The City of Roses Offers a Garden Full of Options
For the first time in the history of the Tournament of Roses, the Rose Parade and Rose Bowl Game will be held on different days. To help fill the gap between the parade, at 8 a.m. New Year’s Day, and the game, at 5 p.m. next Thursday, Pasadena will produce “a virtual theme park” for visitors to the City of Roses.
At the center of it all is Fanfest, which runs Saturday through Wednesday in the Arroyo Seco, site of the Rose Bowl.
You don’t have to be a Miami or Nebraska fan to get into the spirit of the game, or to take part in the interactive sports and children’s activities or to explore the 20,000-square-foot Rose Bowl museum tent.
The public can also see the always-spectacular parade floats getting their finishing touches, Friday through Monday.
Saturday and Sunday are the biggest days of Fanfest, when a chili cook-off and exhibitions by Rose Parade equestrian teams and marching bands (Equestfest and Bandfest) are added to the mix.
For young children, Home Depot will oversee the Kids Korner, where future do-it-yourselfers can tool around, and Pasadena’s YMCA and Kidspace Museum will host a Child’s Play area.
“We don’t know how people are going to respond” to the schedule change, admits Rick Jackson, Fanfest chairman. “But we’ve got some fabulous exhibits this year; we’ve added probably another 20,000 square feet for Fanfest.”
Free events include the Equestfest and the chili cook-off. The Bandfest, Sports and Expo villages, Tournament of Roses Museum and an up-close view of the float decorating will cost $5 each (an all-event pass is available in advance for $17).
There is plenty of free parking in the arroyo, although it might get crowded New Year’s Day, Jackson said, because some parade-goers traditionally park at the Rose Bowl.
“Within walking distance of the arroyo is somewhere between 200,000 and 300,000 people,” he said. “If we only get 10% of that, we’re going to have our hands full.”
New: The Food Bowl
Along with the extra day of Fanfest, several new events are designed to keep patrons in Pasadena until game time.
The most ambitious is the Food Bowl in Old Pasadena, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Wednesday.
Colorado Boulevard will be closed to traffic for this “eats and arts” fair, which will offer food, music on two stages, celebrity chef Creation Stations, ice carving competitions and a Children’s Village (at the One Colorado courtyard). Participating restaurants range from Twin Palms, a fixture of Old Pasadena, to the new branch of Border Grill.
“It was obvious to me: Close Colorado Boulevard and have a big celebration,” said Maggie Campbell, the Old Pasadena Management District executive who came up with the idea for Food Bowl. Before relocating to Pasadena this year, Campbell was in charge of A Taste of Dallas.
Though no one knows whether the Food Bowl idea will succeed, Campbell is impressed by the way the businesses have worked together, calling Pasadena a “city that has a century of experience.”
Unlike the Rose Bowl, admission to the Food Bowl is free.
On Sunday only, a free shuttle will travel between Old Pasadena, the Fanfest and the Northwest Renaissance Festival, a one-day multicultural street fair, from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. at the Jackie Robinson Center, 1020 N. Fair Oaks Ave. Admission to the festival, in honor of the onetime Pasadena athlete, is free. An exhibit on Robinson is $5.
On game day, there are two pre-Rose Bowl parties from which to choose. One is free, the other is $30.
The pricier event, adjacent to the Rose Bowl, includes interactive football games, food concessions, merchandise vendors and a concert featuring KC and the Sunshine Band, America, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy and others, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Across town on Lake Avenue, from Green Street to California Boulevard, a free pre-game party offers music, football-related contests, children’s activities and tailgating treats, noon-5 p.m.
For a schedule of other activities, which also include the kickoff luncheon, pep rallies, pre- and post-parade float viewing schedules and a bus tour of historic Pasadena, call the hotline or visit the Web sites below.
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Fanfest, Saturday-Monday, 9 a.m.-6 p.m.; Tuesday, 10:30 a.m.-6 p.m.; Wednesday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Parking free; admission free to $5. Arroyo Seco, Pasadena. Pasadena Arts buses offer free service between Lake Avenue and Old Pasadena. Information hotline: (626) 793-9911 (starting Friday), or log on to the Web sites www.oldpasadena.org or tournamentofroses.com.
