Decorators placing finishing touches on floats less than 24 hours ahead of Rose Parade
Volunteers Sunday were placing the finishing touches on floats less than 24 hours ahead of the Tournament of Roses Parade.
In Irwindale, float decorators were hard at work finalizing five of the more than 30 floats expected to be showcased in the parade themed "Celebrating a World of Music."
"This is what we do all year for this day," said Stefan Pollack with Fiesta Floats. "We have five of the more than 30 floats in the parade here, just some showstoppers."
Pollack said the judges were expected in the morning.
"They are very precise at the Tournament of Roses," he said. "And they are going to come here and judge all of our floats. They also go to the other float barns and judge all of the other floats as well."
Among those floats will be UPS' "Beat of Achievement."
"Our float this year is called the 'Beat of Achievement' because we support Junior Achievement, which is a national program to teach youth about different skills that they're going to need to be entrepreneurs one day," said Casey Sorrell, a Community and Public Relations Manager with UPS.
The Rose Parade will begin at 8 a.m. Monday for its traditional 5 1/2-mile procession along Colorado Boulevard.
Camping overnight along the route will only be permitted the night Sunday night. Those planning to camp can start claiming spaces on the sidewalk beginning at noon but all people and property such as blankets and chairs must remain on the curb until 11 p.m. After 11 p.m., spectators can move out to the blue "Honor Line" on the street.
People planning to camp out overnight for the parade should take heed of the rules:
- Small, professionally made barbecues that are elevated at least 1 foot off the ground are permitted along the route, but they must be at least 25 feet from buildings and other combustibles. A fire extinguisher also must be readily available;
- People under age 18 will only be permitted on the parade route from 10 p.m. Sunday to 5 a.m. Monday if they are supervised by an adult;
- Parade-goers should be prepared for cold weather and dress in layers; and
- Tents, sofas or boxes that can be used as stools or seats are prohibited along the route.
Other restrictions include no bonfires, no selling of items along the route without a city permit, and selling spaces along the route is prohibited. For a complete list of prohibitions, click here.
Security will be tight along the parade route, and anyone found violating the law or creating a disturbance will be removed from the area. Parade viewers are asked to report any suspicious activity and call 911 in the event of an emergency, or call 626-744-4241 for non-emergencies.
Colorado Boulevard will close to traffic at 10 p.m. Sunday and remain closed until at least 2 p.m. Monday after the parade and ensuing cleanup. Closures will be effective from Orange Grove Boulevard to Sierra Madre Boulevard and northbound on Sierra Madre to Paloma Street.
Various freeway ramps will be closed in the Pasadena area to control traffic from Sunday night until Monday afternoon. According to Caltrans, the following closures will be in effect:
- Westbound 210 Freeway off-ramp at Sierra Madre;
- Eastbound 210 off-ramp at San Gabriel Boulevard;
- Eastbound 134 Freeway at Orange Grove Boulevard; and
- Westbound 134 Freeway on-ramp at Orange Grove.
Metro will be offering free fares on all of its bus and rail lines beginning at 9 p.m. Sunday through 2 a.m. Monday, and trains will run all night long on New Year's Eve into New Year's Day to accommodate parade-goers. There are four Metro A Line stations located within a half-mile of the parade route.