After patrolling the Rose Parade for decades as members of the Pasadena Police Department, Keith and Shelley Jones joked that they had had enough of the petals and pageantry and would never return.
But on Wednesday morning, there they were, sitting in the stands along Colorado Boulevard, as giddy from the floats and marching bands as their two young grandchildren beside them.
“For us it is a New Year's tradition. … We all love everything,” said Shelley Jones, 72, who was very excited to see the B-2 stealth bomber flying overhead.
The Joneses, of La Verne, bring their grandchildren, ages 8 and 10, to the parade each year, while their daughter and son-in-law, who are a Pasadena police detective and lieutenant, respectively, provide security for the event.
And while the 136th Rose Parade was a joyous occasion for the family, they were thinking about New Orleans, where, just hours earlier, a driver plowed into a crowd on Bourbon Street, killing at least 10 people and injuring dozens. in an alleged terrorist attack. .
“It's a tragedy,” said Keith Jones, 70. “It's a real shame. You feel for the families. Security has always been a concern, it has always been there, but it has definitely increased since 9/11.”
However, Jones, who was wearing a pair of shorts and a green puffy jacket, said he felt safe at the Rose Parade because of the significant police presence.
Crowds fill the stands along Colorado Blvd. as they watch the 136th Rose Bowl Parade.
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
Safety was a priority for Pasadena and Tournament of Roses officials Wednesday as hundreds of thousands of people lined the 5.5-mile route under a perfect blue sky, celebrating this year's parade theme: “The Best “everyone’s day.”
Tournament of Roses officials, who began the festivities with a moment of silence, said in a statement that they “extend our deepest condolences to the people of Louisiana and the city of New Orleans following the tragic events of this morning.”
“We stand in solidarity with the entire state during this difficult time.”
Around 3:15 a.m. Wednesday in New Orleans, a man drove a pickup truck into the crowd along Bourbon Street, which was packed with New Year's Eve revelers and visitors to the city for the Sugar Bowl college football game in New Orleans. the nearby Superdome.
New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said the driver, who was killed in a shootout with police, “was hell-bent on creating the carnage and damage he caused.” Authorities said the truck appeared to be carrying improvised explosive devices.
The 136th Rose Bowl Parade runs down Colorado Blvd in Pasadena, California on January 1, 2025. The parade's theme is “The Best Day Ever!” with Billie Jean King as Grand Marshal.
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
Lisa Derderian, a spokesperson for the city of Pasadena, told The Times on Wednesday that the Rose Parade “is a premier federal event, and has been for many years, so we have federal, state, county and city that have been in Pasadena for several days.”
More than 1,000 law enforcement officers were in town for the parade and Rose Bowl game, Derderian said. For the past few years, he added, the parade route has been lined with “very robust vehicle barriers.”
During last year's Rose Parade, a woman crashed her vehicle into one of the barricades along Colorado Boulevard, Derderian said.
“She could have easily hurt or killed people,” Derderian said. “He had a history of mental illness, was told not to cross the line, didn't listen, revved the engine and continued driving. “The barriers stopped her.”
For the fourth consecutive year, the state of Louisiana featured a float in the Rose Parade. This year's float, called “Louisiana Saturday Night,” featured a giant green alligator decorated with lime slices, broccoli florets, green peppers, Brussels sprouts, corn husks and cactus petals. On the alligator's back was a Cajun dance hall and pots of boiled seafood.
Mark Garcia, a retired Contra Costa County firefighter who camped overnight along Colorado Boulevard, said that while he was saddened by the news in New Orleans, he had “never felt safer” than he did in New Orleans. along the Rose Parade route Wednesday morning.
“There have been two or three police officers patrolling this block all night,” said Garcia, 58, adding that he felt comforted by the “huge police presence.”
A performer does cartwheels on one of the floats in the 136th Rose Bowl Parade down Colorado Blvd in Pasadena, California, on January 1, 2025.
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
Garcia, who lives in Danville, was attending the parade for the second time. He set up his campsite at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday morning, made friends with other overnighters, and was in great spirits, even though he only slept three hours in his cot while his family dozed in a van parked nearby.
“It's just a great show that brings so many people together. “Everyone is in a very good mood,” García said.
A few blocks away, Ángel Gutiérrez of Pasadena gathered with his family around a makeshift bonfire before the parade began.
Gutierrez also claimed his campsite early Tuesday morning, saying he preferred to camp for a full day and night, even in cold overnight weather, rather than shell out up to $125 each for grandstand seats that can fill up weeks in advance.
“I don't want to say it, but the stands are for boring people,” Gutiérrez said with a laugh. “Here you have all the experience, you can talk to different people.”
Gutiérrez has been attending the parade for about two decades, and his 10-year-old son, Rony Plascencia, has attended since he was a baby.
“It's about starting the year off right,” Rony said.
He added: “My New Year's resolution is for homeless people to get a home.”
The grand marshal of this year's Rose Parade was Billie Jean King, the tennis icon and gender equality activist who won 20 Wimbledon titles, 39 Grand Slam titles and attracted an audience of 90 million people in around the world for the 1973 televised “Battle of the Sexes” match in which he defeated former national tennis champion Bobby Riggs.
When she was announced as the parade's grand marshal in October, King, a Long Beach native, said “it's like a dream come true.”
“When I was a kid, the annual Tournament of Roses Parade was a big event in our house,” King, 81, said. “We used to talk about it all year long. … We looked forward to it every year.”
King, waving to the crowd with both hands, rode in a blue, flower-bedecked 1937 Rolls-Royce Phantom III with his wife, Ilana Kloss.
The 2021 Rose Parade was canceled for the first time since World War II due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It returned with a smaller crowd in 2022, but attendance has been growing in the years since.
Candy Carlson, a spokesperson for the Tournament of Roses, said in a statement to The Times that about 750,000 people lined the route in 2024, compared to about 700,000 in 2022, indicating a “strong return” to sizes. of crowds prior to the pandemic.
“The steady growth in attendance underscores the enduring appeal of the Rose Parade and the joy it brings to our community and visitors from around the world,” he said.
The parade was followed by the Rose Bowl game, now the quarterfinals of the College Football Playoff, between the Oregon Ducks and the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Susan and Leo Caviness traveled from Ohio to see their son perform with the Ohio State University Marching Band, which marched in the parade before the game. They weren't bothered by the 50-degree morning in Pasadena, which, for many Southern California attendees, qualified as cold.
“I'm really hot!” Susan Caviness said laughing.
