A crisp chill could be felt along Colorado Boulevard in the hours before the Rose Parade began, as temperatures dipped into the 40s.

But the ever-prepared members of Fullerton’s New Wine Church were ready: lining up air mattresses back-to-back — an essential shield to ward off the frigid bite of the sidewalk from sheets and blankets.

“We left from church, and came out here by 11 to get a spot,” said Bennie Howlin.

“We try to get this spot every year because there’s a 24-hour movie theater, a 24-hour Rite Aid with a restroom that the kids can go to and the stands are right there.”


Howlin’s group, made up of 25 or so church members — “plus a family of five on the way” — brought out 12 air mattresses plus a cot and staked out Colorado Boulevard by South Catalina Avenue with the assistance of three trucks and a church van, which were parked behind Citizens Business Bank for $25 per vehicle, “so not too bad,” said Howlin. “That’s a good deal for us.”

1 / 57 Beth Campbell, left, dressed as a medieval princess, wave to the crowd as the Rose Parade float from the City of Torrance makes its way along Colorado Blvd. in Pasadena on Monday. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times) 2 / 57 Royal Court Queen Victoria Castellanos of Temple City High School during the Rose Parade. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times) 3 / 57 American Armenian Rose Float Association, Inc. “Field of Dreams” float during the 2017 Rose Parade on Monday. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times) 4 / 57 The Dole Packaged Foods “Spirit of Hawaii” float won the Sweepstakes trophy at the Rose Parade on Monday. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times) 5 / 57 PASADENA, CA - JANUARY 2, 2017: Marching band member Ninemi Ortiz from Broken Arrow High School in Oklahoma, reacts as she and her band mates reach the end of the 5.5 Rose Parade route on January 2, 2017 in Pasadena,California.(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) 6 / 57 Netflix’s “Soar Beyond Imagination” float during the Rose Parade in Pasadena. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times) 7 / 57 The city of Torrance’s float, titled “Be Your Own Knight.” (Christina House / For The Times) 8 / 57 Mandisa Mduba, 3, Adeline Borno and Maneo Tshabalala, right, from Riverside, watch floats pass during the parade. (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times) 9 / 57 The UPS Store, Inc. “Books Bring Us Together” float during the 2017 Rose Parade in Pasadena on Monday. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times) 10 / 57 The Grove City High School marching band from Ohio performs on the parade route. (Christina House / For The Times) 11 / 57 The UPS Store Inc. “Books Bring Us Together” moves along the Rose Parade route on Monday. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) 12 / 57 The AIDS Healthcare Foundation’s “To Honor & Remember Orlando" float during the 2017 Rose Parade on Monday. (Christina House / For The Times) 13 / 57 A dragon menaces on the city of Torrance’s “Be Your Own Knight” float during the 2017 Rose Parade on Monday. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times) 14 / 57 Western Asset Management Co.'s “Prosperity in the Wild” float won the Director’s Trophy. (Christina House / For The Times) 15 / 57 The American Armenian Rose Float Assn.'s “Field of Dreams!” float. (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times) 16 / 57 Students from Pulaski High School in Wisconsin perform during the Rose Parade on Monday. (Christina House / For The Times) 17 / 57 Sierra Madre’s “The Cat’s Away” float travels the parade route on Monday. (Christina House / For The Times) 18 / 57 Cal Poly University’s “A New Leaf" float during the Rose Parade on Monday. (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times) 19 / 57 The Bachelor “Echoes of Love" float during the 2017 Rose Parade on Monday. (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times) 20 / 57 Carl Dreizler of Redondo Beach, USC Class of 1976, cheers the university’s marching band as he takes in his 17th Rose Parade. (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times) 21 / 57 Spectators fill the grand stands at the 2017 Rose Parade in Pasadena on Monday. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times) 22 / 57 The USC marching band performs during the 2017 Rose Parade on Monday. (Christina House / For The Times) 23 / 57 The Donate Life “Teammates in Life" float during the Rose Parade on Monday. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times) 24 / 57 The Western Asset Management Company “Prosperity in the Wild” float features a snake during the 2017 Rose Parade on Monday. (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times) 25 / 57 Lutheran Laymen’s League â€œCelebrate Jesusâ€ float rolls during the 2017 Rose Parade on Monday, January 2, 2017 in Pasadena, Calif. (Christina House/ For The Los Angeles Times) (Christina House / For The Times) 26 / 57 The New Buffalo Soldiers during the 2017 Rose Parade on Monday. (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times) 27 / 57 24 Hour Fitness’ “Do More With Your 24" float in the 2017 Rose Parade on Monday. (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times) 28 / 57 The Penn State marching band performs in the 2017 Rose Parade on Monday. (Christina House / For The Times) 29 / 57 An L.A. County Sheriff’s deputy talks to spectators near the end of the Rose Parade on Monday. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) 30 / 57 The Rotary float, “Doing Good in the World," won the Princesses’ Trophy for most beautiful float 35 feet or under. