For one Los Angeles County resident, a Rose Parade float honoring Vietnamese immigrants is more than a theme.
It’s her lived experience.
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“My parents are both refugees, they escaped from communism in Vietnam,” said Linda Nguyen, float project manager for Love 2 Yeu. “For me, working on this float is like a ‘thank you’ to my parents for their courage, that these were the risks families like mine were willing to take.”
Love 2 Yeu is a Los Angeles-based global youth initiative that provides academic enrichment for disabled, disadvantaged and underserved youths in the U.S. and Vietnam. Its current projects include better education, basic necessities, school supplies and food donations provided to orphanages and schools.
For years, diversity, equity and inclusion has been something the Rose Parade has tried to bolster while also acknowledging the missteps of yesteryear. In the 2025 Rose Parade, many floats, bands and equestrian groups will reflect a diverse range of ethnicity, gender, culture and more.
Love 2 Yeu’s debut float “Journey of Dreams” is boat shaped and named “Lucky,” symbolizing Vietnamese immigrants who came to the United States by boat. Wanting to highlight the resiliency, hope and rich cultural heritage of Vietnamese Americans, the float also honors Tết, the Vietnamese Lunar New Year.
“Lunar New Year is called something different in every Asian culture, and on the float, we have elements of that, and how it’s celebrated across different Asian cultures,” Nguyen said. “Tết is an important celebration for Vietnamese people and is a time of reflection, giving thanks and honoring our ancestors, as well as prosperity in the year ahead.”
Tết begins Wednesday, Jan. 29 — the same day as the Chinese New Year.
Special touches on the float include native Vietnamese materials such as white rice, star anise, coffee beans, and cinnamon, all of which are used to coat many of the float’s 3D elements. Cultural symbols of Tết, such as traditional fruits, apricot blossoms hoa mai, square rice cakes banh chung, and lanterns inspired by the Hoi An Lantern Festival, are also on the float. The new year will be the Year of the Snake, so one will be coiled around a tree on the float.
Of course, thousands of flowers in vibrant shades of red and yellow will represent the Vietnamese flag.
As the float goes down Colorado Boulevard, entertainment curated by the Vietnamese Creatives Collective will be performed on the float. 3âm, a performing arts trio, will display a traditional Vietnamese dance and martial arts. Other dancers include the Thuy Van Dance Company and Thiên Ân Performing Arts’ lion dancers.
Special guests on the float will include Rachele Nguyen from NBC’s “The Voice,” actress Kieu Chinh and Linda Vo, curator of Viet Stories and former chair of the Asian American Studies Department at UC Irvine.
This float is one of many diverse entries this year.
Other highlights include:
OneLegacy
The organ, eye and tissue donation nonprofit group based in Azusa will have a Japanese-inspired float that features colorful koi fish kites called koi nobori. The “Let Your Life Soar” float is inspired by the Japanese celebration of Children’s Day.
Sierra Madre Rose Float Association
Its float will feature a fiesta scene, with the Mariachi Divas de Cindy Shea performing onboard while 12 members of Ballet Folklorico de Los Angeles will be on foot, dancing down Colorado Boulevard. The Mariachi Divas are a Grammy-award winning all-female mariachi band.
The New Buffalo Soldiers
The Shadow Hills-based equestrian group portrays the history of Black Americans in the U.S. military. It researches and presents the military participation of Black Americans in public education depictions. The soldiers represent the 10th Regiment, Company H, of the U.S. Cavalry and were organized in the early 1990s as a historical interpretation group.
Sonic Boom of the South
The all-Black band from Jackson State University will be in the parade for the first time.
The Mississippi band has been around since the 1940s and performed during halftime for NFL and NBA games, including the New Orleans Saints, Detroit Lions, Atlanta Falcons and the NBA All-Star game in 1991. They were joined by Cedric the Entertainer for the 34th NAACP Image Awards and performed at Motown’s 30th anniversary.