2017 Rose Parade Float Construction Begins

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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. …

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Torrance visits Fiesta Parade Floats

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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 …

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Float Construction at Fiesta Parade Floats

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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. …

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Torrance comes to Fiesta Floats

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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 …

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Torrance Annual Halloween Carnival

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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 …

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Meatballs & Bingo fundraiser for the Torrance Rose Float Association

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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 …

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Cal Poly Universities: Keeping it Homegrown for the 124th Rose Parade

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These photos were taken Saturday at Lot I of the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena. Every once in a while, when I photograph a place or event, I will submit an accompanying article to CNN’s iReport. I have a pretty good idea ahead of time whether or not they will find it suitable for use on CNN and I have a pretty good track record of getting vetted. I know that they have liked my photos from Candy Cane Lane and my coverage of the 123rd Annual Tournament of Roses Parade so it made sense for me to submit a …

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Float decorating at Fiesta Floats

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These photos were taken Saturday, December 29 at Fiesta Parade Floats in Irwindale, CA as volunteers hurried to add the organic items to nine of the entries to the 124th Annual Tournament of Roses Parade. After my last visit to Fiesta Floats on Christmas Eve I happened to notice that Fiesta Floats was tweeting my articles about the float preparation at their location, so I contacted their social media person via Twitter and asked if they would be able to assist in my getting in to photograph the actual decorating of the floats. I was put in touch with the …

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Float preparation at Fiesta Floats

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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 …

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