This year, the Tournament of Roses' 123rd Rose Parade is taking place on Monday, January 2, 2012. Yep, the 2nd, not the 1st. So why is that? more ›

Pasadena's 2012 Tournament of Roses will feature its first-ever Rose Parade float dedicated to HIV/AIDS awareness. The L.A.-based AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) announced today that it will dedicate its float to actress Elizabeth Taylor for her "nearly three-decade-long advocacy and compassion on behalf of people with HIV/AIDS." more ›

The Pasadena Tea Party Patriots, also known as TEAPAC, requested to march their conservative political agenda into the Rose Parade today. Occupy the Rose Parade has approved plans to demonstrate at the January 2 event, and TEAPAC has asked the Tournament of Roses for the same consideration. more ›

The mission to Occupy the Rose Parade is probably going to be pretty tame and you might have to squint a little to notice anything is going on if you're watching on your TV at home. more ›

Occupy Wall Street has set its sights on a new street: Colorado Boulevard. The Rose Parade that goes down Colorado has the rapt attention of millions of TV viewers and loads of corporate sponsors. What better place for the Occupy Wall Street movement to stage a protest and catch Middle America's attention? more ›

She's the 94th young lady to wear the crown and bear the title of Rose Queen: Drew Helen Washington, 16, was named today to the highest position in the royal court, and she will preside over the pomp and circumstance (and controversial floats) of the 123rd Tournament of Roses Parade and the 98th Rose Bowl Game. more ›

Entertainment elephants are a hot topic this summer, drawing droves of animal rights advocates, notably PETA, to protest Fully Charged - Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey's new show - and prompting the band Styx to protest elephant rides at the L.A. County Fair. Now Glendale City Council members are rethinking the circus elephant-centric float for Glendale's entry in 2012's Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade. more ›

Facing massive budget deficits, some Southern California cities are unable to raise the money necessary to represent with a float in the 2012 Rose Parade. more ›

Do you love a parade? Do you love a parade that has been marched for 121 previous years, comes covered in petals and seeds, includes a ton of marching bands, precedes a major college football match-up, draws in thousands of people to the streets of Pasadena before dawn, and gets broadcast all over the world on New Year's Day? Okay, well, you probably love the Rose Parade. If you're planning on heading to Pasadena to join the throngs of intrepid over-nighters (or early morning-ers) here is the route map. For those less fond of the annual event, here's exactly where you don't want to be tomorrow morning. more ›

The floats are being decorated in Irwindale, and every last blossom will be fixed in place before the pageantry gets underway Saturday morning. Along the parade route, Pasadena Police are ensuring that motor homes and other attendees are following the laws and not causing any trouble. more ›

It's float decorating time again and volunteers have been tirelessly trimming and gluing away in Pasadena and Irwindale in preparation for the big day. Here are photos of a few floats that just might glide past you as you sit in your lawn chairs with your blankets and thermos and snacks and cheery hangover. more ›

Rose Parade junkies, get your texting fingers ready! For the second year in a row, The Tournament of Roses is giving you the chance to text all your pre-Parade questions about bands, horses and the oh so glee-inducing float decorating in one easy step. (Or thirty easy steps, if you ask thirty questions between now and then. You know who you are.) more ›

Before The Food Network's butter-loving queen bee Paula Deen wishes us a Happy New Year at the 2011 Rose Parade, the beloved Southern cook is talking about Thanksgiving, reports the Pasadena Star-News. Deen's love of Turkey Day is a simple as "F" words. Not "F" bombs, y'all, but rather these three congenial words: Food, family, and friends. The TV personality will be cooking at home for this holiday, but come January 1st, 2011, she'll be riding down Colorado Blvd. in the 122nd annual Tournament of Roses Parade. more ›

Help Lassie! Timmy's trapped in a 4-foot-deep water tank in Pacoima! More than 100 "It-dogs" peddled their paddling talents at a casting call on Monday for a spot on the Point Break Live cast 'Havin' a Splash' float in the upcoming 122nd Tournament of the Roses Parade. It could only happen here. Or anywhere else there are cute dogs and parades. more ›

The Food Network's Queen of butter-laden Southern cuisine Paula Deen has been named as the Grand Marshal of the 2011 Rose Parade. Deen will toss the coin before the 97th Rose Bowl Game and ride in the 122nd Rose Parade in Pasadena on New Year's Day. more ›

