THE 1995 ROSE PARADE : Flower Power

On Monday, the 52 floats participating in the 106th Rose Parade will proudly display the results of months of planning and hard work as they make their way down Colorado Boulevard.

Heading the Pack

From conception to construction: the life of the float that will lead this year’s parade.

Fall, 1993 * Float entries committee begins selecting float sponsors.

January * Idea is conceived for float designs. Artist, conferring with engineer, begins design sketches. NASA is contacted for photos of moon landing.

March * Painting and sketches of float idea are presented to the sponsor.

May * Sponsor makes final decision.

June * Construction begins. It takes five to six months to complete the float.

Oct. 8 * Engines and motors are inspected to make sure everything runs safely.

Oct. 22 * Float is tested on the street.

Mid-November * Chicken wire is applied on float surfaces and cocooned with latex webbing. Process takes about two weeks.

December * Float is painted to mark flower placement. Dry materials, such as rice, are applied.

Dec. 10 * Final road test.

Dec. 27 * Flowers are applied

Jan 2 * Parade

After parade * Float is disassembled. Parts of it will be sold, and the rest stored for next year.

FLOAT DETAILS Float theme: An American Pastime Height: 18’ wide, 30’ high, 75’ long Weight: 25,000 pounds Sponsor: American Honda Motor Co. Flowers: Carnations, silverleaf, seaweed, sweet rice, clover seed, lunaria, eucalyptus leaves, statice, button mums, strawflowers, roses, cattleya orchids, iris, protea, anthurium, gypsophilia, chrysanthemums and gerbera daisies

Main float

The main float driver, with the help of a spotter, navigates the float. These workers, outlined here, are not seen by parade-goers.

Secondary float

Another crew member will drive the secondary float.

MECHANICS Engines: Two. Steering: Power steering with a tractor drive. Battery: Three generators, enough to light seven or eight average homes. Animation: A rotating platform. The hydraulic system will allow the 30-foot astronaut to bend forward, clearing a low freeway bridge, and swing the golf club. Golf balls are helium-filled balloons three feet in diameter, which will be ejected from float.

SOUND SYSTEM

A powerful sound system will blare Lee Greenwood’s “Proud to Be an American.” A series of speakers underneath the float will send a rumbling vibration along its path.

