Elizabeth BoatmanAfter 2021, when Pasadena was closed down by Covid, I was
delighted to see the city again hold the Tournament of Roses Parade on New Year’s Day. After the big event, every float is displayed just a couple blocks from my daughter’s home. She and I made arrangements to meet up on January 2nd to look at these magnificent creations at what was billed as Floatfest 2022.
The Theme
This year’s theme was “Dream, Believe, Achieve.” Many floats added an education element and featured books! I enjoyed the imaginative ways the local cities approached this idea.
What joy this float has as it promotes books and reading! Burbank’s entry also won the Mayor Award for the most outstanding float from a participation city.
Detail
It’s one thing to watch the Tournament of Roses parade on television. It’s a different experience to get a close-up view of the floats. We know how creative these things are. The detail in this work is what impressed me on this visit. Here’s an example.
As did so many others, this float makes me smile. The feature I want you to see is the brown rabbit sitting near the boat trailer. It looks so furry. Now, here’s is the detail.
What are all those little tuffs that make the fur?
As I looked back at my photos, I found several float “close-up” pictures. This snake is one of my favorites.
The float won the Director’s Award for the most outstanding artistic design and use of floral and non-floral.
Fun with float design
.Can anyone top Cal Poly for a large dose of fun? This year’s float, “Stargazers,” won the Animation Award.
So how did the cow jump over the moon? The answer is obvious: jet packs! If you look closely, a little astronaut is holding a Tournament of Roses flag at the base of the moon. Nice touch!
I took far too many photos on January 2nd. Many have weird things in the background. Gee, I didn’t see that when I was viewing the float! Still, I like the images just the same. They make me smile. If you want to see a few more images, please click here.
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