The University of Utah is headed to Pasadena for New Years for the second straight year. Many of you went last year, while many Utes fans chose not to travel in the shadow of COVID. Whether you are a Rose Bowl veteran or you are traveling for the first time, you have questions! Where’s Pasadena? What else can I do in Pasadena while I’m there? What’s the weather like?
Besides having a Ute Graduate and a ski condo in Park City, I am also a Tournament of Roses Volunteer. In an effort to assist all the Utes searching for information about the parade and game, I thought I’d assemble some answers to questions I’ve been asked these past few days.
First, let’s get the ugly truth out of the way. Thanks to COVID restrictions, this year is a bit different than parade’s past. Please consult with the Tournament of Roses website and the Pasadena Department of Public Health to stay current with access requirements, event restrictions, and other COVID-related issues.
Parade Information – The Basics
The Rose Parade – which is absolutely NOT called the Rose Bowl Parade! – is a floral and musical parade like no other. Trust me. Back in 1988 when USC went to the Rose Bowl, we ended up with a couple spare tickets. My husband sold them at a local ticket dealer (remember those places?) and came home with 2 parade tickets. We didn’t live in Pasadena and my first thought was, “why? I’ve seen the parade on tv.” After a nice explanation that the parade is much different in person, we packed up layers of clothes to brave the 40-degree overnight lows, and headed across town to Pasadena. He was right. The parade is a much different experience sitting on a street corner in the brisk morning air, immersed in the floral aromas and symphonic sounds.
The Rose Parade is scheduled to begin at 8:00 am on Monday January 2, 2023. Wait!! But the Rose Parade is on New Year’s Day. Normally yes, but this year New Year’s falls on a Sunday. Thanks to a long-standing Pasadena tradition, we never have the parade on a Sunday! To learn all about this tradition, read my blog here: https://cornersglobe.com/never-on-sunday/
The parade (which will take place on Monday, January 2, 2023) lasts approximately 2 hours. This year 47 floats, 18 marching bands (including the Ute Marching Band!), and 18 Equestrian Units will march down the 5.5 mile route through Pasadena.
The parade begins at the corner of Orange Grove Blvd. and Green Street, turns East onto Colorado Blvd, proceeds down Colorado to Sierra Madre, makes a left onto Sierra Madre, and end at Pasadena High School.
Please be aware that the City of Pasadena grows by 800,000 to 1,000,000 people for New Years. Moving (and parking) your car around town gets pretty tight this week. On Parade Day I highly recommend using public transit, free shuttles, and good old foot power to get around. The less you move your vehicle around town that day, the more fun you will have!
Be sure to consult the Tournament of Roses Parade Day Guide (https://tournamentofroses.com/about/parade-day-guide/) for information on street closures, access restrictions, and general information about navigating in and around Pasadena on New Years Day.
2023 Parade Theme and Grand Marshal
Each year, the Parade has a theme and this year’s theme is Turning the Corner. This theme is symbolic not only of the parade which makes that sweeping right turn on TV corner. It is also a symbol that the US as a nation and humanity as a whole is turning the corner on a new post-COVID world.
This year’s Grand Marshal is Former US Representative from Arizona, Gabby Giffords. Gabby was tragically shot in 2011. Through bravery, hard work, and tenacity, she has worked hard to recover from this terrible injury. She is a true symbol of Turning the Corner.
Important Dates and Times
Parade Viewing
You can watch the parade anywhere along Colorado Blvd. east of St. Johns Street. There is also good viewing from the street along Sierra Madre. All seating west of St. Johns is restricted to paid grandstand seating.
Alternatively, you can purchase grandstand seats along the parade route through Sharp Seating (sharpseating.com). While there are grandstands scattered down the entire route and costs vary depending on location, if you plan on attending the Rose Bowl Game, I recommend parade seats closer to the west side of the parade route. That way you could walk to the Rose Bowl and not have the headache of moving your car.
Remember that the parade starts (and thus ends) later, the further east along the parade route you sit. Close to the parade end, the last unit will cross into post parade close to noon. The games starts at 2pm at the Rose Bowl and unless you can walk 7 miles in 2 hours, you will need to drive to the stadium. In traffic. Tons of traffic. All bearing Utah plates! So, if you are heading to the game in the afternoon, try to get as close to “TV corner” (the corner of Colorado and Orange Grove) as possible.
Other Parade Week Events
Pasadena hosts several other events the week leading into the parade. Tickets for these events are available through Sharp Seating at http://sharpseating.com
Equestfest – December 30
Equestfest is a stadium showcase for all the equestrian units in the parade. The event takes place at the Equestrian Center in nearby Burbank. You’ll need a car to get there. Bonus for Disney fans! The Equestrian Center is just down the street from Walt Disney Studios. While you can’t get into the studio, you can snap some wicked fun selfies outside the gates!
