China float to appear in Rose Parade
For the first time, the People’s Republic of China will have a float in the Rose Parade next year, and it is expected to be an eye-catcher
The official announcement will be at 10 a.m. Monday at the Tournament House in Pasadena.
Commemorating the Olympic Games that will be held in Beijing next summer, the float will be co-sponsored by the Pasadena-based Avery Dennison Corp., which has a major business presence in China, and the Roundtable of Southern California Chinese American Organizations.
Business and civic leaders will welcome a delegation from the Beijing Olympic organizing committee Monday, and there will be an artist’s rendering of the planned float.
Diane Dixon, the Avery Dennison vice president for communications and advertising, said the idea of having the float took form a couple of years ago, but making it happen was slow going.
“The Beijing folks really did not understand what the Tournament of Roses was,” she said.
Dixon would not estimate the cost of the float but said it would be comparable to major entries from past parades.
“It will be a very impressive float,” she said.
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