Rose Parade

Rose Parade float viewing Rose Parade floats will be on public display today and Sunday along Sierra Madre and Washington boulevards in Pasadena: Admission: $7; children age 5 and under are admitted for free Hours: 7 to 9 a.m. for the mobility impaired and seniors age 65 and older; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. for the general public Getting there: Parking is limited, but shuttle service is available from the Rose Bowl...

They had a nice little Inauguration Day on Monday in Washington. A bit nippy -- mid-20s to mid-40s -- but no Arctic blast of cold air or snow. That really nasty stuff is expected Tuesday. And that's why it's time to move this whole inauguration deal someplace else; someplace that has great winter weather. FULL COVERAGE: 57th presidential inauguration Los Angeles. Every four years it's the same in D.C.: They roll the weather dice. Some years, like this one, they win. And sometimes -- as in JFK's bitterly cold and snowy inaugural in 1961, and Ronald Reagan's historically cold day in 1985 -- they lose.

The public can watch workers put finishing touches on Rose Parade floats. Admission is $10; children ages 5 and younger get in free. Across from the Rose Bowl Stadium Rosemont Pavilion: 700 Seco St., Pasadena Brookside Pavilion (tent): Lot I, on the south side of the Rose Bowl Stadium Hours: Dec. 29 and 30: 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Dec. 31: 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. Jan. 1: 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. Elsewhere in Pasadena Rose Palace: 835 S. Raymond Ave. Hours: Dec. 29-31: 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Jan. 1: 9 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Re "Lifeline for worried parents," Column, Dec. 30 The cause of the recent mass shootings perpetrated by mentally ill gunmen is not the guns themselves but our government, which has antiquated laws that make it extremely difficult for family members who try to help their loved ones with serious mental illness to get well. Fifty percent of those with serious mental illness have no reasoning ability, nor are they in touch with reality. The National Institute on Mental Health says this is the reason people are not capable of seeking or staying in treatment.

Re "A parade grows up," Opinion, Jan. 1 While I applaud a Rose Parade with more diversity and variety, I was thrown off when Patt Morrison described the military heroes and astronauts who have served as grand marshals as "lagging behind the culture. " Sure, actors like John Wayne and Roy Rogers had had their best years behind them when they were the marshals, but they were each very accomplished. Would you rather have Kim Kardashian? Despite a few uninspired and perhaps lackluster characters over the years, the Rose Parade deserves a little bit more credit for its choice of personnel.

Sweepstakes trophy: Dole, "Preserving Paradise" Grand marshal's, for most creative concept and design: Discover Card, "The Dream Believers" President's, for most effective use and presentation of flowers: Republic of Indonesia's Ministry of Tourism & Creative Economy, "Wonderful Indonesia" Lathrop K. Leishman, for most beautiful entry from a non-commercial sponsor: Kaiser Permanente, "Every Body Walk" Director's, ...

It's just a parade, after all, a once-a-year parade, so in the grand scheme of things, the Tournament of Roses Parade doesn't matter - until it does. And it does. There's a paradox at the core of Pasadena's pretty street party. What began in 1890 as Pasadena's way of flaunting its midwinter pleasures became an internationally televised civic institution. Be careful what you wish for, and all that. PHOTOS: The Rose Parade through the years When the world began watching, this parade - more puritanical than Mardi Gras, more glamorous than Macy's Thanksgiving Day balloons - turned into the face of all of Southern California, and thus it came not to be regarded as Pasadena's private shindig any more.

Friday morning, the 56 floral floats, 22 marching bands and 25 equestrian units in the 110th Rose Parade will display the results of months of planning and hard work as they make their way down Colorado Boulevard. PARADE FACTS 81st Rose Queen Christina Leanne Farrell will reign over this year's parade after being selected from among more than 800 young women from the Pasadena area.

Stories about the impossibly gorgeous floats that fill Pasadena on New Year's Day are as ubiquitous this time of year as holiday gift cards. But a half-hour documentary airing at 3 p.m. Sunday on KTLA is hard to resist. The title says it all: "The Making of the World's Longest Rose Parade Float Featuring Tillman, the World's Fastest Skateboarding Bulldog." If there had been more room on the DVD screener, the producers should have added "Only This Time He Snowboards." Yes, it's true.

It's hard to say which is the weightier duty -- selecting a theme for the presidential inauguration or for the Rose Parade. Both rites of the new year have announced their operating principle for 2013. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) did the honors Thursday, as chairman of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies (JCCIC for you insiders). The Tournament of Roses people named their 2013 parade just days after the 2012 march down Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena.

