While not everyone can attend the Star Wars Spectacular at the 2007 Rose Parade in Pasadena, fans can still find collectible souvenirs to commemorate the event. "This year, Star Wars fans are lucky to have two pins featuring both the float and the Grand Marshal -- a rare opportunity for collectors," says Nancy Chapman Melekian, President of Milestone Products.

Since the 1985 Rose Parade, Milestone Products have been creating collectible Rose Parade pins for collectors and float fans alike. "The 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles created a demand for high-quality collective souvenir pins," Melekian says. "The following year, the Tournament of Roses licensed Milestone Products to introduce the Collectible Cloisonné pin set for the 1985 Rose Parade. Since then every float participant, marching band, float building company and the media are represented in the set, which contains more than 100 pins. These pins are hand-crafted in the highest quality cloisonné, a 600-year-old Chinese art form. The cloisonné process creates pins with vibrant, durable colors that guarantee a long life in any collector's case."

"The uniqueness of the Rose Parade pin is that once a parade passes, the pins are never produced again," Melekian adds. "This alone creates a high-demand for popular pins that capture the essence of the parade. Every parade participant, from bands to individual floats, is represented in a one-of-a-kind pin."

Past pins featured hundreds of bands from around the U.S. and the world as well as company sponsors and floats including Bank of America, Nestlé, Disney, Kodak, FTD, McDonalds, Dr. Pepper, Subway, Smart & Final, Target and IBM, among others.

In addition to the Rose Parade float pin featuring a stormtrooper design, collectors and fans can also purchase a special Grand Marshal pin of George Lucas. "The Grand Marshal pin, featuring a high-quality, photographic image, is one of our most popular pins," Melekian says. "The limited production of the Grand Marshal pin creates a high-demand particularly when the Grand Marshal is an icon like George Lucas."

Former Grand Marshal pins have featured such icons as John Williams, William Shatner, Mickey Mouse, Kermit the Frog, Angela Lansbury, Gregory Peck and Bob Newhart.

"The Tournament of Roses parade and Rose Bowl Game are unparalleled events," Melekian says. "As the largest parade in the world, the Rose Parade is also the most watched, with millions of viewers annually. Each float and each Grand Marshal pin are unique to that year. The pins offer a special opportunity to capture the magic of a single, fleeting event that will never occur in the same way again. The collector's pins memorialize a moment in time with beautiful vibrant colors and high-quality cloisonné construction that will last generations. With a limited number produced for each parade, these collector's items tell the story of one special moment, in one very special parade."

Find more information about the Rose Parade Star Wars Spectacular and George Lucas Grand Marshal pins here at Milestoneproducts.com.

News about the Rose Parade is spreading. Check out the coverage at USA Today, AP News and HGTV, and keep checking starwars.com for more stories.