Camping Out for "Leap Year" Rose Parade
 

I've always wanted to camp out for a good seat at curbside for the Tournament of Roses Parade, but I never wanted to spend my New Year's Eve camping out for said seat at said parade.

So my plan was always to wait until the next time that New Year's Day falls on a Sunday ... to take advantage of the Tournament's prohibition on sabbath parading.


Well, that time is THIS YEAR. The Rose Parade will take place on January Second, 2006 - - and no sacrifice of New Year's Eve will be necessary for camping out on the cold, damp sidewalk (though, with the apocalyptic weather we've been having lately, perhaps the overnight temps will be balmy).


Anyone interested in lining up on New Year's Day Night for the bizarre January Two Rose Parade this year??

I did this about 20 years ago, and I'm still tired.

Mind you, the one sacrafice you may have to make is being conscious enough to get to Pasadena by 10AM on January 1. That's assuming things run the same, just a day later. That's the time we always showed up to get the prime spots. Although I'm guessing that with it shifted by a day, the crowds will be a little smaller, I wouldn't recommend getting there any later than noon.

This is very tempting...especially as it will mark the 10th anniversary of CP and I meeting at this very event...

Tempting indeed!

I warn you, :iSm:, one of the big reasons we camped out for this parade 5 years in a row was the New Year's Eve party on the streets. There was always a great spontaneous countdown and plenty of tomfoolery. It was tough to live on a cold sidewalk all day and night but the party helped make it worth it - although it also made it harder to get some sleep. I have no idea what kind of party atmosphere there will be the night AFTER New Years. It would be interesting to find out.

I'm a big maybe, because I am planning on having a NYE party and that always leads to lack of sleep, but who knows.

I used to camp out every NYE for the Rose Parade (then stagger home immediately after the parade, sometimes midway through the parade). The night before stuff has always been the best end of it. The last time the parade was on the second (which happens when January 1 falls on Sunday), we didn't bother, and heard from many habitual campers that the spirit just wasn't there.

Oh dear - I'm the sort of person that only ends up seeing the parade on TV, usually the second or third rerun of the day at that - Hmmmmm...

I did this years ago, it was hell I tell you pure hell. It was cold, crowded, loud, and the portable toilets ended up being just nasty!

I've also done the grandstand seats. While better than camping out, I'll still never go do the Rose Parade again.

It honestly looks SO much better on tv and you get to see the floats better too as when they are live they go whizzing by you much faster than I ever thought they would!

Just my $.02. But if ya go have fun! :)

iSm, what is it with you and camping in lines? God bless you, though. You saved us a truly fabulous spot for fireworks on the B-day!:snap::D:snap:

:eek:

That's not exactly true...

Ooops, my bad. I guess it was a concerted effort by a large group of Swanky people. Still, it was appreciated. I must have been thinking of the Star Wars line...:D

Yeah, I was one of the few who DID NOT save the fireworks spot on the B-Day (though I have done it many other times, and will again). I did, ahem, other group party duties that weekend, but the fireworks campout was not one of them. It was a spectacularly unusual thing for me to tromp thru the human sea to our spot at almost the last minute, where EVERYONE COOL IN SCHOOL was there!!


Um, back to Rose Parade: 1) Hooray, the Cone/Meinkes are throwing their fantabulous NYE Party! 2) Though the party atmosphere on Colorado Blvd. is surely one of the big draws, missing the much better New Year's Eve festivities life has consistently blessed me with has always been the big drawback of the NYE campout on Colorado Blvd. 3) I don't know about the floats "whizzing by," but they look unbelievably more magnificent and detailed and "wow" in person compared to on TV.

Let's just see who's tempted as we get a little closer to year's end.

Part of me is saying, "Hmm, would be nice to celebrate the anniversary without the madness of the crushing crowds." Another part of me is saying, "What's the point of celebrating the anniversary without the madness of the crushing crowds?"

And I agree that there's nothing quite like seeing those glorious floats in living color, 10 feet away from you.

See, what you do is you set your DVR, so you can examine the floats in detail later. I'll echo - There's nothing like seeing the humongous floats covered in gorgeous flowers in true living color. Sometimes you can even smell the flowers.

Still officially undecided.

I'm trying hard not to become an old crudgemudgen but life just keeps making it harder for me all the time.

Take some time out and READ THIS about the rose parade. Go ahead.... I'll wait....


All these "made for TV" moments, I just don't know, its so, so.... Macy's.

And Disney's back with another shameless self plug. What's the theme this year: Corporate greed?

Hey Mr. Crumudgeon, listen up.

