Photos: Despite a canceled Rose Parade, the faithful still cruise the route
Jim Safford stops to take a photo of a deserted Colorado Boulevard early on New Year’s Day. The 2021 Rose Parade in Pasadena was canceled for the first time since 1945 due to COVID-19.
For the first time since 1945, the Rose Parade in Pasadena has been canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite that, enthusiasts still planned to cruise the parade route on New Year’s Eve and Day, as they have done for decades.
The Sultans Car Club in Long Beach, which was part of the New Year’s Day cruise, encouraged participants on its website to socially distance, wear a mask and “bring a rose or two or more.”
“It’s a Rose Parade Cruise,” the web page announced. “A fellow named Dick Ur told us that he had a dream, which consisted of classic cars cruising all along the rose parade route, with at least one rose in— or on every car.”
New Year’s Day
Sultans Car Club of Long Beach scheduled a “Rose Parade Cruise” on Friday morning along Colorado Boulevard.
(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
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Sultans Car Club of Long Beach decorated their classic cars with roses before driving down Colorado Boulevard.
(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
Curtis McKendrick, left, and his father, Robert McKendrick, form their own 2021 Rose Parade along Colorado Boulevard.
(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
Cece Horne, a longtime Pasadena resident, visits Rose Parade Tournament House, where Americans For Democratic Action Southern California held a rally in memory of the 350,000 COVID-19 victims in the U.S.
(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
New Year’s Eve
Lowriders arrive at the Orchard Hardware parking lot for a meet-up before setting out to cruise the Rose Parade route on New Year’s Eve, as they have done for decades.
(Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)
Tata Acosta, right, and son Markie Acosta, second from left, meet up with other lowriders after driving in from Minnesota for the New Year’s Eve lowrider cruise in Pasadena.
(Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)
Lucas Lepins rides around the Orchard Hardware parking lot with other lowriders before the traditional cruise.
(Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)
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Lucky Lepins in his lowrider on New Year’s Eve.
(Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)
Lucas Lepins, seen through his rearview mirror.
(Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)
A classic car cruises Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena. For the first time since 1945, the Rose Parade has been canceled.
(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
Lalo Alonso, in a 1964 VW bus, cruises on Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena.
(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
With the Rose Parade canceled, a prime spot for viewing the annual event on Colorado Boulevard is empty.
(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
Jim Keatley, with dog Archie, walks by Wrigley Mansion, the headquarters of the Pasadena Tournament of Roses on Orange Grove Boulevard.
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