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Holiday fun in Pasadena means the Tournament of Roses Parade! Updated November 14, 2007. Related info--- HOME :: Latest News :: Christmas Section---Activities SoCal Christmas Events/Attractions :: Christmas Activities Calendar 2007 :: Seasonal Family Fun :: Knott's Christmas 2007 :: Disneyland Christmas 2007 :: Haunted Mansion pics :: Haunted Mansion, pt 2 :: Griffith Park Christmas Activities :: Hollywood Santa Parade: Stores: Michaels Craft Stores :: Party America :: Party City/Los Angeles :: Party City/other So Cal :: Year-round costume stores :: New Years: Countdown to New Years 2007 :: Rose Parade 2007 :: Pasadena Family FunEnjoy world-class family holiday events in Pasadena, California
Few people in the world DON'T know about Pasadena's extremely popular holiday parade, The Tournament of Roses. After all, this popular flower-laden tribute to beauty and ingenuity is broadcast to television sets in 150 countries and territories throughout the world!
The Pasadena Rose Parade has been a Southern California holiday event for over 100 years! This pageant is a time-honored tradition with Californians for literally generations. Ponder this thought: as the Rose Parade celebrates its 119th anniversary in 2008, it's older than almost every Californian alive! Virtually 100% of those growing up in SoCal have heard about it or have gone to it on occasion. Then, thanks to the advent of TV, Pasadena's Tournament of Roses Parade has been televised to millions of viewers world-wide for about 60 years. Indeed, then, there are many, many people who have grown up with the Rose Parade being a traditional New Years Day event in their homes. Rose Parade makes history! In fact, the much-beloved Tournament of Roses Parade made television history: on January 1, 1954, it became the first program to be broadcast coast to coast in the USA...in "living color!" This historic accomplishment has been preserved by a website. If you'd like to re-live that momentous occasion through the eyes of a boy (now a senior!) whose vivid memories testify to the power of this event, use the next link to see the day when the
Rose Parade made television history!
On this page, you will discover the information you need to plan a successful, fun-filled family outing to the Tournament of Roses Parade on Monday, January 1, 2008 in Pasadena, California! Also...until tickets run out...you'll be able to SEARCH EBAY for Rose Bowl Tickets!
Rose Bowl Tickets on EBay!Where can you find Rose Bowl tickets? If you're anxious to view the football game, there are currently plenty of tickets for sale on the EBay auction website. Below is an EBay widget showing auctions which are currently in-progress for Rose Bowl tickets on EBay. When one auction is finished, a new auction takes its place! So, if you're not sure of your plans yet, you'll find a whole new selection the next time you return to this page! Pasadena Family Fun--The Tournament of Roses ParadeAlthough football fans consider the Tournament of Roses Parade to be a warm-up event for the Rose Bowl football game, the parade is really the more popular of the 2 events. World-wide, the Rose Parade attracts millions of viewers...even in countries where the sport of American football isn't popular.Many football fans probably don't even realize that the Rose Parade came BEFORE the football game! Not only that, but The Pasadena Rose Parade takes more preparation time than the Rose Bowl "main event." Although football players start to train each summer for the long series of games which eventually lead to 2 teams being selected for the Rose Bowl game, the parade's prep time is even LONGER! Pasadena's Colorado Boulevard has barely been swept clean of the crowd's litter before the Rose Parade's planners are hard at work again getting ready for the next year's event!
Rose Parade 2008: Planning Ahead
YOU will also have to "plan ahead" if you're going to enjoy this white-hot, mega-popular event! If you've attended the Tournament of Roses Parade in past years, you're nodding your head right about now! If you haven't been to the Rose Parade, just think of this: You've seen the thick rows of people lining the sidewalkson your home TV screen. You didn't, perhaps, give it much thought. Now think about it AGAIN...as a future member of the crowd!
