Tournament of Roses floats
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Floats for the Tournament of Roses Parade evolved from flower decorated horse carriages. The carraiges evolved into floats. The floats are required to be covered with plant material, living or dead.[1] Originally Tournament of Roses floats were created solely by volunteers from sponsoring communities. Currently, most are built by professional float building companies, and take nearly a year to construct. Some communities and organizational sponsors still rely on volunteers.
[edit] Modern-day process
Shortly after each year's parade is over, and the next year's parade theme is announced, the parade sponsors and participating communities start to plan their floats for the following year. A meeting is held where builders select their float theme. The Tournament assures that there are not too many similar floats.
Directly after the parade, floats are stripped to their chassis. Characters and other objects on the float are created as separate elements to add later, consisting of a framework of steel and chicken wire. The chassis has beams and steel rod welded to it to support a mesh cover. The float is then "cocooned" in the next process; it is sprayed with a polyvinyl material which acts as a base for inserting decoration. This base is painted with the colors of the flowers to be applied to the float.
Every square inch of the exposed surface of a float entered in the Rose Parade strictly must be covered with flowers or other natural materials. These other decorative applicants include bark, seed and leaves. Decorating with the non perishable materials is performed first. In the days following Christmas, the live additions to the float are applied by volunteers or hired workers. Many people end each day covered in glue and petals. Delicate flowers are even up in individual vials of water, set into the float one-by-one. The Tournament of Roses is the largest consumer of flowers in the world, and flowers arrive from all over the world.
Many floats, along with drive train, include computer-controlled robotic mechanisms, to animate the floats. Most float drivers can only see the ground below them. An observer communicates by intercom to the driver. Most observers are hidden within the float and have limited visibility. Each float has a Tournament Member (Float Liaisons) assigned to it who shepherds the float from the float barn to the formation area and down the parade route. Most ride on motor scooters although some walk. The Float Liaisons communicate with the float's observer by hand signals. At the two corners other Tournament Members direct the floats in addition of the Float Liaisons.
It is estimated that it takes 60 volunteers working 10 hours a day for 10 days to decorate one float.[2]
- 20 daisies, 30 roses or 36 marigolds will cover one square foot of a float area
- Over 500,000 roses (in vials) used in the parade
- 15 tons of steel along with 10,000 feet of chicken wire for the framework of a float
- 935 “white-suiters” spent 80,000 hours to manpower and plan the parade
- Maximum height of floats shall be 16.5 ft. (collapsed), to pass by the freeway overpass
- Natural materials, such as bark, seeds, leaves and flowers, shall cover the floats
- Twenty-four awards for some 50 float entries
- Length of parade is 5.5 miles, about 2.25 hours long at 2.5 miles per hour pace[3]
[edit] Viewing the Floats
After Christmas one can view many of the floats being decorated with flowery mantles, in the various 'float barns' that dot the in West Pasadena and communities to the east. Last-minute volunteering opportunities are usually available; If you are willing to volunteer, you just might find a crew willing to hand you a box of flowers and put you right to work![citation needed]
After the parade, all the floats are 'parked' in the Post Parade Area near Pasadena High School and Victory Park, and are on display the afternoon of the Parade and the day following. A fair like environment with food and souvenir vending stands is created for pubic enjoyment. Handicap access and assistance is provided. Some of the animated floats are put on display with their animation running. Unfortunately as time goes on the flowers wilt and thus the best viewing is right after the parade. Admission is charged.
[edit] Quantity of flowers
While many distinct changes have taken place with the Festival's floats, including computer-aided movement and professional float building, the floats have kept true to the event's title and heritage, by using real, fresh flowers. The cost of flowers are included in the total cost of the float and paid for by the float sponsor.
[edit] Notable recent floats
- working roller coasters[when?]
- a 50-foot replica of the Statue of Liberty[when?]
- a robotic chef with moving arms[when?]
- a complete tropical paradise, filled with animals[when?]
- a working water slide[when?]
[edit] Post-parade: A Showcase of Floats
Presented by the Eastman Kodak Company with supporting sponsor Bayer Advanced, the Showcase is a paid admission area where the floats are displayed after the parade, for close-up viewing. The floats are parked along Sierra Madre and Washington Boulevards in Pasadena for three hours after the parade. On the day after the parade (occasionally two days when January 3rd falls on Saturday or Sunday), the first two early morning hours are reserved for seniors and the disabled, and the rest of day's worth of viewing for the general public.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
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