Order of the March

1. American Honda Motor Co.

2. Long Beach Mounted Police

3. Southwest Missouri State University Marching Band

4. Countrywide Funding Corp.

5. Medieval Times Dinner and Tournament

6. South Pasadena Tournament of Roses

7. George Putnam Group

8. Tournament of Roses Grand Marshal

9. Puerto Rico

10. West Coast Composite Marine Band

11. Downey Rose Float Assn.

12. Wee Wheelers

13. Unocal Corp.

14. Pasadena City College

15. Tournament of Roses Queen and Royal Court

16. Pasadena City College

17. Farmers Insurance Group

18. Norco Desperados

19. Family of Freemasonry

20. Alexis I. DuPont High School

21. Delta Air Lines

22. National Park Service

23. Pacific 10 Conference

24. Pacific 10 Conference Band

25. JCI Environmental Services

26. Western Group

27. City of Inglewood

28. Waukesha North High School Marching Band

29. Sierra Madre Rose Float Assn.

30. Tournament of Roses President

31. Polizei-Musik

32. City of Alhambra

33. Tanner Appaloosa

34. Burbank Tournament of Roses Assn.

35. La Canada Flintridge Tournament of Roses Assn.

36. Drum Corps Trisakti

37. Republic of Indonesia

38. Valley Hunt Club

39. Mayor of Pasadena

40. Big Ten Conference

41. Big Ten Conference Marching Band

42. Lutheran Laymen’s League

43. Iron Eyes Cody and American Indian Tribal Leaders

44. City of Duarte / City of Hope National Medical Center

45. Newton High School Marching Band

46. 1928 Jewelry Company

47. The Pasobilities Peruvian Paso Horse Club

48. Eastman Kodak Co.

49. Ft. Mill High School Band

50. City of Glendale

51. Shady Ladies of the Mother Lode

52. Cal Spas and Billiards

53. Ferndale High School Golden Eagle Marching Band

54. Rotary International

55. The Martinez Family

56. Cacique Inc.

57. American Morgan Horse Unit

58. City of Los Angeles

59. Poway High School Emerald Brigade

60. Automobile Club of Southern California

61. American Bashkir Curly Gegistry

62. Odd Fellows ad Rebekahs

63. Elko High School

64. Southern California Edison

65. Gene Autry Western Heritage Museum

66. Sunkist Growers

67. Greenville High School Solid Gold Marching Band

68. Arcadia Tournament of Roses Assn.

69. Hawaii Pa’u Riders

70. State of Hawaii

71. Moanalau High School Menehune Marching Band

72. City of St. Louis

73. Al Kaly Mule Train

74. China Airlines

75. Holland High School Marching Dutchmen Band

76. City of Long Beach

77. The New Buffalo Soldiers

78. Kiwanis International California, Nevada, Hawaii District

79. Ebell of Los Angeles

80. Florists’ Transworld Delivery Assn. (FTD)

81. Salvation Army Band

82. Dr. Pepper / 7-Up Companies

83. Mission Belles

84. Arco

85. Morris Brown College

86. Chiropractic Centennial Foundation

87. Icelandic Horse Adventure Society

88. International House of Pancakes

89. B Troop 4th U.S. Cavalry (Memorial)

90. Disneyland

91. Owasso High School Marching Band

92. Portland Rose Festival

93. International Andalusian Horses of Spain

94. Rembrandt Oral Care Products

95. Target Stores

96. John Suttill’s Parading Arabians

97. Republic of El Salvador

98. West High School Entertainment Unit

99. City of Torrance

100. Lions Club International

101. Valley Silver Bullets Equestrians

102. Cal Poly Universities of Pomona and San Luis Obispo

103. Meijo Gakuin Band

104. Mishima, Japan

105. Camarillo White Horse Assn.

106. Balian Ice Cream Co.

107. Pagosa Sparklers

108. Elks

109. Los Angeles Unified All-District High School Honor Band

110. U.S. Marshals Posse

Parade Facts

Never on Sunday

When Jan.1 falls on a Sunday the Rose Parade and Rose Bowl game are held the following day. Tournament officials in 1893 concluded that the parade would frighten horses tethered outside local churches and interfere with Sunday worship services.

The First Parade

On Jan.1, 1890, the Valley Hunt Club voted to present a parade of flower-decorated horses and buggies along with public games to resemble the “Battle of Flowers” festival in Nice, France. Two thousand people attended.

Grand Marshal

This year’s marshal is professional golfer Chi Chi Rodriguez. Notable past grand marshals include Shirley Temple, Herbert Hoover, Bob Hope, Gen. Omar Bradley, Richard Nixon, Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Apollo 12 astronauts, John Wayne, Gerald R. Ford, Jimmy Stewart and William Shatner.

Float Design

Each float must be entirely covered with natural and organic materials and conform to regulations of height, width, length and thematic design. This year’s theme is “Sports--Quest for Excellence.”

Parading Through When: Begins a 8 a.m. Monday and lasts about two hours. The Rose Bowl game starts at 1:50 p.m. *

Parking: Police say those wishing to park within easy walking distance should arrive about 6:30 a.m. Overnight parking on Pasadena streets is permitted beginning at noon on Jan. 1. All “No Parking” areas and red curb zones remain off limits, and vehicles in violation will be subject to impound and a fine. Metered parking will not be enforced Sunday and Monday. *

Seating: Curbside viewing is on a first-come, first-served basis. A Pasadena city ordinance allows the occupancy of curbside space beginning at noon Sunday. Most of the grandstand seats are sold through Sharp Seating Co., (818) 795-4171, and Marsden Bros., (310) 394-6639. *

The Route: The 5 1/2 mile parade route begins on South Orange Grove Boulevard, turning east on Colorado Boulevard and north on Sierra Madre Boulevard and ending at Paloma Street. *

The Police Department recommends avoiding Fair Oaks Ave. unless you have reserved parking in that area. *

Eastbound and westbound Sierra Madre and San Gabriel off-ramps closed 8 p.m. Sunday to 6 p.m. Monday. *

Eastbound Orange Grove off-ramp closed 8 p.m. Sunday and Monday. *

1.: Where parade units form. Closed to the public. *

2.: Public display of floats after the parade from 1:30 to 4 p.m. and Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Special viewing for the disabled from 7 to 9 a.m. Tuesday. * Source: C.E. Bent & Sons Inc., Pasadena Tournament of Roses Assn., Pasadena Police Department