Article published in RV Life and Travel E-zine 6 Jan 2013
This year Christmas was a travel day. We left our volunteer spot as campground hosts at Joshua Tree National Park and moved about ninety miles to our next adventure in Irwindale, CA where we spent a week decorating a Rose Parade float.
This activity has been on Michelle's bucket list for many years and we both looked forward to it. I knew nothing about how to get involved or who to contact, so the research and planning began on the worldwide web last spring. By the time our adventure began, I had accumulated a ton of information. I'll be happy to share it with anyone who is interested. Just leave a comment on this article.
Rose Parade floats are built by three companies and several private organizations. We chose to participate with the company Fiesta Parade Floats. This was not a WorKamping experience. The company allows volunteers who arrive in RVs or Towables to boondock in their parking lot -- no hookups. Also no free or discounted parade grandstand seating tickets -- forget that. Rose Parade ticketing is done by a different company.
Construction of a parade float begins many months earlier and the finishing work is done during the week between Christmas and New Year's eve. The unique feature of Rose Parade floats is that every exposed surface must be covered with something vegetable -- flowers, plants, seeds, etc. The week is known as "Decorator Week" and the work is all done by volunteers.
Fiesta Parade Floats built ten floats for the 2013 Rose Parade -- all in one building. We were assigned to work on the Dole Float. As with most of our adventures, we met a lot of people from all walks of life and all parts of the country. Only three were there in RVs. Some volunteers came from the local area and participate every year and most of the out-of-towners stayed in hotels. Surprisingly, many were fulfilling an item on their bucket list too.
At our age, we opted out of doing any of the work up on the scaffolding. We worked on parts that would be assembled into the float at the last minute and on sections of the float that could be worked from ground level. The work was detailed and sticky -- lots of glue. The company buys Elmer's glue by the 55 gallon drum.
As the week passed we got to be friends with several of the volunteers and we all got invested in the float as if it was our own. Watching it take shape from day to day became exciting, especially on the last couple days when the floral arrangements and roses were put on. Our float (the Dole float) contained over 8,000 roses each in a vial of water and individually mounted. It also included four waterfalls and a volcano with real fire. The red roses on the volcano representing hot lava flowing down the sides.
For Michelle, the thrill of the week was a visit by Josh Elliott the television journalist who is the news anchor for ABC's Good Morning America. He posed for a picture with Michelle who is a great fan of his.
Early in the morning of New Year's day we made the trip to Pasadena to watch the parade and were thrilled to learn that our float won the Sweepstakes award as the most beautiful float. The parade was great. We saw all of the floats with a new sense of appreciation. Wow! What a week. Happy New Year!
This stop was the farthest point west in our workamping trip that began last June in Ohio. Next week we start east to be back in Ohio by early April and then to Bar Harbor, ME by mid June. We have signed up for one month working with RV-Care-Vaners on a Habitat for Humanity project in New Mexico along the way. Roaming the country workamping as we go is becoming addictive and we are looking forward to 2013.
We were assigned to work on the Dole float
Much of the decorating is tedious detail
Josh Elliott from ABC's Good Morning America dropped by
Our work looked great in the parade.
The volcano in action was awesome
2013 Rose Parade, Pasadena, CA
I'm anal for numbers and by parade time I was totally invested in Fiesta Parade floats. So I had to make a competition out of this and rack up the score. And don't kid yourself, I'm sure Phoenix and Fiesta did the same thing.
AWARDS
A total of 24 awards were presented. As you read through the titles, you can see that not every float can compete for every award. I'm quite sure that most float builders—commercial and private–aim their efforts at specific awards. However, I'm not knowledgeable enough to sort that out so let's just go with 24 as a common denominator.
FLOATS
There were a total of 40 floats in the parade. The breakout by builder was: Phoenix–19; Fiesta–10; AES–4; Private/Self Built–6; Paradiso–1
Phoenix built 19 floats out of a total of 40 (48%)
Fiesta built 10 floats out of a total of 40 (25%)
Phoenix won 11 awards out of a total of 24 (46%)
Fiesta won 7 awards out of a total of 24 (29%)
Of the 19 Phoenix floats, 11 won awards (58%)
Of the 10 Fiesta floats, 7 won awards (70%)
AND THE WINNER IS (drum roll please)
Paradiso. One entry, one award (100%). Their entry for City of San Gabriel Centennial titled Celebrating Our Journey won Directors' Trophy for outstanding artistic merit in design and floral presentation. Based on the description of the company Paradiso, I'm sure they won the only award that mattered to them. Watch for them in the future.
A CLOSER LOOK AT FIESTA
I gave a close look at each of Fiesta's floats in another post. This is a rack up of their total parade performance.
