On Tuesday afternoon I headed back out to Fiesta Parade Floats in Irwindale to photograph the beginning of the decorating portion of the floats being built there for the 128th Annual Tournament of Roses Parade.
Unlike my visit of two weeks ago when the warehouse sounded, smelled and looked a lot like any other workshop, yesterday was the first day that volunteers were allowed in to begin the actual decorating of the floats.
When decorating the floats, they begin by adding the “dry goods” such as various seeds, husks and cut up leaves and flowers which are meticulously glued into place. I would not be surprised to hear that a significant number of volunteers finished their day with a slight buzz as the aroma of glue and paint definitely permeated the air. The flowers will probably begin being added on Thursday or Friday as the judging will be held on Sunday; the parade itself will not be held until Monday, January 2, 2017.
The 2017 Pasadena Tournament of Roses theme is “Echoes of Success” and each entry gives their idea on what that means. The entry for the City of Torrance was designed by West High School senior, Lindsey
Beckmeyer and features ladies and knights defending their castle from a 16-foot winged dragon. It is really taking shape since my last visit; I think the city’s visitors are going to be pretty impressed when they visit there Thursday.
Residents of the City of Torrance are reminded that the Torrance Rose Float Association still has openings for volunteer decorators on the night shifts; from 4:00 to 10:00 PM. If interested, please visit http://www.torrancerosefloat.org/ for the sign up and membership forms.
Thank you once again to The Pollack PR Marketing Group and Fiesta Parade Floats for granting me access to take these photos.
