2024 Tournament of Roses Floatfest

I didn’t attend the Floatfest last year opting instead to see the Equestfest. Skipping a year felt weird, so I was glad to join my daughter as we walked along Pasadena’s Washington Avenue and Sierra Madre Boulevard early on January 2nd. What a treat to see all these marvelous creations! It was still quiet at 7:00 or 7:30, but that peace wouldn’t last.

One of the first floats we encountered was the tremendous entry from Newport Beach. This wasn’t just one float but five! Here’s a photo of the first “car.”

Here’s the last one: This massive “float” won the Extraordinaire Award for most extraordinary float.

Forty floats appeared in this year’s parade. I won’t mention every one, but they were all unique and stunningly decorated. It was hard to decide which to include in this post, but I wanted to choose at least one that referred to this year’s theme: “Celebrating a World of Music: The Universal Language.” As a dog owner, I enjoyed the entry from Kiwanis titled “Serving in Harmony.” I doubt if my dog would sit so patiently.

I must include something that features the elaborate and detailed work seen on the One Legacy Donate Life float. It was titled “Woven Together, the Dance of Life.”
The cactus and leaves are especially wonderful when seen close up.

I’ll include one more photo, something less lovely, the driver’s area of a float.

I think this particular vehicle was titled “Armenian Melodies” in celebration of Armenian heritage. The driver was near the front, just behind the Shukar Birds. Here’s a terrible photo of the float featuring the open door. The dark spot in the red roses is the window.

As I mentioned above, there were forty floats. I won’t include all of them, but you can see a few more by clicking here