by Dot Cannon
Pasadena’s 130th Rose Parade® was less than three days away.
So in Irwindale on Saturday, round-the-clock activity was happening at top award-winning floatbuilder Fiesta Parade Floats.
Teams of volunteers were decorating the floats, which leave the float barn on Monday evening.
Then, the floats make their way, at just over two miles per hour, to their lineup positions for the parade.
And the clock was, and is, ticking.
According to Fiesta’s website, they’re providing thirteen of the floats you’ll see on Tuesday morning, January 1, 2019. This one, for example, is the Chinese-American Heritage Foundation float, “Harmony Through Union”.
“Harmony Through Union”, according to the Tournament of Roses, represents the kickoff of “We Built America”, a year-long program celebrating the contributions of immigrants. January 1, 2019, marks the 150th anniversary of the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad.
The float’s animation has a giant hand coming down to hammer in a final, golden spike, held by a second hand, in celebration of the multi-ethnic teams who linked the United States, coast to coast.
Seed by seed, petal by petal
The work happening between now and Monday evening is painstaking–and then some.
For Rose Parade® floats, every inch of every surface must be covered in organic materials. But we’re talking about precision, plus detail.
This genie, for Stella Rosa Wines’ “Taste the Magic” float, has skin tones made of crushed walnut shell, paprika spice and cornmeal. Her magic carpet is made of materials including beige cornhusks, gold clover seed and blue statice blossoms.
And, of course, the practical considerations include getting the floats to retract so they can travel under the 210 freeway.
The UPS Store’s float, “Books Keep Us On Our Toes”, will feature “Olive” the pink ostrich, who is 37 feet tall. However, a hydraulic system lowers her to this position–16 feet tall–in less than a minute, to allow the float to pass under wires and bridges on her way to parade lineup.
Starting at “breathtaking”–and continuing from there
Then, there’s the “wow” factor–present on every one of these. (We don’t want the Tournament float judges’ jobs! Narrowing their choices down to a winner, in each category, has to be tough!)
Our personal knock-your-eyes-out favorite this time, though, was the Dole Packaged Foods float.
The 20-foot-tall figure at the front is Lono, the Hawaiian deity of music and peace.
Drummers, hula dancers and a 12-foot waterfall will be featured on this float.
But what wowed us, before it even gets that far, was the detail.
These clownfish and leopard sharks will be just one small part of it!
“How many orchids are going on this float?” we asked one volunteer.
“A bunch!” she laughed.
So, how in the world can these teams cover twenty-foot-plus structures, completely, in flowers, seeds and organic materials, on time for everything to leave for the parade set-up on Monday night?
There’s only one explanation.
Magic.