PASADENA - Ahead of the expected weekend rainstorms, crews worked Friday to continue dismantling the bleachers dotting the 5.5-mile Rose Parade route.
The process of taking down the stands - which hold more than 70,000 spectators - starts right after the parade ends, beginning with the seating across Colorado and Orange Grove boulevards. It all takes about two weeks, said Sindee Riboli, president of Sharp Seating Co., the family business providing Rose Parade seating for more than 70 years.
"I've been running the business for 23 years, but I'll never say I know it all," Riboli said. "There's always something unexpected. Silly little things - like somebody changed the locks on the portable toilets," she said, laughing. "There (are) always little issues, people in the wrong area, or who can't find parking - I feel this time of year I really earn my money."
Still, Riboli said, this year's event went smoothly, considering how much is involved in "putting together an event as huge as this."
For die-hard fans, Sharp Seating will put tickets for 2009 Rose Parade viewing on sale Feb.1.
"Can you believe it?" Riboli said. "Traditionally, we always sell the first working day in February. My gosh, we have a full crew that day, the phone lines are jammed, there are people lined up outside the office" at 709 E. Colorado Blvd. Often, she said, it's people who want to get prime seating on "TV corner" at Orange Grove and Colorado boulevards or who want their regular seats. "Some people come in just because they want their traditional seats they get every year," she said. "Some families have had the same seats for 20 years, and they want to make sure they get them."
Sharp Seating can be reached at (626) 795-4171.