In keeping with the theme for the 2017 Tournament of Roses Parade the city of South Pasadena is entering a float that volunteers were busy decorating in a huge tent on Friday and will continue over the weekend.
If you are interested in seeing the progress of the South Pasadena float as it is decorated you can park on Fair Oaks just north of the 110 freeway exit. There is a large sign on Fair Oaks showing the location.
A follow-up after the Rose Parade. The South Pasadena float was behind the big one that broke down and sadly, the “Three Little Birds” float did not show up on the TV broadcasts of the parade.
This float is being decorated from the top down. Two women add red roses to the guitar body while a man indicates color blocks on the lower part of the float. In the initial drawing for the float the body of the guitar is shown as brown but these roses are definitely very red.
Thousands of red roses are already attached to the “drum” that will be on the float. The musical notes are covered with seeds. By the time the float is ready to roll out of the tent and uphill to the parade route in Pasadena, every visible inch of the float will be covered with natural materials.
It looks as if they are using sycamore leaves on the float. Every inch of it will be covered with natural materials before it goes on the float and joins the parade.
Paints in vibrant colors were lined up outside the tent waiting for volunteers to add them to the float.
Once a year this huge tent rises in a park along Fair Oaks Avenue in South Pasadena. Almost all the other floats are built and decorated way out in the barns in Irwindale and I am not sure they encourage visitors out there. On the other hand it is easy to park on Fair Oaks, just north of the 110 freeway exit and stroll over to see this float. There used to be a couple of float barns actually in Pasadena, but they have closed.
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It’s amazing what they can do with just plant material. Some of the silver accents were made with ground rice and black sesame seeds. Volunteering for self-built floats is a great way to contribute to your city.