Re "A parade grows up," Opinion, Jan. 1 While I applaud a Rose Parade with more diversity and variety, I was thrown off when Patt Morrison described the military heroes and astronauts who have served as grand marshals as "lagging behind the culture. " Sure, actors like John Wayne and Roy Rogers had had their best years behind them when they were the marshals, but they were each very accomplished. Would you rather have Kim Kardashian? Despite a few uninspired and perhaps lackluster characters over the years, the Rose Parade deserves a little bit more credit for its choice of personnel.

Rose Parade spectator Miriam Pazz was snapping photos of a float honoring military dogs when it came to an abrupt halt. A man bounded off the platform in combat boots and fatigues. It was her husband, who she thought was still in Afghanistan. The crowd leaped up in a standing ovation as 4-year-old Eric Pazz II dashed from the sidewalk and into the arms of his father, Army Sgt. 1st Class Eric Pazz, 32. Moments later, the family locked in an embrace seen by hundreds of millions of parade viewers around the world.

It's just a parade, after all, a once-a-year parade, so in the grand scheme of things, the Tournament of Roses Parade doesn't matter - until it does. And it does. There's a paradox at the core of Pasadena's pretty street party. What began in 1890 as Pasadena's way of flaunting its midwinter pleasures became an internationally televised civic institution. Be careful what you wish for, and all that. PHOTOS: The Rose Parade through the years When the world began watching, this parade - more puritanical than Mardi Gras, more glamorous than Macy's Thanksgiving Day balloons - turned into the face of all of Southern California, and thus it came not to be regarded as Pasadena's private shindig any more.

Byoung Baek flew out from Rochester, N.Y., on Christmas Day for the Rose Parade. But she didn't come for the weather or the revelry or the spectacle. She traveled to Pasadena to pay a debt she has owed for 60 years. Baek was a youngster in South Korea when American troops helped preserve her fledgling nation's sovereignty by repelling communist-backed invaders from North Korea. FULL COVERAGE: 2013 Rose Parade The war would last three years, from 1950 to 1953. Baek and other Koreans, children during the war, would spend decades steeped in its legacy.

Hannah Storm, one of ESPN's morning anchors, returned to work Tuesday, three weeks after a serious burn accident, by helping host coverage of the Rose Parade in Pasadena. Storm was burned when a propane barbecue she was using at her home in Connecticut sent a wall of fire toward her after she tried to relight the burner. "It was like you see in a movie, it happened in a split-second," she said. "A neighbor said he thought a tree had fallen through the roof, it was that loud. It blew the doors off the grill.

Pasadena is awash in white and cardinal red, and that should result in lots of green for local retailers. The Rose Parade, a Pasadena tradition for more than 120 years, is expected to draw between 700,000 and 1 million visitors on New Year's Day, about the same as last year, said Paul Little, chief executive of the Pasadena Chamber of Commerce. The parade viewing numbers are often impacted by the teams that play in the Rose Bowl game, and the fans that attend the game. This year's matchup -- Stanford University versus the University of Wisconsin -- should have a strong following, Little said.

Night has fallen, so they work by streetlamp light. Matt Rodriguez reviews the route with the driver. "Basically, same as last time," he says, pulling on the bill of his cap. "Use your radio." His wife, Katie, untangles an electrical cord, her brow furrowed and eyes focused. Behind them rises an enormous bald eagle, whose 17-foot wingspan serves as a backdrop for two fighter planes frozen in midair. Fashioned from foam, steel and a fanciful imagination, the eagle will land soon on a Pasadena street.

The Rose Parade is Pasadena's premier event, but its 2013 grand marshal admits she learned about it only after receiving her title. "When you grow up in England and spend all your time in Tanzania ... I hadn't heard of the Rose Parade," Jane Goodall said. "It was only gradually that I realized what a big honor it is. " Goodall is perhaps best known for setting up shop in 1960 in what is now Tanzania to conduct what would become groundbreaking research on wild chimpanzees. Now 78, she remains focused on issues involving conservation, crisscrossing the globe to visit schools and give lectures.

The Occupy movement will be making a repeat appearance at the 2013 Tournament of Roses Parade, organizers and police said Monday. A 15-foot-high float, with "Mr. Monopoly" riding a red wagon, will wheel its way down the 5.5-mile route at the conclusion of the parade, organizers said. The board game character, intended to represent bankers, will have strings attached to participants who are on the verge of losing their homes or have lost their homes to foreclosure. "It symbolizes the grip the banks have on individual homeowners," said Carlos Marroquin, an organizer with Occupy Fights Foreclosures.