Volunteers Urgently Needed to Finish Rose Parade Floats

With literally millions of flower petals still not in place, the Tournament of Roses Assn. issued an emergency call Tuesday for volunteers to brave the frigid weather and help complete several floats before Friday’s Rose Parade.

Scores of expected volunteers have stayed away because of cold temperatures in the mostly open-air areas where work is being completed, putting some floats behind schedule, officials said.

“I’ve got 250,000 to 300,000 individual roses, each of which has to be placed in a single vial of water on these floats. Help!” said Bill Lofthouse, co-owner of C. E. Bent & Son, which is building 25 of this year’s 60 floats. “We have literally millions of blossoms and petals to apply.”

“We’re taking anybody off the street that we can,” said Steve Altmayer, spokesman for Charisma Floats of Altadena, a smaller builder.

Rain Hampers Work

“Right now it’s raining like crazy, so we’ve had to crowd people under a roof like a bunch of cattle,” Altmayer said. “They’re working furiously, but we need more help.”

Traditionally, hundreds of volunteers help the private float-building companies in the last days before the parade, when truckloads of flowers are applied to floats already bedecked in dried seeds, grains and grasses.

Around-the-clock efforts begin today as workers apply the bulk of the flowers, which must be kept fresh through Friday. Tournament of Roses officials said the companies are seeking groups, such as church organizations or families, but individual volunteers also are welcome.

Lofthouse said volunteers should “wear warm grubbies because they will be working with glue.”