Living in the shadow of the Rose Parade, you either embrace it or run for the hills. I choose the former since I have loved the Rose Parade since I was a child. The City of South Pasadena is one of the last entities that creates and builds its own float. Most floats are designed by a handful of companies that specialize in float building. The creation of the South Pasadena float is truly a community effort and I wanted to give you a glimpse into that process.
The massive temporary structure that houses the South Pasadena float
The South Pasadena float paired with its official design
Prepping the flowers for placement on the float
South Pasadena float detail
Flowers everywhere
I was fortunate enough to work on the float when I was in high school. We were told to wear clothes and shoes that we didn’t care about because they would get ruined by the glue. I have fond memories of laying on my back on scaffolding while applying flowers to a designated area. It was great fun and I enjoyed every minute of it!
My husband and I visited the float building area about 2pm on Sunday afternoon. All was calm, but time is slowly ticking away. The float must be finished by the evening of December 31st and then driven to the pre-parade lineup on Orange Grove Boulevard. The distance is about 1 mile, so they have the advantage of working up to the last minute. Sometimes that works in their favor and sometimes not. They are now in the “crunch time” zone and will work all night to get the float finished. Luckily, we have been experiencing a cold snap, which is the best weather for the floats. It truly is a labor of love and a testament to creativity.
Stay tuned for next week’s installment of Photography Monday when I will post photos of the pre-parade lineup from New Year’s Eve.
*Tina