ken burns
Documentary filmmaker Ken Burns will serve as the grand marshal of the Rose Parade. Getty

Tapping into the wonder and majesty of the country’s national parks and wildlife, the 127th annual Rose Bowl Parade will commence prior to the Iowa and Stanford’s mega matchup on Friday, Jan. 1 at 11 a.m Eastern time.

Building on this year’s theme of “Find Your Adventure” and working in tandem with the National Park Service for it’s centennial anniversary, the colorful parade will feature 20 marching bands from four countries and 92 floats with Emmy award-winning and Oscar-nominated documentary filmmaker Ken Burns serving as this year’s Grand Marshall. Burns has made several notable sports documentaries, including "Baseball," "Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Dempsey," as well as "The Civil War," "The War," and most recently "The Roosevelts: An Intimate History." In 2009, he directed and produced "The National Parks: America's Best Idea," and a documentary on Yosemite National Park.

“Ken Burns is a legendary figure and a great fit for this year’s Rose Parade theme, ‘Find Your Adventure,’” Tournament of Roses president Mike Matthiessen said. “We’re so honored to have someone like Ken, who has devoted his life to telling the story of America, lead the Rose Parade – America’s New Year Celebration – that provides hope and joy to millions of people around the world.”

Burns, 62, was born in Brooklyn, New York, and resides in Walpole, New Hampshire. According to Pasadena Star News, Burns and his family will ride a 1925 Yellowstone Touring Bus from the No. 17 position.

This year’s Rose Queen and head of the Royal Court is 17-year-old Flintridge Preparatory School senior Erika Karen Winter, who beat out 900 other young women for the crown back in October.

The two-hour event will cover a five-and-a-half-mile stretch of Pasadena, beginning at the corner of Green Street and traveling north on Orange Grove Boulevard, then turning east onto Colorado Boulevard, before a turn north onto Sierra Madre Boulevard and wrapping up on Villa Street.

Tickets for the event are still available on the secondary market. According to StubHub, the price ranges from $331 for a spot on West Colorado or Orange Grove to as little as $56.70 for a view on East Colorado.