What got us excited, was the fact that 'OUR' Dole Float won the Sweepstakes Trophy for most beautiful entry. Reputedly the most prized award of the parade.
So figure this out. Here we are, two folks from Ohio, who go to California to work for a week for zero pay on a float built by a private company to advertise another private company, neither of which have a clue who we are and I'm sure don't give a care. And we are doing a victory dance because they won the biggest prize. Makes perfect sense to me.
Fiesta Parade Floats, Inc, Irwindale, CA
DECORATING A FLOAT
The process begins almost immediately after the previous parade is over. The Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade officials announce the theme for the next year and the race is on. Float builders and sponsors negotiate contracts and select designs. The metal structure is built onto a vehicle carriage of some sort. Mechanical and electrical systems are installed and the body of the float is built of plaster and wire and painted. By Christmas Day, the almost completed float is ready for decorators to start. Every square inch of exposed surface must be covered by some form of vegetable matter. That is what happens between the day after Christmas and December 30th. On December 31st, the floats are moved out of the building and to the stadium for judging. So Dec 26, 27, 28, 29, and 30 are the decorating days. Those days are 24 hours long. Of course volunteers don't work 24 hours, but you can work as much as you wish.
Fiesta floats begin and end here at the junk yard outside the factory building.
Whether on TV or in real life from the parade grandstand, you don't grasp the size of these floats until you meet them up close and personal on the factory floor surrounded by scaffolding.
Here is a description that a former decorator gave me.
it’s cold and damp work as they keep the flowers moist, especially at night. It’s quite messy and you can plan on throwing out whatever clothes and shoes you wear as they get very sticky/covered with floral glue. It doesn’t wash out no matter what you do. Some have to work on elevated narrow scaffolding, if you’re physically (and mentally) up to it.
There’s also ground level decorating that’s done. The detail work with seeds and petals can be challenging, but it’s also very messy. Some people really enjoy it and have a great time, especially if they are with friends in the group.
If you’re lucky, the float sponsor or club/group may provide some meals for the workers. Otherwise, you’re on your own for meals.
Expect to work 6-8 hr shifts which run 24 hrs/day for about a week before the parade. They usually want you to work for at least 3-4 days minimum. There are numerous locations where the floats are decorated. The final push is the last night, New Years eve, when you work right up until they have to move the floats to the parade starting about 2am (depending upon how far they have to move them.) Occasionally you’ll get to see or meet some VIP who’s getting a tour. TV crews also interview decorators for the news.
Here Josh Elliott from Good Morning America stopped by
During our experience, Fiesta Floats was constructing ten floats–all in the same building. We were assigned to the Dole float. Each decorating crew was led by an experienced project leader who made sure all materials arrived at the right place and time. Decorating was done in an orderly manner, working so that decorators were not falling over each other and from top to bottom so that scaffolding could be disassembled as the process proceeded. We took individual rest and meal breaks as necessary but the decorating continued uninterupted.
VOLUNTEERS
Volunteers come from everywhere. Some are locals; both individuals and organizations. Many out–of–towners are checking off an item on their bucket list and stay in local hotels. Some do this as an annual thing, returning year after year to participate with the same organization. My (unsubstantiated) feeling is that very few are RVers.
I'll cover other aspects of this adventure in other posts. I think this is enough for one post.
Pasadena, CA
When we showed up at Fiesta Floats for work we were blown away by the fact that there were ten floats being built simultaneously in one building. Here I want to display all ten from concept to parade day.
Sponsor: City of Torrence
Title: Follow Your Dreams
Sponsor: Dole
Title: Dreaming of Paradise
Award: Sweepstakes Trophy for most beautiful entry
Sponsor: Kaiser Permanente
Title: Oh, The Healthy Things You Can Do
Award: Theme Trophy for best presentation of the Rose Parade theme
Sponsor: Macy's
Title: Presenting the Royal Court
Sponsor: Miracle-Gro
Title: Everyone Grows
Award: Crown City Innovation Trophy for best use of imagination and innovation to advance the art of float design
Sponsor: Beverly Hills Pet Care Foundation
Title: Follow the Stars - Adopt a Pet
Award: Lathrop K. Leishman Trophy for most beautiful entry from a noncommercial sponsor
Sponsor: Delta Sigma Theta Sorority
Title: Transforming Communities Through Sisterhood & Service
Sponsor: Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance Pet Foods
Title: Canines with Courage
Award: Past Presidents' Trophy for most creative use of floral and nonfloral materials
Sponsor: Ministery of Tourism & Creative Economies, Republic of Indonesia
Title: Wonderful Indonesia
Award: President's Trophy for most effective use and presentation of flowers
Sponsor: AIDS Healthcare Foundation
Title: The Global Face of AIDS
Award: Queen's Trophy for best use of roses