The Rose Parade has ALWAYS been one big advertisement. Clubs, businesses, and other groups advertising. ALWAYS.

The TV showings have ALWAYS been a big ad for "beautiful CA weather in winter". People move to SoCal in droves after it's shown.

So, you ain't got a leg to stand on, bub. :p

As for Disney and "corporate greed"....jeez, how many times can one say that Walt Disney was a businessman who used synergy whenever he could to push all of his products?

Awww. He's just jealous that we're enjoying mild high 60s while the east coast is freezing their butts off ;)

Hey pup, I was sitting out overnight to watch this parade when you were still on your mommies teat. Yes, it's ALWAYS been about clubs, businesses, etc.. but NOT THE FLOATS, sure there was always a banner that said who they were but the floats fit the theme, the theme was not made to fit the sponsor. I'll float you a challenge. I'll dig up some old photos of floats from "back in the day" and mask the sponsor name. If you can correctly identify the corporate sponsor for two out of five floats I'll pickup Dinner for you and GP at Napa Rose when I come to town in April. If you lose you have to buy me a Dole Whipp. Deal?

All that aside...an afternoon walk down Colorado St. has soured my disposition with regards to camping out. We were greeted by a "This Location is Closing" sign on Penny Lane, a great little music shop that's been there for 15 years. Why, we asked? Rent is tripling for the space. Tripling. All of a sudden, all the little unique shops are gone, replaced by franchise after franchise. The old movie theater is now a Tiffany's store. There's a Cheesecake Factory. And the big blow, the bagle shop that stayed open overnight for the parade serving bagles and bagle sandwiches has closed.

This is all the result of urban renewal gone amuck. A bit to the east is the Pasadena city center, where City Hall is. 10 years ago, it was a slum. Abandoned buildings, failing businesses, and a dilapadated mall. At that point, they began to revive that small area, tearing down the mall and improving the businesses. It was great, and totally necessary. But it's spread west, down Colorado, to an area that simply didn't need it. Sure, it wasn't brand new, but it was nowhere close to the near-slum conditions seen to the east. It was full of thriving, interesting, unique businesses. Now those businesses are being forced out by this insane rent increase, to be replaced by yet another cabon copy of a city street (Gap, Apple Store, Z Gallery, blah, blah, blah). It was really disappointing to see.

Right-O! That's one full membership in the Crumudgeon club. I'll send you the secret handshake via PM. :)

Wouldn't the 'secret handshake' of a curmudgeon be sort of a ...well, a gesture? (One finger involved?)

My old hangout space just sucks ass now, but is easy to get to via public transit...

Penny Lane had 3 locations I knew about - 2nd Street LB, Westwood and Pasadena. All three stores have closed. I was not very fond of Penny Land as a store. But in LB, we have Fingerprintz and a fairly good Tower - although they are reducing their eclectic selection.

It's a mix of high rents and stiff competition. Mom and Pops are almost a thing of the past.

Apropos of the way this thread has turned: I get home from work between 7 and 7:30. Today, I wanted to get some last-minute shopping in for some forgotten co-workers, so off I head to the great mom-and-pop shops in my neighborhood. Guess what? Here it is the week before Christmas, and EVERY SINGLE ONE was closed for the night. I WANTED to give THOSE stores my money...but nope! Apparently only people without jobs can shop there...:rolleyes: We working stiffs have the mall or nothin'. Okay. I chose nothin'. So that's what my co-workers are gettin' and I'm just generally annoyed as all heck that I'm even trying...

Honestly, if I didn't have an 11-year-old, aside from some charity stuff, I'd not participate in this coercion-oops-I-mean-holiday AT ALL.

[/cheer-spreading]

:blush:

I, for one, welcome our new corporate overlords.

January 2nd!!!! What Type Of Nonsense Is That!!!!!!

nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo the bagel shop!!!!!!!!!!!!

:( :( :( :( :(

Now I'm really, really glad I didn't plan on being there.

The rain was a real storm. Those expensive seats in the stands started to empty out after the Rose Bowl team bands went by. The people on the floats, the support staff, the cameras, and all the people on the streets were utterly drenched. Fancy cotumes were either obscured with ponchos or drenched. The seed and flower based coverings on the floats melted, ran, and peeled off. I've never seen anything like it.

They showed the flow of rain in the gutters and the thought of anyone sitting there to watch the parade was dashed - I'm sure there were very few out there braving it for the whole time. The cameras do not go further down the route to where people usually camp so there was no knowing for sure.

And of course, it did not rain on the 1st. I guess God wanted to prove that not holding the parade on Sunday didn't mean sht. :D

Oh, this all doesn't mean that the floats were bad - as usual, they were gorgeous, even while melting.

