PASADENA, California (Reuters) — Hundreds of volunteers gather in Pasadena, California, to put the finishing touches on floats appearing in the 128th annual Tournament of Roses, more commonly known as the New Year’s Day Rose Parade.
Forty floats will make their way through Pasadena, each decorated with thousands of flowers, seeds and beans.
“You know, it’s hard to fathom. The amount of blooms are literally in the millions. Six to eight hundred thousand blooms per float so there’s just a tremendous, unfathomable amount of flowers,” says Chris Lofthouse, president and CEO of Phoenix Decorating Company.
Phoenix Decorating Company is one of three decorating companies that participate in float decorations. This year they are decorating 17 of the parade’s floats.
“I feel like I’m making a really huge impact even though we’re only cutting roses but each rose that we cut is a very impactful thing to do here because every rose here counts,” says Hazel Cartagena, a teenaged volunteer.
“I just think that when you’re part of something that’s bigger than you, you just know that the world can be a better place. You really can. So, we are very blessed to be a part of this and it just makes me feel so good to be part of this. I feel great for the opportunity, I really do,” says Barry Rosenfeld, a director for the Rotary Rose Parade Float Committee.
The Rose Parade has a long standing “never on a Sunday” tradition, which means that the parade will take place on Monday, January 2nd. The rule was established in 1893.
The annual Rose Bowl Game will also take place on January 2, after the completion of the parade.