Where are you going to park? Do you think that the thousands of people lining the parade route were ALL able to find convenient parking spots? The answer is, "No, they didn't." Where are all of these people going to eat? Where will they use the restroom? Meeting your body's basic needsThere are restaurants and snack bars along the parade route. Extra roving vendors are allowed at the event. Even so, there are thousands of hungry people visiting the Rose Parade...and MANY of them have camped overnight on Colorado Blvd since noon the day before (the earliest allowed "camping" time) What this means for you is that that ALL the restaurants and vendors will be overwhelmed by the throng. You must be prepared to wait for your meals; lines are everywhere. You really OUGHT to bring at least SOME of your own food in case you or your little ones "just can't wait any longer." Note: Starbuck's Coffee at the Paseo Colorado outdoor mall inform me that they'll be staying open 24 hours on New Year's Eve to serve the people camping out on Colorado Blvd! The address of Paseo Colorado Mall is 280 East Colorado Boulevard (near the cross street of Las Robles.) To find out more about the shops and restaurants at this attractive outdoor mall, you may visit the "Paseo Colorado" page of this website. There are restrooms in the restaurants you may use if you are a customer there; plus you'll find "porta potties" along the parade route. You'll have to wait your turn; there are more people who need to "go" than there are stalls. It's HIGHLY recommended that you bring your own toilet paper, just in case you arrive to find that the last shred was used up 15 minutes before you finally got your turn to use the facilities! Note: if you're near the Paseo Colorado outdoor mall, their restrooms happen to be in the center court area behind the giant Christmas tree. Other than to bring your own food and TP, there's not much you can do to prepare for your body's basic needs at the event. BUT, you CAN plan ahead for your parking arrangements...and really make a big difference by doing so. Parking for the Rose ParadeWhile the Tournament of Roses parade is free-of-charge for onlookers lining the streets, parking can cost a pretty penny. All the closest parking lots to the Colorado Blvd parade route will be charging premium fees for Rose Parade parking. The GOOD news, however, is that you can reserve a parking space in advance at many lots! This is highly recommended, since you won't want to hop from lot to lot looking for one that still has an opening...with the streets near the parade route being highly clogged with traffic, slowing down your every movement! You may use the following link to discover which are the
Pasadena parking lots accepting Rose Parade reservations.
Grandstand Seating at the Rose ParadeWhile you were at the "Rose Parade Parking Lots" website, perhaps you noticed that "Grandstand Seating" is available for the parade. What is Grandstand Seating and how does it work?If you don't mind paying to see a parade that others are watching "for free," Grandstand Seating is a really great idea to think about. You'll pay for your seat to watch the parade...BUT that has a number of advantages. You won't have to go to the parade route in the wee hours of the morning (or even camp-out all night on the pavement!) to snag a spot for watching the parade. You'll waltz in to your pre-reserved seat just before "showtime," if you wish. Plus, you'll have a better view because you'll be sitting in tiered levels of seating. Small fry may still have trouble viewing over the tall adults in front of them...and you'll still have to put up with the noise of the crowd, any adverse weather conditions (rare), and taking care of your hunger and potty needs. BUT, you won't have to worry about not seeing the parade that you went to such great lengths to view! If you'd like to reserve grandstand seats for the Rose Parade...good news! There are still seats available (as of this writing, Nov 16, 2007.) To take a look at a map showing the various Grandstane Spots along the Pasadena Tournament of Roses parade for January 1, 2008 (along with the price list for the different seats), you may use the upcoming link to view the
"Grandstand Seating" details page of the Sharp Seating Company website.
The Rose Parade's Beauty & TraditionSo far on this page, you've only read about the trials and ordeals through which you must pass in order to see the Rose Parade. If the event were nothing but torture the whole way through, nobody would ever go, right? So, what's the "payoff?"Thousands of people attend the Tournament of Roses Parade because the floats are inventive, stunningly beautiful, and nothing can be found like this event anywhere else on the planet. You may want to go "at least once in your lifefime" (as some people DO say) just to have experienced the Rose Parade's aura and tradition. Others go because the floats can't be admired on television in the same way that they can be admired up-close. In fact, some families attend the Rose Parade every year! You've probably seen the lovely Rose Parade floats on TV at some time in your life, already. (Possibly, you've seen them every year as part of your family's New Years Day tradition!) It's easy to catch the parade at home; it's broadcast on TV to over 150 nations and territories throughout the world! In Southern California, the parade is broadcast and re-broadcast throughout the day. (People who have stayed up late at New Year's Eve parties the night before much prefer watching in the afternoon rather than at 8 am!) If you'd like to refresh your memory about how these beautiful and creative floats look, that's easy. The Tournament of Roses official website keeps photos of past float-winners on-line at all times. You can see slide shows of the best-of-the-best floats from the years 2001 through 2007 with just a click of the mouse. You may use the following link to view the
"Rose Parade Prize-Winning Floats" slideshow on the Tournament of Roses website.
Rose Parade 2008: Date, Time, Address, Route, WebsiteThe Rose Parade Route: The Tournament of Roses parade does NOT begin on Colorado Blvd...which is the wide boulevard from which the TV stations broadcast this world-famous procession! The parade actually begins at the corner of Ellis Street and Orange Grove Blvd, a much lesser-known Pasadena intersection! The parade starts out by heading north a short distance, then turning east on Colorado Blvd...along which it continues for most of its route. The Rose Parade ends at the intersection of Sierra Madre Blvd and Villa Street, also in Pasadena, California. A detailed map of the Rose Parade Route...and a downloadable PDF version, as well...can be found on the Tournament of Roses official website. For your convenience, you may use the following link to head directly to the
Rose Parade Route Map page of the parade's official website.
The info-packed Tournament of Roses Parade website is:
www.TournamentOfRoses.com
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