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times) 31 / 57 United States Air Force Total Force Band performs during the 2017 Rose Parade on Monday. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times) 32 / 57 Members of the Los Hermanos Banuelos Charro Team take part in the parade in Pasadena. (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times) 33 / 57 Dancers from Fort Worth perform with the Opening Show float during the 2017 Rose Parade on Monday. (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times) 34 / 57 Speectators take pictures as the Rose Parade passes on Sierra Madre Boulevard on Monday. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) 35 / 57 Rose Parade route cleaners entertain the crowd on Monday. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) 36 / 57 Tournament of Roses 2017 grand marshal, Olympian Greg Louganis, left, a five-time Olympic medalist diver, in Rose Parade on Monday. (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times) 37 / 57 U.S. Air Force B-2 Spirit flies over the 2017 Rose Parade. (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times) 38 / 57 Broken Arrow High School band performs during the 2017 Rose Parade. (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times) 39 / 57 Color guard of the Westlake High School Chaparral band of Austin performs during the 2017 Rose Parade. (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times) 40 / 57 The color guard of the Westlake High School Chaparral Band of Austin, Texas, performs on the parade route. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times) 41 / 57 The Martin Luther King Jr. High School marching band leads the 2017 Rose Parade on Monday. (Christina House / For The Times) 42 / 57 Spectators watch band members during the Rose Parade on Monday. (Christina House / For The Times) 43 / 57 Performers in the opening show warm up before the parade starts. (Christina House / For The Times) 44 / 57 Grace Dreifuerst, 14, of Westlake High School in Austin, Texas, stays warm prior to marching in the 2017 Rose Parade. (Christina House / For The Times) 45 / 57 Dancers from Fort Worth gather prior to the Rose Parade on Monday. (Christina House / For The Times) 46 / 57 Members of the Niceville High School Eagle Pride band from Florida, gather prior to the Rose Parade. (Christina House / For The Times) 47 / 57 People wrapped in sleeping bags await the start of the 2017 Rose Parade in Pasadena on Monday morning. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times) 48 / 57 The bleachers begin to fill up before the start of the 2017 Rose Parade in Pasadena on Monday morning. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times) 49 / 57 Sheriff’s deputies patrol Colorado Boulevard early Monday morning before the start of the Rose Parade in Pasadena. Heightened security measures are being taken along the parade route in response to recent terrorist attacks that used trucks as weapons. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times) 50 / 57 People are bundled up on Colorado Blvd. as they wait for the start of the 2017 Rose Parade in Pasadena Monday morning. (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times) 51 / 57 Skylar Lloyd, left, and Cam Jarman, both 12, eat cotton candy as Michelle Youngblood, center, settles in comfortably on an air mattress along Colorado Boulevard. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 52 / 57 Linda Betts waves to drivers as she settles into a spot along Colorado Boulevard. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 53 / 57 Jon Deno pulls his grandson, Caleb Deno, 4, along Colorado Boulevard in a custom-built tricycle with a wagon carrying a tricycle built by Deno himself. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 54 / 57 Hailey Cox, 10, gets comfortable on an inflatable cushion along Colorado Boulevard. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 55 / 57 Cam Jarman, 12, Skylar Lloyd, 12, and Michelle Youngblood get comfortable in their space on Colorado Boulevard. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 56 / 57 Hailey Cox, 10, plays a game with her grandmother, Linda Betts, not pictured, as they settle in for the evening on Colorado Boulevard. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) 57 / 57 People claim their spaces along Colorado Boulevard on the eve of the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

And so it went along this main drag in the hours before the Rose Parade, as would-be parade watchers settled onto air mattresses that looked like marshmallows, tucked into neon inflatable cushions, and bundled into furry boots and mittens outside shops like Yogurtland and Lululemon.

Al Thompson of southern L.A. has been camping out at the Rose Parade since high school.


“My sister was in the all-city marching band so we came out here to watch her and then when I graduated and went into the service I came back and started coming out here for myself and bringing my kids,” he said.

His brother walked the parade route while his son and his son’s girlfriend slept in the car. Thompson has been here since 9 a.m. Saturday armed with camping gear and folding chairs.

“These spots are hotter than fish grease,” he said.

An RV rides past and the high school-age kids inside shoot Silly String at those camping out on the sidewalks, who in turn let loose a barrage of tortillas and marshmallows.


“Do not drive on Colorado Boulevard at New Year’s Eve, you’re gonna get bombed on, everybody knows it,” Thompson said with a laugh.

The father sometimes takes part himself but admits he has boundaries. “I will not throw eggs though. The yolk’ll eat the paint up.”

sonaiya.kelley@latimes.com

Twitter: @sonaiya


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