On Friday afternoon I headed back out to Fiesta Parade Floats in Irwindale to check out the progress on the floats they are preparing for the 128th Annual Tournament of Roses Parade which will be held Monday, January 2, 2017, in Pasadena, California.
The last time I visited was Tuesday, the day after Christmas. That was the first day that decorating could begin, so all they were adding then was the “dry goods” such as seeds, husks and cut up leaves and flowers. As they are all glued into place, the warehouse was pretty thick with the aroma of paint and glue. Friday was completely different. Continue reading
Tuesday afternoon I headed out to Irwindale to continue one of the few Christmas traditions I still keep with; photographing the construction of floats for the upcoming 128th Tournament of Roses Parade by Fiesta Parade Floats. Fiesta Floats creates some of the best floats in the Tournament of Roses Parade and is the most awarded float builder in Rose Parade history; it is no wonder why the City of Torrance has been using them at least as long as I have been covering the event (five or six years).
At this phase of the construction, it is just that, construction. Some of the floats have a few props attached that might give you an idea of what the float\’s general theme might be, but that is it. In a few weeks the warehouse will smell of glue and flowers, but now the aroma is of paint and metals being welded; in other words a shop. Continue reading
These photos were taken Monday night at Fiesta Parade Floats when the City of Torrance came out to Irwindale to check out the progress on the float they are entering for the 127th Annual Tournament of Roses Parade which will be held Friday morning in Pasadena.
If you noticed my photos from last Wednesday you cannot help but notice that there has been significant progress made on the actual decorating of the floats. Last week when we were there it was a construction scene with the sound of metal being ground and the warehouse smelled of paint. Last night the construction crews were gone and the troops of people, young and old, were carefully applying flowers and seeds to every visible portion of the floats, and some portions that are not exactly visible to the normal viewer but might be noticed by a judge. Instead of paint, the aroma was predominantly flowers with a hint of glue.
As I was leaving Fiesta Floats last night I noticed another City of Torrance bus was just arriving and it was not until then that I realized that the Torrance buses had been staggered, so I apologize that I left before all of you arrived. In the past, when the city came to visit the floats they were pretty much funneled in and out, whereas last night visitors were allowed to stick around a little more and even check out some of the other floats. From what I have heard, this new policy was very much appreciated by the Torrance visitors. Continue reading
I have probably lost a lot of my readers on this site since I have been kind of slacking; especially when it comes to my annual Christmas coverage. I have been fighting some heavy congestion and going out in the cold night air just did not seem wise. However, there is one tradition I will not slack off on and that is the construction of the float for the 2016 Tournament of Roses Parade sponsored by the City of Torrance and built by award winning float builders, Fiesta Parade Floats in Irwindale.
These photos were taken Wednesday afternoon, December 23. This is pretty much crunch time at Fiesta Parade Floats since the actual placement of seeds and flowers will begin on Saturday. Today as I entered the predominant aroma was that of paint as the builders put on the finishing touches to the float bodies. There was a significant amount of grinding being done as well; these people will be working non-stop to ensure they are ready to begin decorating as soon as Christmas ends.
I will go by at least one more time so you can see the progress. The Torrance float is the one with the red, yellow and white fire truck. I would like to thank Fiesta Parade Floats and The Pollack PR Marketing Group for granting me access so I can show these photos to you. Continue reading
It is New Year\’s Eve, and the time is up for the preparation of the floats for the 126th Annual Tournament of Roses Parade with will begin at 8:00 AM on January 1, 2015. I began my day by heading back out to Irwindale and Fiesta Parade Floats, the leading award winning float-builder in the Tournament of Roses Parade.
I lucked out today as I happened to arrive at Fiesta Floats after they had begun removing some floats from the building they were built in, giving me the ability to take some photos without dozens (or hundreds) of people vying for position to take their photos. If you have been following the progression of the float construction you can see that the Torrance entry dedicated to hometown hero, Louis Zamperini, came out very nice. It will be one of the first floats in tomorrow\’s parade. Continue reading
On Sunday evening several bus loads of Torrance residents, along with their mayor, the city council, commissioners and other various dignitaries headed out to Irwindale and Fiesta Parade Floats to check out the progress of the float that the City of Torrance is sponsoring for the 126th Annual Tournament of Roses Parade.
The theme of this year\’s Rose Parade is \”Inspiring Stories\” with the Grand Marshal being Torrance hometown hero, Louis Zamperini, who passed away earlier this year. The Torrance entry is called \”A Race Well Run\” and will feature black-and-white photos of Zamperini\’s life, the Olympic torch and other imagery that reflects Zamperini\’s life including a replica of the B-24 plane he was shot down in during World War II. Since the movie Unbroken was released on Christmas Day the City of Torrance hopes that this float, dedicated to the memory of Louis Zamperini, can once again bring international recognition to the city.
