeing the new home each year," said Kathleen Finch, general manager, HGTV.  "Parade fans on the street as well as millions of viewers at home will appreciate this unique look at the 2012 HGTV Dream Home." 

About HGTV

HGTV, America's leading home and lifestyle brand, is one of cable's top-rated networks and is distributed to more than 99 million U.S. households. HGTV's website, HGTV.com, is the nation's leading online home-and-garden destination that attracts an average of 4 million unique visitors per month. The HGTV HOME consumer products line currently includes exclusive offerings of paint, flooring, soft goods and other home-oriented products.  The HGTV Magazine, a new home and lifestyle publication, is published in partnership with Hearst Magazines. 

SOURCE HGTV