1. Tournament of Roses
The 121-year-old New Year’s Day tradition of the Tournament of Roses parade and its spectacular floral floats was again broadcast all over the world on January 1. Following the parade, in the 96th Rose Bowl game presented by Citi, the Ohio State Buckeyes beat the Oregon Ducks.
2. Fiesta Broadway
More than 500,000 people join what is billed as the nation’s largest Cinco de Mayo celebration. This year's festival, which covers 24 square blocks of downtown Los Angeles with multiple performance stages, kicked off the holiday week festivities on April 25. Multiple performance stages offered entertainment.
3. West Hollywood Carnival
The City of West Hollywood presents this annual Halloween costume party. An official welcome march launched the 2009 celebration, which attracted a crowd estimated at more than 400,000 people. The event included entertainment across three main stages and multiple other music areas along a one-mile stretch of Santa Monica Boulevard.
4. L.A. Pride
Christopher Street West presents this weekend celebration of gay pride, which takes place in June. The centerpiece of the festival is a parade that draws close to a half million spectators. The 40th anniversary program took place June 11 to 13 and brought headliners including Kelis and En Vogue.
5. Golden Dragon Parade
The Chinese Chamber of Commerce of Los Angeles presents the annual Golden Dragon parade, with more than 110,000 people lining the parade route. The celebration along North Broadway in Chinatown is also telecast. The 111th annual parade and festival took place on February 20 and 21.
6. Revlon Run/Walk for Women
The 17th annual Entertainment Industry Foundation Revlon Run/Walk For Women was held on May 8, 2010. The benefit for women’s cancer organizations takes place each year over Mother’s Day weekend. More than 50,000 participants take to the course.
7. AIDS Walk Los Angeles
This annual walk to benefit AIDS Project Los Angeles and other AIDS charities celebrated its 25th anniversary on October 18 in West Hollywood Park. About 30,000 walkers participated, bringing in more than $3.1 million.
8. Hollywood Santa Parade
The City of Los Angeles presented the Hollywood Christmas Parade on November 29. The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce dropped the long-running parade in 2006, but L.A. took it over. Loyal fans love the parade for bringing down-home sentiment to the big city.
