Friday, December 26, 2025

Up Next: Parade Week! Here’s All You Need to Know Before New Year’s Day Morning

In Pasadena, the Rose Parade does not simply arrive on New Year’s morning. It tiptoes in days earlier, bringing in glitter, marching-band drumlines, the smell of glue and crushed flowers,

By Sunday, the transformation is already well underway. At the Rosemont Pavilion, the float barns open their doors for Decorating Places, an irresistible invitation to watch the painstaking, petal-by-petal work that turns steel frames into airborne fantasies. Visitors wander through the hangar-sized space as volunteers wield tweezers with surgical devotion, attaching seeds, bark, beans, and blossoms in designs that will later glide down Colorado Boulevard at a stately two and a half miles per hour.

It is part craft fair, part miracle, and entirely Pasadena.

Monday brings an embarrassment of riches. In Burbank, Equestfest unfolds at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center, where horses from around the world perform with ceremonial seriousness, reminding spectators that the Rose Parade still honors its earliest roots. Back in Pasadena, the first of three Bandfests fills Robinson Stadium at Pasadena City College, transforming a football venue into a joyful proving ground for some of the finest marching bands on earth. The music is brassy, percussive, and unapologetically loud—exactly as it should be.

Bandfest continues through Tuesday, by which point the city is running on caffeine and anticipation. Between performances, many visiting bands participate in BandCares projects, quietly slipping offstage to deliver donations to local charities. Boxes of clothing, coloring books, and funds raised back home make their way to Altadena and Pasadena organizations still recovering from last year’s fires. The pageantry may draw the crowds, but it’s these small, untelevised moments that give the week its emotional ballast.

Wednesday offers a brief chance to exhale. The Rose Bowl Bash fills Lot K with games, music, and families soaking in the sense that something big is coming. Just before midnight, runners take over the parade route for the sold-out Run with the Roses 5K, charging through the darkened streets as if trying to outrun the calendar itself. When they cross the finish line in the early hours of New Year’s Day, the city is officially awake.

Thursday morning arrives early. Float awards are announced at dawn, and by 8 a.m., the 137th Rose Parade—this year themed “The Magic in Teamwork”—rolls forward, carried by volunteers, musicians, riders, and years of collective muscle memory. By afternoon, the floats reappear at Floatfest, parked nose to nose along Sierra Madre and Washington, inviting viewers to inspect every chrysanthemum and grain of rice up close.

And when most visitors head home, the celebration lingers. Floatfest continues through Friday and Saturday. Bands give encore performances. Donations are collected. Pasadena, having done what it does best—host the world with grace and logistical precision—slowly exhales.

By the time the last float is dismantled, the magic will already be gone. Which is, of course, exactly why everyone comes back next year.

Here’s what the week’s going to look like:

 

Monday · December 29

Decorating Places (Float Viewing)
Rosemont Pavilion
11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. (last entry 4:00 p.m.)

Equestfest
Los Angeles Equestrian Center, Burbank
Doors open 10:00 a.m.
Equestrian show: Noon – 3:00 p.m.
$26.50 adults · Free for kids 5 & under

Bandfest I
Robinson Stadium, Pasadena City College
2:00 p.m. (gates open 1 hour prior)
First look at world-class marching bands.

 

Tuesday · December 30

Decorating Places (Float Viewing)
Rosemont Pavilion
11:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. (last entry 5:00 p.m.)

Bandfest II
Robinson Stadium, Pasadena City College
10:00 a.m.

Bandfest III
Robinson Stadium, Pasadena City College
2:00 p.m.
Throughout the day, visiting bands also take part in BandCares community donations across Pasadena and Altadena.

 

Wednesday · December 31 (New Year’s Eve)

Rose Bowl Bash
Rose Bowl Stadium, Lot K
10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Free family-friendly festivities, games, and entertainment.

Run With the Roses 5K (Sold Out)
Starts in Old Pasadena
11:59 p.m. – 2:00 a.m.
A midnight dash along the Rose Parade route.

 

Thursday · January 1 (New Year’s Day)

Rose Parade Float Awards
Tournament House, Orange Grove Blvd.
6:00 a.m.

137th Rose Parade® presented by Honda
Colorado Boulevard, Pasadena
8:00 a.m. – approx. 10:00 a.m.
Theme: The Magic in Teamwork

Rose Bowl Game® (College Football Playoff Quarterfinal)
Rose Bowl Stadium
Pregame noon · Kickoff 1:00 p.m.
Indiana vs. Alabama

Floatfest: A Rose Parade Showcase
Sierra Madre Blvd. & Washington Blvd.
1:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. (last entry 4:00 p.m.)
Floats on display, up close, with shuttle access.

 

Friday · January 2

Floatfest
Sierra Madre Blvd. & Washington Blvd.
9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
(7–9 a.m. early entry for seniors & disabled visitors)

Sweepstakes Trophy Presentation
11:00 a.m.
Celebrating the most beautiful parade float.

Special Band Concerts & Community Performances
Including benefit concerts supporting local fire recovery efforts.

 

Saturday · January 3

Floatfest (Final Day)
Sierra Madre Blvd. & Washington Blvd.
9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
(last tickets sold 2:30 p.m.)
The final chance to see the floats before they’re dismantled and the city officially returns to normal.