Pasadena Prepares for Parade

This summer, World Cup soccer brought Pasadena to an international audience; this weekend, a million or so roses will do the same.

Events all weekend lead up to the Tournament of Roses Parade and football game on Monday (the parade and game are never held on Sunday, a Tournament of Roses tradition).

Kicking off the weekend is the Band Fest, Friday at 1:30 p.m. Bands from the Rose Parade lineup will perform their more intricate routines at Pasadena City College’s Horrell Field, at Hill Street and Del Mar Boulevard.

The PCC band--the Tournament of Roses Honor Band--was among the first to march down Colorado Boulevard in a Rose Parade. Others include college bands from Morris Brown College in Atlanta and Southwest Missouri State from Springfield, Mo.; the Polizei-Musik Basel of Switzerland and the Meijogakuin High School band of Japan.

Tickets are $5 at the Tournament House on Orange Grove Boulevard, or at the gate, (818) 449-7673.

On Saturday, the Equestrian Festival features the 4th U.S. Cavalry, the Norco Desperados, the Gene Autry Spirit of the West Riders and the International Andalusian Horses of Spain, 10:30 a.m.-noon.

Highlights include a Wild West marksmanship demonstration, medieval jousting, equestrian drill teams and an appearance by the Rose Queen and her Court. Santa Anita Park, on Huntington Drive, Arcadia. Tickets are $3 at the gate; children 17 and under, free. Information: (818) 449-7673.

Also Saturday, the Kiwanis’ 65th annual Rose Bowl Kick-Off Luncheon offers another chance to see Rose Queen Aliya Haque; the players and coaches for Oregon and Penn State (the schools competing in the Rose Bowl), and parade Grand Marshal Chi Chi Rodriguez.

Tickets are $25 through Ticketmaster or at the Civic Auditorium box office, 300 E. Green St., Pasadena. Sportscaster Ed Arnold will emcee the luncheon. (818) 799-5985.