It is New Year\’s Eve, and the time is up for the preparation of the floats for the 126th Annual Tournament of Roses Parade with will begin at 8:00 AM on January 1, 2015. I began my day by heading back out to Irwindale and Fiesta Parade Floats, the leading award winning float-builder in the Tournament of Roses Parade.
I lucked out today as I happened to arrive at Fiesta Floats after they had begun removing some floats from the building they were built in, giving me the ability to take some photos without dozens (or hundreds) of people vying for position to take their photos. If you have been following the progression of the float construction you can see that the Torrance entry dedicated to hometown hero, Louis Zamperini, came out very nice. It will be one of the first floats in tomorrow\’s parade. Continue reading
If you will recall, last week I headed out to Fiesta Parade Floats to take photos of the floats they were building for the upcoming 125th Tournament of Roses Parade. It was December 23 and at that point the floats were virtual skeletons; waiting for December 26 when the actual decorating could begin. The parade rules state that all surfaces of the float framework must be covered in natural materials; usually flowers and seeds. Since these natural materials have a tendency to decay after they are plucked from the ground, the decorating does not begin until December 26. The decorating must be completed by the evening of December 30 so that the floats can be judged on December 31.
Yesterday, December 30 I headed back out to Fiesta Parade Floats in Irwindale to see how progress was coming along. The first thing I noticed was how great it smelled in there with thousands upon thousands of flowers; most already on the floats, but some still waiting to be applied. One of the volunteers told me that they got a slow start because of the extremely warm weather we have been experiencing, but it was obvious that most of the floats were very close to completion.
After I left Irwindale I headed out to the Rose Bowl Stadium parking lot, having been invited by the California Cut Flower Commission (CCFC) to come photograph the float by entered by California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly). Last year the CCFC reached out to me because approximately 80% of all cut flowers sold in the United States are imported from other countries. The CCFC and California flower farmers were working with the Cal Poly Universities and the City of South Pasadena to ensure that more than 85% of the flowers used on their floats were American grown, specifically from California’s flower farms. This year, Cal Poly is the only certified \”California Grown\” float in the parade with more than 85% of the flowers used to decorate the float being sourced from California flower farmers. Continue reading
Day three of the 8th Annual American Craft Beer Week (ACBW) found us out in Pasadena at the Stone Brewing, Company Store. When it comes to venerable Southern California, award winning breweries, it would be pretty tough to beat Stone Brewing. Stone Brewing had the first California beer tasting room that I visited on a regular basis, but it is out in Escondido which is a 100 mile ride. Fortunately, it is a pretty nice ride and Stone makes some quality beer. Recently, Stone Brewing opened a company store at the Del Mar Metro station. It is not nearly as nice of a ride, but it is at least 70 miles closer; and I get to visit my daughter, who lives down the street.
After enjoying a flight of award winning beers from Stone Brewing Company, we headed over to Haven Gastropub to meet my daughter for dinner. Haven brews on location now, and they have a very nice guest tap list. You can read about the experience at both locations on CraftBeerGuy.com. Continue reading
The running community is a pretty tight group; if I had any doubt about that before, the events of the past few days, culminating with the Unity Run Pasadena, erased any doubts I may have had. These photos were taken today at the Unity Run Pasadena, a 5K which was held today at the Rose Bowl; the event included members of at least 16 different running clubs in the area as well as individuals that came from at least as far away as Riverside participating to remember the victims of the Boston Marathon 2013 terrorist attack.
As events unfolded in Boston on April 15, John Beatty, vice president of Pasadena Pacers Running Club in California, was at work and already thinking that he had to do something to get local runners and their supporters out running again as soon as possible. He wanted to put on an event to show some unity in the running world. He decided a 5K (about 3 miles) would be a nice run that people would not have to train for, and he knew that a lap around the Rose Bowl would be just right. The problem is that the Rose Bowl can only have a certain number of \”events\” per year, so this would have to have less than 1,500 participants and a few other rules to abide by. By Wednesday evening, they had been given the green light and the Unity Run was formed on Facebook. Continue reading
Tanya has been feeling a lot better lately; so much better that she actually forgot to take the shots that she is usually counting down the days before she can use again. Trust me when I say, this is a very good thing. We have been tied up at home lately, Tanya especially as she has been doing some website design for a few new clients. Since she had some free time and the weather was in the mid-70\’s, I knew I had to get her out of the house. My friends at BeersInParadise.com told me that Stone Brewing Co was going to be pouring their latest Enjoy By 04.01.13 at the Pasadena store, so I came up with the brilliant idea of heading to Descanso Gardens with a planned stop at the Stone Brewing store to pick up some Enjoy By to bring home and to try the tap version.
After visiting the Stone Brewing store for a while, Tanya decided we should eat, so we stopped by the Congregation Ale House which was a block away. They were having a Stone Week, which made it a challenge to find something for Tanya, but Congregation has a very wide selection of beers, so you can find one for just about anyone.
