Rose Parade®: A Heritage to Celebrate

Activity note: Hotel check-in from 3:00 p.m.

Afternoon: Important Note: Participants will be assigned to one of twelve groups for organizational purposes. If you are traveling with other individuals and wish to be in the same group, please be sure to identify one another on your Participant Information Forms at least four weeks in advance. Obtain your color group assignment and orientation room location from a Road Scholar staff person in the hotel lobby starting at 2:00 p.m. At 4:00 p.m., your group leader will provide your welcome packet containing the up-to-date schedule that reflects any last-minute changes and other important information. If you arrive late, please ask for your packet when you check in. The Group Leader will greet everyone and lead introductions. We will review the program theme, the up-to-date daily schedule and any changes, discuss safety guidelines, emergency procedures, roles and responsibilities, and answer any questions you may have. All program-related transportation will be via private motorcoach. Lunch at the Getty Center on Day 4 is on your own. If you wish to eat at the Getty Restaurant, reservations are recommended. Make reservations for the restaurant by calling (310) 440-6810. Reservations should be made between 12:00 and 2:00 p.m. We have set aside some free time in the schedule for your personal independent exploration. Program activities, schedules, and personnel may need to change due to local circumstances. In the event of changes, we will alert you as quickly as possible. Thank you for your understanding.

Dinner: Enjoy dinner in the hotel's banquet room. The meal will include a salad, entrée (including a vegetarian option), and dessert, plus coffee, tea, or water and a glass of wine or bottled beer; other beverages available for purchase.

Evening: Crossing Points is a time for getting to know one another better and what we may have in common beyond a love of learning. Then settle in, relax, and get a good night’s rest for the day ahead.

Activity note: Depending on the float organization, we will work a minimum of 6 hours and a maximum of 8 hours including a lunch break. You will be standing, bending, and reaching while working on floats as directed by float organizers. Some floats will require an early morning departure, as early as 6:00 a.m., from the hotel. Please read the "Special Notes" section for more details about float decorating.

Breakfast: In the hotel banquet room, our daily breakfast buffet offers a rotating variety of choices including an egg dish, breakfast meat, hot/cold cereals, fruit, yogurt, assorted breads, milk, juices, coffee, tea, and water.

Morning: This is what you’ve been waiting for: experience the magic that goes into actually creating the Rose Parade® floats! We’ll transfer you to one of the "float barns" to work alongside experienced professionals and help apply materials under their guidance. Rose Parade® rules require that every inch of each float be covered with flowers or other natural materials such as fruits, vegetables, leaves, seeds, or bark. Our participation will be a significant factor since parade officials estimate that it takes 60 volunteers working 10 hours a day for 10 days to decorate just one float.

Lunch: Lunch will be provided at your float decorating site. Depending on your assigned location, lunch may be a boxed lunch or a lunch provided by local service organizations for the float decorators.

Afternoon: Continue decorating a float/floats at your designated facility. Afterwards, we will return to the hotel.

Dinner: Buffet at the hotel.

Evening: We’ll view the documentary "Here Comes the Band," which takes a look at how high school bands compete to get into the Rose Parade®. The film follows the application and selection process and the fundraising activities necessary to support their desire to participate in the ultimate parade.

Activity note: Seats for Bandfest are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Early arrival to get a good seat involves standing in line 30-60 minutes until the stadium opens. To enter the stadium, climb a flight of stairs. To reach the seats, go downstairs to seats (elevator available in rear of stadium). Our metal bleacher seats have backs, but you may wish to bring a stadium cushion since we will be seated for several hours.

Breakfast: At the hotel.

Morning: From the hotel, we will transfer to a local auditorium where a series of morning presentations will begin with a talk given by a member of the Community Relations Committee of the Pasadena Tournament of Roses® Association. We will learn about the parade and, in particular, the 935 “White Suiters”. These volunteers wear clearly distinctive uniforms and work tirelessly to ensure the success of the parade and football game. Next, we will meet a former Rose Queen who will share her personal story about the Rose Queen selection process and responsibilities. Through an intensive selection process, the Tournament of Roses® “Queen and Court” committee seeks participants with the best combination of poise, personality, public speaking ability and scholastic achievement. Approximately a thousand young women from over two dozen area high schools apply each year. They are required to complete a detailed application meeting age and academic requirements. Those selected meet in person with the committee members over the course of a month. That number is reduced to approximately 250 who are invited to return for further interviews, then 75, then about 25 finalists. The committee selects the Royal Court from this group.