Disney finally got the float thing right this year.


It was beautiful, with each castle rendered perfectly. Ours was the biggest, for the 50th of course, and had each crown done right. There were characters with umbrellas, including a few face characters that we knew ("hey, I know that Jasmine!"). They had a couple singers doing a song I don't know but it was a decent generic upbeat tune. It was a huge float and very impressive.

That generic upbeat tune was the opening theme song for Hong Kong Disneyland - "One"

Is Canterbury Records still in business? They always had a great selection of imports that even the Pasadena Tower never thought of carrying. Please say it's still there!

Donna

Yeah, why was a song for HONG KONG Disneyland in English?

Was it originally in English or was it translated?

Probably the same reason most of the music at Disneyland Paris is in English. They plan on having an international mix of guests and having it in English means more people will understand it.


It still shows up in a Yahoo Yellow Pages search.

Yes, I'm sorry I didn't see more of the parade, but I did catch the Disney float and a few others. I watched long enough to notice the stands clearing out dramatically over time. What a shame.

Props to every band member, horse rider and other performer who forsook the plastic poncho that would wreck their costume and braved a soaking for the sake of 'the show must go on' and the live television feed to zillions around the world (who for once were not jealous of the southern California weather and - thankfully to this local boy - not tempted in the slightest to move here. whew.)


While I'm glad I did not camp out after all, I kinda wished I had simply wandered up there at 6 am this morning - - - I'm sure a good spot could have been found at the last minute with crowds that sparse. On the other hand, I'm not entirely sure that the parade didn't come to a grinding halt once everything was out of camera range. In any event, I do not picture the level of performance granted for the cameras continuing in the pouring rain for the peasants further down the route.

There usually are far fewer smiles further down anyway - never mind when you're completely drenched.

I'm entirely happy that I didn't go.

Something tells me this will be somewhat renewed with the Rose Bowl football game for which temperatures are predicted to be in the 80's on game day.

Interesting side-note, for the first time in 25 years, Stephanie Edwards was not in the booth with Bob Eubanks. Instead, she was sitting in the stands doing occasional fans'-eye-view updates. She mentioned during the broadcast that it was a decission she had made long ago, not expecting the rain. Well, the LA Times this morning hints at rumors of discord between Edwards in Eubanks. Interesting.

Thanks, but this can be meaningless. My favorite Chinese place in SF closed in 1999 and Yahoo Yellow Pages still has the listing.

I'll give them a ring later on this afternoon to check on the status. If they're gone, it would be a real pity.

Donna

Ooooh, I wanna know the dirt between Bob and Stephanie. From her few on-camera remarks (notably the one where she forgot she had a microphone in her hand till it was too late), I thought maybe she was demoted for having dementia.

In any case, her replacement was a total LOSER. Hate her. I want Stephanie back. And if she bitch-fights with Bob during the whole parade, so much the better for our home entertainment!

Bob may just be an A-hole. For example:

CP and I noticed a long stretch where only Bob was talking. We figured the new bimbo must have been on a potty break. Quite a bit later in the parade, a float depicting some polar bears came by. One of the two of them read the odd fact that polar bears don't drink water, to which Bob said something to the effect of, "I guess they'd never have to leave the booth for a break, then." :O

And speaking of polar bears, Stephanie's polar bear fact, about them appearing white because their fur is "all the colors together, which makes it look white" was total crap. Polar bear fur is clear, and their skin is black. The black skin absorbs most of the light, and the clear fur reflects and refracts the rest in such a way as to make it appear white.

Oh, thank you for my cool fact of the day! This I did not know, silly me!

Donna

I learned this morning that the last time it rained on the Rose Parade 51 years ago was the last (and only other time) that a Supreme Court Justice was Grand Marshal (Earl Warren in 1955). I would say that should put an end to Justices (Justi?) as Grand Marshal!

Also, this year was the first time that a female has been the President of the Tournament of Roses. I just mention that in case anybody was feeling sexist and wanted to comment.

Okay Kevy, that's just a little weird. But here's the really telling question that arises from that info...Justice Warren actually served once prior to 1955, in 1943, as Grand Marshall. Did it rain that year too? I've emailed the ToR to see if I can get an answer to this question of vital cosmic significance.

Yahoo* gets their data from one or more data providers**. It appears they get most of their data from InfoUSA. All data providers are severly outdated. What they do is take phone books, ship them overseas and pay people to type in the information.

* local.google. local.com, yp.com and almost every local search engine out there use data providers** such as Amachai and Acxiom and InfoUSA. There is speculation that they all use the same data and just manage it differently.