Rose Parade 2007

After watching the 2011 Rose Parade in Pasadena, California.  I couldn't help but reminisces about our trip to California to decorate one of the floats in 2007.  We arrived three days prior to New Years day and worked three 8 hour shifts with the Studio Concept designers.  Our float was sponsored by The International Music Products Association and our volunteers hours were donated to the National Association for Music Education.  Under a big tent your asked to perform many different tasks and it can get messy.  Gary and I came dressed for stripping and gluing statices to wooden doles, filling water tubes, cutting greenery and crawling on the ground placing flowers every where.  Every speck of the float has to be covered with flowers or dried material.

Led by grand marshall, legendary film maker, George Lucas, the 118th Rose Parade celebrated the theme Our Good Nature . The Parade began with an exciting opening show featuring Tony Award winning actress, Kristin Chenoweth, Tournament of Roses President Paul L. Holman and Miss America. Parade highlights included the Star Wars Spectacular which featured two floats and 200 storm troopers.

  The NAMM float, themed "Natural Harmonies, Oh Say Can You Sing," commemorates the National Anthem Project, an MENC initiative that re-teaches Americans the words and significance of the National Anthem, and champions the importance of school music education programs.  A choir of 100 students from all 50 U.S. states, called "America's National Anthem Honor Choir," performed with the legendary Oak Ridge Boys on the float singing live.

  Here I am in the early morning hours filling and taping water tubes.

 

This lovely dried flower (Statice) comes in many different colors and was stripped and used in many places on the floats.

 Gluing statics to every part of exposed material.  What a mess!

 The next day I got promoted to placing flowers on the float.

 Gary was assigned the high and low spots.

Even the white feathery looking spikes have to be covered with white statices and given a new name, Ting, Ting.

This part of the tent was once filled with flowers. 

There was 4 separate mobile units with band member playing instruments before the bigger float.

 

The Oak Ridge Boys

  

This float was another being decorated in the same tent.

  

I loved this float. 

   

It order for this lovely lady to get out of the tent and under power lines.  She collapsed in 2 parts.  Much like the eagle on our float.

Scores are based on criteria such as creative design, floral craftsmanship, artistic merit, computerized animation, thematic interpretation, floral and color presentation, and dramatic impact.  It was great to sit in the stands and see the float we worked on had won the Craftsman trophy for Exceptional Showmanship and Dramatic Impact for a float more than 55 feet long.

 

For our volunteer time we were given a collectors pin with a picture of our float and the year.  And memories of a life time.  I can take this one off my bucket list.

If you are interested in becoming a volunteer as a Float Decorator.... Just go to the designers web site and sign up.