Lunch: Boxed lunches including a sandwich or wrap and chips or crackers are distributed before boarding the bus to Bandfest. We will arrive to Pasadena City College (the site for Bandfest) early in order to be one of the first to enter the stadium. A boxed lunch provides you with the flexibility to eat while we wait for the afternoon performance (either inside or outside of the stadium). You may choose to eat your lunch while waiting in line or you may opt to enjoy your lunch while sitting on the grass - Pasadena City College does not have any formal picnic areas on campus. There are few benches outside the stadium.

Afternoon: Marching in the Rose Parade® is a coveted honor, with bands from all over the world as well as some of the nation's top high school, college, and organizational marching bands participating. While a few of these bands are invited guests, most compete for a limited number of spaces. The winners take part in Bandfest — a two-day event that displays each band and its auxiliary performers in their victorious routines. We will watch these talented musicians, dancers, and auxiliary performers in action.

Dinner: Buffet at the hotel.

Evening: We will hear from members of an equestrian unit that will appear in the Rose Parade®. They will share information about the application process and what it takes to participate in the very special tradition. The equestrian talents are a unique aspect of the parade entertainment.

Activity note: Walking and standing at your own pace at the Getty Center. Walking between the buildings at the museum is on flat, paved surfaces but access to the bottom of the Central Gardens involves a slight incline.

Breakfast: At the hotel.

Morning: For a change of pace, we will take a field trip to the J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Center in Los Angeles, which houses European paintings, drawings, sculpture, illuminated manuscripts, decorative arts, and European and American photographs. Jean Paul Getty was an American industrialist, who was named the richest living American and the world’s richest private citizen by the Guinness Book of World Records. An avid collector of art and antiquities, he established the J. Paul Getty Trust, which remains the world's wealthiest art institution. The Museum is accessed from the parking structure by a 3/4 mile hovertrain. The Getty Center is one of the most visited art museums in the United States and presents the Getty's collection of Western art from the Middle Ages to the present against a backdrop of dramatic architecture, tranquil gardens, and breathtaking views. This stunning collection features works by Titian, Rembrandt, Manet, and Monet. Take this opportunity for personal independent exploration of the Getty Center.

Lunch: This meal has been excluded from the program cost and is on your own to enjoy what you like. Enjoy lunch on the grounds of the Getty Center.

Afternoon: Continue your free afternoon exploring the Getty Center. After the Getty Center, we’ll return to the hotel for dinner.

Dinner: Plated meal. Ring in the New Year with a champagne toast.

Evening: New Year's Eve! We will celebrate together according to Eastern Standard Time. Get a good night's sleep. Tomorrow will be an exciting day! We will be departing the hotel early in the morning.

Activity note: Motorcoaches depart the hotel for the parade as early as 6:15 a.m. (check your schedule for your exact departure time and location). Upon arrival (in front of Pasadena City College), we climb bleachers to our reserved seats. These metal bleacher seats do not have backs so as not to restrict leg room for people sitting behind. You may want to bring a stadium cushion (without a back) since we will be seated for several hours.

Breakfast: Early at the hotel.

Morning: The Rose Parade® is an unequaled spectacle and celebration of flowers, music, and sport. Pasadena greets each new year with spectacular pageantry. This is the 133rd time this magnificent parade has rolled. As you watch the beautiful floats — including ours! — glide by, marvel at the brilliance and imagination that went into creating each and every one. After the parade, we will return to the hotel.

Lunch: Enjoy a plated meal in the hotel's banquet room. The meal will include an entrée (vegetarian option available) and dessert, plus coffee, tea, or water; other beverages available for purchase.

Afternoon: Free Afternoon. Take this opportunity for personal independent exploration to see and do what interests you most. Please refer to the list of Free Time Opportunities. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions and give directions. If you are interested in attending the Rose Bowl Game®, make arrangements well in advance.

Dinner: Buffet at the hotel.

Evening: Enjoy musical entertainment just for us!

Activity note: Check out of the hotel before our field trip and take your luggage to the front desk for holding. Airport transportation should be arranged in advance. Motorcoaches depart for Post Parade at 6:15 a.m. Round trip walking distance is 2.4 miles; elevation change is 80’ loss in the first 0.7 miles; return to bus includes 80’ elevation gain up the hill in the last 0.7 mile; allow twice as much time for the return trip up the hill. No seating along route.

Breakfast: Early at the hotel.

Morning: After every Rose Parade®, the floral masterpieces are parked and on exhibition for the public to examine the design and workmanship that goes into these floats in close detail—a Pasadena tradition for more than a century. You can walk almost within arm's reach to appreciate the imagination and work that created these floral displays. Bring your camera! We will return to the hotel by approximately 11:00 a.m. This concludes our program. We hope you enjoy all your Road Scholar learning adventures and look forward to having you on rewarding programs in the future. We encourage you to join our Facebook page and share photos of your program. Visit us at www.facebook.com/rsadventures. Best wishes for all your journeys!