Sunday\’s visit required a little imagination as all the floats essentially had most of their big items removed so flowers and seeds could be added prior to the reassembly which must be completed by Tuesday night. If you would like to see the progress that has been made over the last two weeks, you can see a few of my photos on CNN\’s iReport. I will return one more time, on New Year\’s Eve, so I can get some up close and personal shots of the finished product. Continue reading
If you will recall, last week I headed out to Fiesta Parade Floats to take photos of the floats they were building for the upcoming 125th Tournament of Roses Parade. It was December 23 and at that point the floats were virtual skeletons; waiting for December 26 when the actual decorating could begin. The parade rules state that all surfaces of the float framework must be covered in natural materials; usually flowers and seeds. Since these natural materials have a tendency to decay after they are plucked from the ground, the decorating does not begin until December 26. The decorating must be completed by the evening of December 30 so that the floats can be judged on December 31.
Yesterday, December 30 I headed back out to Fiesta Parade Floats in Irwindale to see how progress was coming along. The first thing I noticed was how great it smelled in there with thousands upon thousands of flowers; most already on the floats, but some still waiting to be applied. One of the volunteers told me that they got a slow start because of the extremely warm weather we have been experiencing, but it was obvious that most of the floats were very close to completion.
After I left Irwindale I headed out to the Rose Bowl Stadium parking lot, having been invited by the California Cut Flower Commission (CCFC) to come photograph the float by entered by California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly). Last year the CCFC reached out to me because approximately 80% of all cut flowers sold in the United States are imported from other countries. The CCFC and California flower farmers were working with the Cal Poly Universities and the City of South Pasadena to ensure that more than 85% of the flowers used on their floats were American grown, specifically from California’s flower farms. This year, Cal Poly is the only certified \”California Grown\” float in the parade with more than 85% of the flowers used to decorate the float being sourced from California flower farmers. Continue reading
This afternoon I headed out to Fiesta Parade Floats in Irwindale, CA to check out the progress on the float building for the upcoming 125th Annual Tournament of Roses Parade which will be held Wednesday, January 1, 2014. As I have been donating time towards helping the Torrance Rose Float Association (TRFA) raise the funds needed for building the float, I figured I would go out to where the float is being built so people can get an idea of what goes into a project like this.
Fiesta Parade Floats builds award winning floats and has for several years; as such, they were actually building about 10 floats. I went a few times last year, but today had the fewest number of people on-site that I can recall. I asked one of the builders and he said that the floats are all pretty much ready for the decorating to begin; that starts the day after Christmas and must be completed by the evening of December 30 as the floats will be judged on December 31. I will go back out in a few days after the decorating has begun so you can see the difference.
The theme of this year\’s Rose Parade is “Dreams Come True.\” The American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO), which began in Torrance is a primary sponsor for Torrance\’s entry to the parade this year; so you will notice a definite soccer theme with \”Everyone Plays\”, which is the first of AYSO Soccer’s Six Philosophies and the theme of the 2014 Rose Parade float. Continue reading
These photos are of the floats of the 124th Annual Tournament of Roses Parade which was held Tuesday, January 1, 2013 in Pasadena, CA. As I took far too many photos to be viewed easily in one gallery, I broke the photos up into two groups; the floats of the parade and one of the people of the Rose Parade which includes the marching bands and equestrian units. This gallery includes all the floats as well as the cars transporting the Grand Marshal, President of the Tournament of Roses, Hall of Fame Inductees and others of that type. Due to the number of photos, you might find it easier to use the slideshow feature.
There were about 40 floats entered, several of which had been covered in my previous articles. I would like to once again thank the following for helping me gain access to watch the floats being built over the last month: Fiesta Parade Floats, Pollack PR Marketing Group and California Cut Flower Commission. The watermarks on the photos have been purchased by Got Web Host, who has been hosting web sites for personal and commercial use since 2002. The other half of the photos were watermarked as a donation to the Rheumatoid Patient Foundation, the only charity for victims of Rheumatoid Autoimmune Disease (RAD), also known as Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA). If you know someone that suffers from RA, please tell them about the Rheumatoid Patient Foundation; they will appreciate it. Continue reading
These photos were taken at the 124th Annual Tournament of Roses Parade, held January 1, 2013. Once again, I have taken too many photos to put in one gallery, so I have broken them up into two groups. This gallery consists of basically anything that was not a float; marching bands, equestrian units and basic people watching. I was set up at Colorado Boulevard and Allen Avenue, primarily on the southeast corner. As this is a very large gallery, you might find it easier to view using the slideshow feature; you can use the full screen option for the best viewing.
It was a cold morning, but that did not seem to dampen anyone\’s spirits. By the time the parade got down to us, I think most people had forgotten about the chill in the air. A portion of the watermarks on the photos have been purchased by Got Web Host, who has been hosting web sites for personal and commercial use since 2002. The other half of the photos were watermarked as a donation to the Rheumatoid Patient Foundation, the only charity for victims of Rheumatoid Autoimmune Disease (RAD), also known as Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA). If you know someone that suffers from RA, please tell them about the Rheumatoid Patient Foundation and perhaps consider making a small donation to the cause. Continue reading