Imagine the thrill when you point to a float in the 136th Rose Parade and exclaim, “I glued that piece right there!” If you’re feeling extra cunning, find out which side of the float will face the television cameras and decorate that part for a maximum gloating experience.
Newbies and veterans alike spend hours prepping and gluing all sorts of natural components such as seeds, bark, fruits, vegetables, grasses, and finally, flowers, in the days leading up to New Year’s. Float builders organize their own volunteer crews, but welcome community members to join in the fun. It’s easier to find available shifts to work on the floats before Dec. 26. After that, the post-Christmas crush of volunteers means it will be harder to find volunteer openings.
If you do go, dress for mess and warmth. The warehouses can get chilly and materials you handle such as glue, paint can stain clothes. So wear comfortable (read: old) clothes and closed-toe shoes. Call ahead to ask about age restrictions as these vary.
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Find your day to take part in this local tradition by contacting the float builders. The commercial bigwigs include Artistic Entertainment Services at 700 Seco St., in Pasadena. (The floats are driven here from the company’s facility in Azusa.) For more information, visit aescreative.com/volunteers or call 626-334-9388.
Phoenix Decorating Company, at Rose Float Plaza South, 5400 Irwindale Ave., Irwindale, fields armies of volunteers, from school groups to service clubs, families and Scout troops. For more information, visit phoenixdeco.com or call 626-793-3174.
The six self-built floats could use help, too. The Burbank Tournament of Roses is “Having A-Lava Fun” with its float. Help them get all Mesozoic at 123 W. Olive Ave., Burbank. Their float will be on display 24 hours a day from Jan. 4-5, at the corner of Olive and Glenoaks in Burbank. Float watchers are needed to keep watch in shifts. For more information, visit burbankrosefloat.com or call 818-840-0060.
City of Burbank float “Caterpillar Melody” winner of the Mayor Award during the 135th Rose Parade in Pasadena on Monday, Jan. 1, 2024. (Photo by Libby Cline-Birmingham, Contributing Photographer)
Students from Cal Poly Pomona and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo team up to decorate this year’s float featuring the Loch Ness Monster and Friends. For more information, visit rosefloat.org, email rfleaders@asi.calpoly.edu or call 805-756-7730.
The Downey Rose Float Association welcomes volunteers for Deco Week from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Dec. 26-30 at 13030 Erickson Drive. For more information, visit downeyrose.org.
Advanced registration for decorating shifts is open at the La Cañada-Flintridge Tournament of Roses Association. Non-decorating jobs are available too. Space out with “Rover Rendezvous” from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays, at 4524 Hampton Road, at the corner of Foothill Boulevard. There’s painting and welding and hydraulics to be done, and not just decorating, so who knows what skills you can pick up? For more information, call 818-790-3818 or visit lcftra.org.
La Canada Flintridge float “Secondhand Shenanigans”, winner of the Mayor Award during the 134th Rose Parade in Pasadena on Monday, January 2, 2023. (Photo by Libby Cline-Birmingham, Contributing Photographer)
Deco Week with the Sierra Madre Rose Float Association’s “Fiesta!” float is from Thursday, Dec. 26 through Thursday, Dec. 31, at the barn, 587 E. Sierra Madre Blvd., behind the tennis court at Sierra Vista Park. For more information, visit sierramadrerosefloat.org or call 626-355-7005.
South Pasadena has been building its own Rose Parade float since 1914. Their entry this year is “Seas the Day.” Join this crew at 435 Fair Oaks Ave., South Pasadena, behind the War Memorial Building. Sign up for a selected time or you can also join any shift for a walk-up, first-come spot. For more information, email contact@sptor.org or visit sptor.org.
City of South Pasadena float “Boogie Fever” winner of the Founder Award during the 135th Rose Parade in Pasadena on Monday, Jan. 1, 2024. (Photo by Libby Cline-Birmingham, Contributing Photographer)
If you’d rather be a looky-loo, check out Decorating Places at the Rosemont Pavilion, 700 Seco St., Pasadena. Get a behind-the-scenes look at last minute decorating from professionals and volunteers.
This year, a second venue is at Brookside Pavilion, Lot I, one the south side of Rose Bowl Stadium, 1001 Rose Bowl Drive, Pasadena. Food trucks will be available here.
Tickets are $20 and are only available online at sharpseating.com. Entries are timed. Children 5 and under are admitted free. Parking is also free but note, the various lots near Rosemont Pavilion and Jackie Robinson Baseball Field is shared with other venues. First-come, first-served.
An Uber/Lyft drop-off and pickup spot is at Parking Lot H at Rosemont, via the entrance at Seco Street and Rosemont Avenue.
Use public transportation via the Metro Gold Line, Metro Bus and the Pasadena ARTS Bus Line. For more information, visit socaltransport.org.
Hours for both Decorating Places are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 28; 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 29; and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday, Dec. 30. For more information, visit sharpseating.com.
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