The Queen is on the Line: Royal Court Field Visitors Questions on Parade Hotline

“Hello, this is Queen Victoria, thank you for calling the Pasadena Visitors’ hotline. How may I help you?”

Callers to the new Pasadena Convention and Visitors Bureau 33rd Annual Visitor hotline might have thought they were being pranked Thursday morning, but that really was the 2017 Tournament of Roses Royal Court answering the phones and answering their questions.

“Yes, this is the Queen,” 2017 Rose Queen Victoria Castellanos had to repeat to a caller who was understandably taken aback in the presence of royalty.

Armed with a two-sided page of facts and figures, Castellanos and her court — Maya Khan, Natalie Petrosian, Audrey Cameron, Autumn Lundy, Lauren Powers and Shannon Larsuel — took scores of calls in front of the glare of TV lights and cameras, after first cutting the official ribbon to open the call center.

The most popular question? “What time does the parade start?”

The hotline ribbon cutting was the first in what will be a flurry of events for the Royal Court as the 128th Rose Parade and 103rd Rose Bowl Game approach. Their own float will begin to move down the Colorado Boulevard parade route at 8:15.

This year’s parade and game will be held on Monday, January 2, as both events are traditionally never held on Sundays.

The hotline is open through January 1, and is available to answer calls regarding the Rose Parade, the Rose Bowl game, Pre-and post-parade and game activities, as well as parking, hotel accommodations, dining, directions and other holiday related events, according to Pasadena Visitor’s Bureau marketing director Christine Susa.

The 33rd annual Pasadena Convention and Visitor’s Bureau hotline number is 877-793-9911.

For more information, log on to VisitPasadena.com.