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
As I mentioned a couple months ago, I volunteered to help give the Torrance Rose Float Association (TRFA) some additional exposure to assist them in their fundraising efforts so the City of Torrance can be represented at the next Tournament of Roses Parade. A couple nights ago I heard that the TRFA needed volunteers to run their booth at the 2013 Torrance Annual Halloween Carnival, so Tanya stepped up to take care of their booth for a couple hours. Judging by the photos, she had as much fun as the kids playing the game.
The City of Torrance no longer provides public funds for entering a float in the Rose Parade, but relies on private donations to the Torrance Rose Float Association, a 501(c)(3) organization. The TRFA is looking for help with many activities that need to be done throughout the year. If you are interested in volunteering help or want to make donations, please visit the TRFA website at http://www.torrancerosefloat.com/.
The Halloween Carnival was held at Charles Wilson Community Park, 2200 Crenshaw Boulevard in Torrance, on October 31, 2013. Continue reading
Last night, the Torrance Rose Float Association (TRFA) held a fundraiser, Meatballs & Bingo, at the Order Sons of Italy in America hall in Torrance. The event was held to help raise the money required to enter a float in the 2014 Tournament of Roses Parade and featured a spaghetti dinner then some rousing games of Bingo with potential door prizes for the winners. I have to admit, I have never played Bingo beyond the standard game we used to play as children. I had no idea that Bingo had so many variations, but there are many and several of them were played last night.
The City of Torrance no longer provides public funds for entering a float in the parade, which usually costs about $250,000; but rather now relies on private donations to the Torrance Rose Float Association, a 501(c)(3) organization. The TRFA is looking for help with many activities that need to be done throughout the year. If you are interested in volunteering help or want to make donations, please visit the TRFA website at http://www.torrancerosefloat.com/. Continue reading
A couple of weeks ago I headed out to Fiesta Floats in Irwindale, CA to take some photos of the float being entered in the 2013 Tournament of Roses Parade by the City of Torrance. Fiesta Floats creates some of the best floats in the Tournament of Roses and has won the Sweepstakes Award for the last 19 years. That is pretty impressive. As it turned out, Kaiser Permanente was having a family day there, so the warehouse was pretty packed and it made it difficult to get a lot of shots. I went back this morning to see what kind of progress had been made.
Well, it was pretty obvious that they had been busy at Fiesta Parade Floats, because there were several new floats there. It did not look like a lot of work had been done on the Torrance or Kaiser floats; but I don\’t know that they really needed much beyond the application of the flowers. To that end, all of the floats had scaffolding around them so that the volunteers and workers could apply the flowers and seeds. Unfortunately, that took away from my ability to photograph the floats. Oh well; it is what it is. They start decorating on December 26 and unless I can arrange a pass I will not be able to get any more preparation shots.
The Torrance float is funded by donations to the Torrance Rose Float Association (TRFA). The Torrance Rose Float Association is a non-profit so they rely entirely on donations. For more details on how you can help, please visit the Torrance Rose Float Association website. Continue reading
Saturday, I headed out to Irwindale, CA to visit Fiesta Floats so I could take some photos of the building of the City of Torrance entry to the 2013 Rose Parade. As it turned out, Kaiser Permanente was having a Family Day for friends and family of Kaiser Permanente employees so there was a lot more going on than I expected. The Kaiser Permanente float was being showcased and they had magicians, crafts and games for the kids. They even let people help prepare things for the actual decorating of the float.
The City of Torrance float is coming along nicely, and decorating will be getting started within the next week or so (I would guess). The city no longer sponsors the Rose Parade entry, so it is funded by donations to the Torrance Rose Float Association (TRFA). The Torrance Rose Float Association is a non-profit so they rely entirely on donations. For more details on how you can help, please visit their website. Continue reading