The red carpet truly is rolled out in Hollywood. Outside the Kodak Theatre where the Oscars will be handed out this coming Sunday, crew members and staff of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences were busily setting up for the movie industry’s biggest night.

One entire block of Hollywood Boulevard has been closed and security guards and Los Angeles police with specially trained dogs roam the perimeter. Bleachers are being set up for the thousands of fans who will turn out to watch Hollywood’s biggest stars on Oscar night, and a tent was being installed over the carpet in case of rain.

All the activity caused tourists to search much harder for their favorite celebrities’ stars cemented into Hollywood’s Walk of Fame. But none of them seemed to mind because this scene happens only once a year, and it’s sort of cool to see. Brazilian couple Marianne Castro and Bruno Bradaschia paused outside to shoot a photograph of themselves in front of the red carpet. Marianne was disappointed because they are leaving on Friday and cannot stay for the event.

Still, Castro and Bradaschia had a couple of days to kick around town, and while they will not see any stars on the red carpet until Sunday, they were headed to the Four Seasons hotel in Beverly Hills where very often you can catch a celeb or two hanging out in the hotel’s bar.

Mohammad Shahjahan, a supervisor for StarLine Tours that works the Hollywood Boulevard area, said this time of the year brings a lot of people to the area — not as many as the summer — but enough to pick up business during the winter.

It is hard to determine just exactly how many people come to Hollywood for the Oscars. Last year an event called “Meet the Oscar” that is sponsored by the Academy had some 90,000 people visit, according to an Academy spokeswoman. Once there, tourists can look at Hollywood memorabilia and even take their picture holding a real Oscar.

Academy staff spends nearly a year planning the big show and the events taking place around it. Hollywood Boulevard is blocked off for roughly a week, but it only takes a night to tear it all down. The boulevard reopens by Monday, and the crowds, for the most part, go away.

That pattern seems to say something about Hollywood. It often takes years for a star to rise up to the level of Oscar winner. But days later, fans forget. Quick! Can you name last year’s winner of supporting actor or supporting actress?

Me neither.

(Photos: Reuters)