Band Fest – December 30 and 31
Band Fest is an opportunity for the different marching bands to perform their traditional half time field shows. There are 3 shows over 2 days and each band performs once. I don’t know when the Utes will play, if they perform at all as it’s optional for the 2 participating university bands. Each show is unique and a ton of fun. Band Fest occurs at Pasadena City College right in the heart of town.
FloatFest January 2 and 3
What happens to all the beautiful floats after the parade? They are on display for 2 days at Float Fest. The event is scheduled for the afternoon of January 2 and all day January 3 at Pasadena High School. Free shuttles are available from Pasadena City College to Float Fest on both days. There is special entry from 7:00am to 9:00am on January 3 for our guests who need additional assistance moving around. ADA parking is available in the Victory Park parking lot on Paloma Street in Pasadena.
Floatfest is a wonderful opportunity to see the floats up close and marvel at the beautiful flowers and clever use of seeds, grasses, crushed flowers, beans, fruits, and vegetables used by the decorators to bring the floats alive. Bring your camera!
Getting to the Rose Bowl
Shuttles to the game are available from Parsons Engineering on the corner of Walnut and Fair Oaks. If you don’t want to drive down to the stadium from the parade route, leave your car and take the free shuttle. After the game concludes, you can board the shuttle back to Parsons and head back to your car from there.
Parsons is close enough to the stadium that you can actually walk back to your car after the Utes hoist the Championship Trophy. It’s only a tad over 1 mile and a pleasant walk through some lovely Pasadena neighborhoods.
Bonus for you walkers! If you walk to the game, you’ll pass the Gamble House. Maybe Marty McFly and Doc Brown will be around. Gamble House was Doc’s home in Back to the Future!
ADA seating for the game
ADA seating is available at the stadium. When you arrive at the entrance, ask where to go for ADA seats. They are NOT pre-assigned. ADA seats run along the central concourse of the stadium in include a selection of places for wheelchairs as well as companion seating in regular stadium seating. The ADA seating is first-come, first-served.
Hotels
Hotels in Pasadena are hard to find this week. My best suggestion is to look in outlying towns. Head east to Arcadia, Monrovia, or Duarte. Head West to Eagle Rock or Glendale. Or head into Downtown Los Angeles. Pasadena is accessible from the Metro Gold Line light rail so you can chose a hotel on the metro light rail line if you don’t want to drive.
Please check the Metro schedules, especially on the morning of the 2st. On normal days, the metro light rail line does NOT run from 2-5am.
Airport Access
Flying from Salt Lake? No worries. I do it all the time. Burbank is the closest airport. However, you might want to check flight times and costs into LAX, Ontario, and Long Beach as well. Note the further afield you fly in, the more costly your Uber ride into town will be.
Driving to Pasadena from Salt Lake
I do this all the time also. It takes us 10-11 hours all the way from Park City into Pasadena. There are Costco gas stations in St George, Las Vegas, Victorville, and then several once you get down into the Los Angeles Basin area.
You have a one-hour time change in your favor driving down. Please keep that in mind.
Check the weather before you hit I-15 south. Bad weather can close the highway in and out of Baker, California. Bad weather = snow. Just keep that in mind because it’s a hellacious delay to divert around a highway closure in Death Valley.
Also, the bridge construction at Virgin River between St George and Mesquite is alive and well and poses a continued road clog as you exit the Canyon on your approach to Nevada.
What else is there to do in Pasadena?
Stay for while after the game! Enjoy some of our world class museums and restaurants, stroll along the same streets the guys did in Big Bang Theory. Visit the Caltech campus.
And while you are in the area, why not head down to Disney?
Like Hockey? The Los Angeles Kings play in Downtown Los Angeles at Crypto.Com Arena. Yes, it’s a stupid name (apologies if your work from Crypto – it just is). They have home games on December 31 at 1:00 pm against Philadelphia and January 3 at 7:00 pm against Dallas. Additional information on tickets, games, and parking can be found on the LA Kings website: https://www.nhl.com/kings/
Go Kings, Go.
Basketball Anyone? The Los Angeles Clippers also play at Crypto.Com. They have a home game January 2 at 7:00pm against Miami. But we will all be busy celebrating a Rose Bowl victory. Can you make a 7pm tip off in Downtown LA after the parade and game? Sure. But you will be tired!
Not to be outdone, the Los Angeles Lakers have a home game against Miami on January 4 at 7:00 pm. https://www.nba.com/lakers
If you are headed to Anaheim, the Anaheim Ducks NHL team has home games as follows:
December 28 at 7:00 pm against Las Vegas
December 30 at 2:00 pm against Nashville
January 2 at 7:00 pm against Philadelphia (you will be very hard-pressed to make this game as it could take 1.5-2 hours after the Rose Bowl to get to Anaheim in game traffic).
January 4 at 7:00 pm against Dallas
Have fun planning! Check back here for additional information as we get closer to the big week. Pack your red and white! Go Utes!
Important Links for Planning
Tournament of Roses Website – tournamentofroses.com
Sharp Seating (tickets) – sharpseating.com