Pasadena prepares for the 2008 Rose Parade

By Robert Niles: It's time again for that *other* thing Pasadena's known for (besides being home to Theme Park Insider, of course!) -- the annual New Year's Day Rose Parade.

Locals know that the best time to see the floats up close is *before* the parade, as volunteers apply the millions of flowers, petals, seeds and fruits that, by rule, cover every inch of every entry. Five bucks gets you into your choice of two of the float decoration sites, two on the Rose Bowl grounds, one elsewhere in Pasadena, and one to the east of Pasadena, in Duarte.

This is the final year for float decorating in Duarte, however, as the City of Hope hospital is expanding on to the land where the decorating tent is set up each year. The Tournament of Roses has secured land in Irwindale and will be hosting float decorating there starting next December.

A visit to the float decorating has become an annual tradition here on Theme Park Insider, so here are some of my picture's from today's visit to the Duarte and Rose Bowl decorating sites. Click the tiger below for a photo gallery of images from this year's float decorating, which will lead into images from past year's parades and float decorating.

Check back on Tuesday for photos and an on-the-scene recap of this year's parade!

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