After several months and several rounds, the Pasadena Tournament of Roses named Evanne Elizabeth Friedmann as the 93rd Rose Queen today. Friedmann, 17, is a senior at La Cañada High School, where she is active in the choir, as the class videographer, and in several academic groups. The former model and improv troupe member will reign over the 122nd Rose Parade on New Year's Day in Pasadena. more ›

The Tournament of Roses Thursday announced the 31 finalists for its Royal Court. On Monday morning the final seven, otherwise known as the Royal Court, will be announced. That group, which will include the Queen, will reign over the January 1st parade on their own float, but will also attend some 150 events throughout the year. more ›

Although the marching bands have put away their drums and trumpets and the princesses' crowns are resting on velvet pillows, there's still a chance for folks in the Los Angeles area to get an up-close look at the floats that traveled down Colorado Boulevard yesterday morning as part of the 121st Tournament of Roses Parade. The public is invited to check out the floats on display along Sierra Madre and Washington boulevards today and tomorrow from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m., according to KTLA. more ›

If you're planning to drive on the 134, 210 or 710 on New Year's Eve or Friday morning, heed Caltrans' warning as there will be various ramp and lane closures occurring due to the Tournament of Roses. Thursday, December 31, 2009 to Friday, January 1, 2010 Glendale Freeway (SR-134) · 8 p.m. to 11 a.m. - Eastbound Orange Grove Boulevard off-ramp. · 2 a.m. to 12 p.m. - Westbound Orange Grove Boulevard on-ramp. more ›

As mentioned earlier, there are various activities preceding the Tournament of Roses on Friday. If you're kicking around on your holiday break doing nothing, checking out float decoration is a good idea (map of locations is below). more ›

As Southern California's major parade of the year approaches, Tournament of the Roses officials have launched a new feature in which people can text questions through Thursday for an answer. "I saw an article in the paper announcing the text messaging for guests, making people aware that it existed," Acting TofR President Jeff Throop told the Pasadena Star News about his visit to the Calgary Stampede, an outdoor festival in Canada. "And I go, `Wow, that's perfect and we should be doing it for our event. How can we get this done?"' more ›

The reasoning to give us 24 hour train service is not because it's New Year's Eve--we'll still take it--it's to shuffle thousands of people to the Tournament of the Roses parade and Rose Bowl game the morning after. more ›

He's been called a hero, even a stud, and now he's the Grand Marshal of the Rose Parade. Captain Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger was the man at the helm when his US Airways jet with 155 people aboard landed in New York City's Hudson River earlier this year. He has nearly 600,000 fans on Facebook and gave Hugh Jackman a good run for his money in a TMZ "Who'd you rather do" contest. And despite his fame out East, he's actually from California. more ›

16-year-old Natalie Innocenzi from Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy became the 92nd Rose Queen, officials with Tournament of Roses announced this morning. 1,000 girls tried out with only seven making it to the Royal Court. Innocenzi will ride on the Macy's Float during the festivities on New Year's Day. more ›

There's still time to see the parade floats without the whole parade part. The post parade Showcase of the Floats runs today and tomorrow at the end of the parade route on Sierra Madre Blvd. An estimated 150,000 people are going to attend just this part, so there are shuttles to and from the Sierra Madre Gold Line station and a few park and ride lots. And if you want to be super fancy, download the audio tour from iTunes before you go. more ›

There are 90 entries in the 120th Tournament of Roses Parade, for which the theme this year is "Hats Off to Entertainment." The floats, as usual, promise to blend hokey with interesting, all bedecked in all manner and sort of flora. The Pasadena Star-News has a full listing and description of every float and act; they seem to generally stick with the theme of entertainment, although many drift into the community and family themes. more ›

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Today is the first day you can see the floats for Thursday's parade. People will still be putting the final touches on them, but if you don't plan on attending or watching on TV, this your alternative. Some people find this more fun anyway. more ›

Banned for a little over a month now, Pasadena police will be out making sure smokers don't light up along the parade route at next week's Tournament of the Roses. They plan to educate people rather than enforce, but if someone refuses to put out their cigarette, the first ticket is $100 and further violations go up to $500. more ›

At 45 years old, Charles Phoenix has achieved a sort of legendary status in Southern California and beyond. Though he is well known for his Disneyland tours of Los Angeles, Phoenix has toured this country in search of the kitschiest cities and most vibrant offenders of class. His travels have brought him to Tulsa, Portland and Denver, which he calls the most kitschy city in the nation. But he calls Silver Lake home and has devoted extensive hours to documenting the history of Los Angeles and its environs in the most unique way one can. more ›