The watermark on these photos was donated to the Rheumatoid Patient Foundation, because not everyone with RA is able to enjoy days like today. Continue reading
These photos are of the floats of the 124th Annual Tournament of Roses Parade which was held Tuesday, January 1, 2013 in Pasadena, CA. As I took far too many photos to be viewed easily in one gallery, I broke the photos up into two groups; the floats of the parade and one of the people of the Rose Parade which includes the marching bands and equestrian units. This gallery includes all the floats as well as the cars transporting the Grand Marshal, President of the Tournament of Roses, Hall of Fame Inductees and others of that type. Due to the number of photos, you might find it easier to use the slideshow feature.
There were about 40 floats entered, several of which had been covered in my previous articles. I would like to once again thank the following for helping me gain access to watch the floats being built over the last month: Fiesta Parade Floats, Pollack PR Marketing Group and California Cut Flower Commission. The watermarks on the photos have been purchased by Got Web Host, who has been hosting web sites for personal and commercial use since 2002. The other half of the photos were watermarked as a donation to the Rheumatoid Patient Foundation, the only charity for victims of Rheumatoid Autoimmune Disease (RAD), also known as Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA). If you know someone that suffers from RA, please tell them about the Rheumatoid Patient Foundation; they will appreciate it. Continue reading
These photos were taken at the 124th Annual Tournament of Roses Parade, held January 1, 2013. Once again, I have taken too many photos to put in one gallery, so I have broken them up into two groups. This gallery consists of basically anything that was not a float; marching bands, equestrian units and basic people watching. I was set up at Colorado Boulevard and Allen Avenue, primarily on the southeast corner. As this is a very large gallery, you might find it easier to view using the slideshow feature; you can use the full screen option for the best viewing.
It was a cold morning, but that did not seem to dampen anyone\’s spirits. By the time the parade got down to us, I think most people had forgotten about the chill in the air. A portion of the watermarks on the photos have been purchased by Got Web Host, who has been hosting web sites for personal and commercial use since 2002. The other half of the photos were watermarked as a donation to the Rheumatoid Patient Foundation, the only charity for victims of Rheumatoid Autoimmune Disease (RAD), also known as Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA). If you know someone that suffers from RA, please tell them about the Rheumatoid Patient Foundation and perhaps consider making a small donation to the cause. Continue reading
These photos were taken Saturday at Lot I of the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena. Every once in a while, when I photograph a place or event, I will submit an accompanying article to CNN\’s iReport. I have a pretty good idea ahead of time whether or not they will find it suitable for use on CNN and I have a pretty good track record of getting vetted. I know that they have liked my photos from Candy Cane Lane and my coverage of the 123rd Annual Tournament of Roses Parade so it made sense for me to submit a pictorial using photos from my visits to Fiesta Parade Floats showing the preparation of some of the floats for this year\’s Rose Parade. While I was not surprised to be vetted, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that my article was named an Editor\’s Pick which resulted in the article being placed on the front page of CNN.com. As one might guess, this resulted in a lot of exposure for both the article and me. Of the thousands that read the report, one was a representative of the California Cut Flower Commission (CCFC).
In my CNN report I had mentioned that my access to Fiesta Parade Floats had been cut off for the float decorating and that I was seeking a float sponsor that could provide me with a media pass. The CCFC contacted CNN, got my contact information and contacted me with an offer to come photograph the decorating of the float being entered by Cal Poly Universities at the Rose Bowl Stadium. They also provided me with some background information that they felt I would find interesting enough to write about; they were right. Continue reading
It is Father\’s Day, and it has been a very nice weekend. Thursday afternoon, my son called and informed me the family was headed towards the South Bay after attending the LA Kings\’ Rally at Staples Center. He called asking for a good brewpub/gastropub locally that would have food for the kids as well as some nice craft beers. I named a few that we liked and he decided on The Rockefeller in Hermosa Beach. He then invited us to join them for a slightly early Father\’s Day since he was working Sunday. The food, company and beer were outstanding.
Last night, Tanya had suggested that if I wanted to get her out of the house today I should find somewhere that she could take pictures of flowers. We had talked before about buying a membership at South Coast Botanical Gardens as their pass gives you access to 250 other arboretums across the country. Since the Descanso Gardens was included in those 250 locations, and there was a gastropub I wanted to try in Pasadena; combined with the fact that my daughter lives in Pasadena, today was the day. Continue reading
These photos were taken at the first annual Rock ‘n’ Roll Pasadena Half Marathon, which was held this morning in Pasadena, CA as a benefit to Cure Mito. Cure Mito is an organization supporting Mitochondrial Disease advocacy, awareness and research. As mitochondrial disorders affect primarily children and includes diseases such as RAD, it was pretty much a given that I was going to get up early to cover this event.
The Rock \’n\’ Roll Marathon Series travels across the United States and parts of Europe, with each event supporting a different charity. The last event I attended in October raised monies for various charities, including ASPCA, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, TASK and St. Jude Hospital. This is a fun marathon as they set up stages with live bands performing along the course. The stage I was positioned at featured Rory Seldon with Inner Session. They played a nice mix of reggae and the runners seemed to enjoy them thoroughly. Continue reading