Rose Bowl Fans Can Get an Early Start

Hey, sports fans, you don’t have to wait until New Year’s Day to get into the game in Pasadena.

The second annual Fanfest gets underway today and continues in and around the Rose Bowl through Sunday. The football-themed festival includes a Sports Village full of interactive games and sports clinics; the Tournament of Roses Museum with memorabilia from Rose Bowls past; tours of the stadium and float builders at work; and an Expo Village, where visitors can collect official Rose Bowl merchandise.

On Friday and Saturday only, spectators can also check out the Equestfest and Bandfest, featuring performances by the 2001 Rose Parade equestrians and marching bands.

“One thing we learned from last year,” says Rick Jackson, returning chairman who oversaw the inaugural Fanfest last year, “was that the Sports Village was really for 8-year-olds and above. We needed some things for the 4-, 5-, 6-year-olds to play.”

In response, among the new Fanfest attractions this year is the Kids’ Kourt, an area where the littlest athletes can take part. Assisted by the YWCA and Pasadena’s Kidspace Museum, hands-on activities will allow children as young as 4 to throw a football or experience fun ways to build a Rose Parade float.

Another change to Fanfest is the new look of the Tournament of Roses Museum. This year, the 10,000-foot tented facility is divided into separate rooms dedicated to the different aspects of Rose Bowl history, from the games dating to the first contest in 1902, to the early parades to the Rose Queens and their courts.

“You can’t just take a bunch of stuff out of the closet,” Jackson says, describing how the exhibits were chosen from the Tournament of Roses’ vast collection. “A lot of research has gone into it--now it’s displayed in a much more professional, attractive way.”

Last year was the first time that the Tournament of Roses took charge of all the Rose Bowl-related events in town and pulled them together into one location, at the Rose Bowl. The move was deemed a success, Jackson says, despite last year’s event being hampered by cold rainy weather and the threat of a Y2K meltdown.

This year, the odds for good weather are coupled with improvements in the operating and marketing efforts. Plus, while the Pac-10 teams the past two years were both California schools, this year’s matchups bring two teams and fans from out of state--Purdue and Washington, with Washington making its first trip in eight years and Purdue its first in 34. That generates additional excitement with a whole new set of fans who are anxiously counting down the hours till game time on Monday.

The Tournament of Roses expects about 80,000 people to attend Rose Bowl-related events, Jackson says. That doesn’t include the Rose Parade, which typically draws about 1 million people along Colorado Boulevard on New Year’s morning.

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Until then, fans can get a football warmup at the Fanfest, located in a fenced area outside the Rose Bowl. A $10 passport includes all the Fanfest attractions and is good today through Sunday.

The Sports Village, with its miniature football field, is the centerpiece of Fanfest, featuring interactive games and cheerleading and coaching clinics, as well as a new addition this year--visits by former Rose Bowl players. Scheduled appearances include former USC and Rams quarterback Pat Haden (today) and former USC receiver J.K. McKay, who will give a coaching clinic on Saturday.

Also within the Fanfest boundaries are the Expo Village and a food court, where officially licensed Rose Bowl merchandise will be sold and corporate exhibitors will give out samples of their products.

Fanfest passport holders can get an up-close view of volunteer workers putting finishing touches on Rose Parade floats at two locations around the Rose Bowl, as well as at float-building sites at 835 S. Raymond Ave. in Pasadena and at 2100 Buena Vista St. in Duarte. (Float viewing without a passport is $4.)

Tours of the Tournament of Roses Museum and a sneak peek at the interior of the Rose Bowl are also included in the deal.

On Friday and Saturday, visitors can watch Rose Parade drill teams and other horse-and-rider groups strut their stuff for free at Equestfest, in Lot H, outside the Fanfest grounds. Sponsored by H.J. Heinz, the Old West-themed event includes camel races, roping and riding demonstrations, country music, Civil War camps and panning for gold. Equestfest hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Also on Friday and Saturday, Bandfest gets underway in Lot K, adjacent from Fanfest, from 1 to 4 p.m. Admission is $5, but the stands fill quickly with friends and relatives of the high school band members, in this preview of their march down Colorado Boulevard on Monday.

Finally, on Sunday, the public is invited to the Rose Bowl Game Kickoff Luncheon at noon; admission is $45. Guests include the Rose Queen and her Princesses, the coaches, athletes and other dignitaries, and the induction into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame take place during the event. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster.

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* Fanfest, Rose Bowl, Pasadena. Today-Saturday, 9 a.m.-6 p.m., Sunday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. A Fanfest passport for $10 is good all four days for admission to the stadium tour, museum, float decorating, Sports Village and Expo Village. Information: (626) 449-4100.

* Bandfest, Friday-Saturday, 1-4 p.m., Lot K. Admission is $5.

Equestfest, Friday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Lot H. Admission is free.

* Kickoff luncheon, noon Sunday, at Tournament Pavilion, Rose Bowl, Lot K. $45; parking is free. (213) 480-3232, (714) 740-2000.