Home on Orange Grove Blvd. Is the Best Seat in the House

You could say that John and Lynn Casani had the best Rose Parade seats in town. And the warmest bed, the closest bathroom, food that stayed hot and ice that never melted.

You could say that the Casanis had all the creature comforts of home--and you’d be right.

As they have every year for the last 21 years, the Casanis opened their Orange Grove Boulevard home to 100 close friends, and even some strangers, to watch the parade go by.

This 24-hour party, which began at noon on New Year’s Eve and really got rolling after midnight, came in stark contrast to the sidewalk sleepers camped out in front of the Casani home, with their rolls of sleeping bags, layers upon layers of warm clothes and plastic coolers.

But even those Rose Parade viewers said the outdoor adventure was part of the fun. They said they appreciated the neighbors--whose property was cordoned off by recently erected chain-link fences--for putting up with the mess.

“I think they’re really tolerant,” said Michael Byer, 16, who camped out in front of the Casanis’ home and said marshmallow fights and firecrackers broke out at midnight along the parade route. “You have to admire the patience of these people.”

Inside the fence, guests of the Casanis sat on deck chairs on the porch, some teenagers found spots on the roof and small children played in the grass. Some ignored the parade, playing pool inside the house.

They ate numerous meals, beginning with hot dogs and hamburgers for the children on New Year’s Eve, ending with roast pork and chicken late in the evening and waking up to fresh doughnuts, pastry and fruit, juices and coffee.

“This is true hospitality,” said Marie Poulsen, a friend who has watched dozens of New Year’s Day parades with the Casanis. “Friends are welcome. Your friends’ friends are welcome. It’s a true open house.”

John Casani quipped: “We’ve been doing this for 22 years and I don’t know any of these people.”

Aside from the invited guests, the Casanis have also made friends from outside the gates. Al Solis met the Casanis four years ago as he and his family camped out in front of their home. They are now friends, seeing each other every New Year’s Eve.

“About 7 a.m., Lynn came out and gave me coffee,” Solis said, referring to their first meeting. “Her family’s just been great to my family.”

Since that first meeting, Solis continues to camp out in front of the home and he even supervises the assorted teenagers and others who choose to sleep outside rather than in the Casanis’ home.

The Casanis raised five sons and some New Year’s Day parades were wild--the house filled with children and families, the parents say.

This year was a little more mellow, Lynn Casani said as she made fresh coffee, missing a few minutes of the parade that passed by her door.

Neither of the Casanis sleep on New Year’s Eve--they prepare meals, drinks and places to sleep for their friends. Guests bring food, pillows and sleeping bags. One friend came from England this year and a family came from Seattle.

“I say I’m going to quit doing this every year,” Lynn Casani said, surveying her home, with pillows in one corner, cups and glasses on kitchen counters next to rum bottles and orange juice containers. “Then I get over it. We love it.”