Families Keep Rose Parade Tradition Alive

Families laughing, taking photos — some even camped out on the sidewalk, wrapped in sleeping bags — filled the streets of Pasadena for the 2023 Tournament of Roses Parade.
The 134th annual parade welcomed swaths of attendees Monday from South Pasadena, surrounding cities and others from across the nation to turn the corner into the new year.
The South Pasadena float won the Tournament’s Bob Hope Humor award for the community-built float that proved to be “the most whimsical and amusing,” parade officials said, among all the other float entries.
According to the city of Pasadena, more than 800,000 people from all over the world converged on Pasadena in the days leading up to the New Year to witness the Rose Parade, which this year returned without COVID-19 restrictions in place.
Parade watchers flooded into the cross streets of Orange Grove and Colorado boulevards to witness the annual New Year’s tradition, with its history spanning back to the 1800s.
Even at 6 a.m., the anticipation for the parade was heightened by the sold-out Rose Bowl football game later in the day between Pennsylvania State and Utah State universities.
Patrice Van Dam just turned 50 and had grown up wanting to go to the Rose Parade and Rose Bowl Game. This year, she finally made it to her first Tournament of Roses because of her son, who is a student at Utah State University.
“The Rose Bowl and the Rose Parade is a bucket list of mine. … My son goes to University of Utah,” Van Dam said of her decision to splurge for the events.
“Growing up in [Northern] California, I’ve always wanted to go … this is the perfect experience. … It’s been super fun, we came down and it’s an amazing vibe,” she said, dressed in her Utah gear.
Van Dam was speaking with Kristie Mendoza, a Pomona resident, before the Rose Parade started.
“I helped build the El Salvador float when I was pregnant with my son, who is now 28, so I love coming here every year. This is the thing I do,” Mendoza said.
“A friend of my daughter helped us get tickets and I’ve never been this close to everything. … I love the energy, being down here, we’re so excited. Not wearing any masks, I can meet someone new and not be so concerned. We can see people smile again,” she said.
The theme of the Rose Parade was “Turning the Corner,” in reference to the corner where rose floats, marching bands, equestrian performances and others turn right on Orange Grove onto Colorado.
Though many families and attendees were packed into bleachers on the corner of these boulevards, walking along the stretch of Orange Boulevard, in the opposite direction of the famous corner where media outlets find their coverage; there are families who have camped out as a longtime tradition or spontaneous outing.
Lake Forest resident Juan Rodriguez sat with his two children in a tent that they camped out on Orange Grove to see the parade lineup pass by on the way to the corner of Orange Grove and Colorado Boulevards.
“This is the second year I’ve been here — it’s the first year with my kids. We camped by tent. … and it’s been a great experience with the kids,” Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez said he’s attempting to make attending the Rose Parade a tradition for his children, in fact, his children asked to camp and see the parade because their father attended the Rose Parade alone in the past.
Joshua Rodriguez, 5th grade, said he was excited to see the Rose Parade after seeing it on TV. His sister, Yadaira Rodriguez, who is in 3rd grade, said she was also excited to camp out for the Rose Parade.
“When I was in the car, I was sleeping the whole time. But, when I arrived it was hard to sleep for me. … [we asked our Dad to come] to see the Rose Parade in real life,” Yadaira said.
“I recommend that people bring their family and enjoy the parade because it’s an amazing experience,” Juan Rodriguez said.
“Especially when you have little kids, they will never forget this experience,” he said.
South Pasadena resident Christina Vaughan found her experience camping out for the parade with her family to be memorable.
Vaughan began camping out almost 24 hours before the start of the Rose Parade and had not left since, sleeping on thin-cushioned mats and insulated blankets with her family. She was joined by her two sisters, her daughter and their children.
Vaughan said it was colder than she thought it would be, however, there were some fun things about camping out, such as meeting their neighbor campers.
Jim and Dyana Geddie were camped out across the street from the Vaughans.
Dyana Geddie grew up in Pasadena, close to the Rose Parade route.
“My grandparents used to live a couple of blocks from here and we would drive in the morning and sit on a camper [van] and have good seats. It’s a tradition in our family, for the last 50 years, we’ve come as a family and now we bring our kids and hope to bring our grandkids soon,” she said.
Dyana Geddie said that since that time, her family has kept the same spot for 23 years on Orange Grove Boulevard.
Jim Geddie gave more background on the family tradition and said, “My wife’s grandfather lived around here and they used to come out every morning to do this. When our son was 2 years old, we started camping out and now it’s been about 25 years.”
“It’s always fun and it’s a tradition. The whole family comes out and we spend time together. … You get to know everyone all around you. We’ve known some of these people, even if they’re not family, for years and we take pictures with them. Some of them are here, some of them have passed on but it’s still good to see everybody once a year and spend one day together. It’s a family atmosphere,” he said.
“You just sit around and play games and laugh all night… [the game we play] is usually Farkle but, when the street closes down, it’s touch football in the street,” Jim Geddie said about the hours in between setting up camp and the start of the parade.
“Everyone in their life has to see the Rose Parade in person at least once,” Dyana Geddie said about her lifelong experience attending the New Year’s parade.
“To see the details and the floats because you can’t see those details on the TV. It’s an experience — everyone is so happy and friendly and kind and it’s what you wish the world would be like every day, but you get it here,” Dyana Geddie said.