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With less than a month to go, workers know that familiar feeling of pressure when the workload is the heaviest and stress levels tend to rise as time is running short to complete South Pasadena’s float in time for the annual Rose Parade.
While the countdown is on and clock is ticking, Ed Donnelly, president of the South Pasadena Tournament of Roses Committee (SPTOR) – the longstanding organization of dedicated volunteers behind the effort – is highly confident the deadline will be successfully met just like it has for more than a century.
“We’re on the homestretch,” he said, recognizing days are limited and the race is on to finish the task of putting the city’s newest entry – “Boogie Fever” – on the starting line for the 135th spectacle down Pasadena’s Colorado Boulevard on January 1. “We’re right on schedule, but we can’t let up now.”
A major step to its completion took place last month when the float was taken out for a test run along Fair Oaks Avenue in the city after Tournament of Roses officials inspected its underbelly, most notably the engine and other components, to ensure it has what it takes to roll down the 5.5-mile parade route in front of thousands of sideline viewers and millions more watching on television around the globe.
“A big criteria of the Tournament of Roses is safety, not just for the people on board the float but the audience members along the way,” stressed Donnelly, in his first year at the helm of the SPTOR, taking over for Brant Dunlap, who termed out and continues to remain active as a construction crewmember. “They want to make sure it’s in good working order.”
Support like Dunlap provides comes in many forms, not only by many individuals lending a hand to build and decorate it, especially in the critical final hours when fresh flowers are applied, but from companies like Dunn Edwards, which donated all the paint for South Pasadena’s latest floral masterpiece. Many residents actively help by writing checks, aiding with a financial donation to defray building costs. In addition, to keep volunteers fed during construction hours, local restaurants and committee members often chip in by providing a meal or two.
The nourishment is well needed and fully appreciated, especially by a small group of core workers, the likes of Dunlap, who have day jobs but make the float site behind the War Memorial Building in the 400 block of Fair Oak Avenue their second home, especially this time of year during those anxious moments leading up to what’s typically known as “Crunch Time.” In the final days ahead of the parade, inside a giant circus-like tent, a mass of volunteers place thousands of flowers on the city entry in water-filled vials to complete the decorating task. The stage is set to then move the float into position as it is driven to the starting position along Orange Grove Boulevard in Pasadena either late into the night on December 31 or early January 1, just hours before the parade’s sendoff.
“Boogie Fever,” a disco hit song made famous by the Sylvers in the 1970s, will be blaring on board the float once the parade begins, contributing mightily to the overall theme – “Celebrating a World of Music: The Universal Language.”
Members of the Sylvers are promising a visit to the float site to take pictures and, according to Donnelly, “They have been very gracious in allowing us to use the song.”
The SPTOR president stressed that his committee looked for a float design that captured “not only what the theme of the parade is about, but the great city of South Pasadena with a joyous explosion of music and dance. It’s wonderful because music brings us together. It’s really fun. It’s really cute. People are going to love it. It’s really fun and reflects the enthusiasm of all the young families who have moved into South Pasadena in the past few years.”
Donnelly emphasized: “People are going to see an explosion of joy!”
In that vein, the city entry showcases a variety of animal characters from the rainforest that have discovered a turntable that fell off a cargo plane. After placing the Sylvers’ song on it, the animals find themselves dancing and jamming along to the lively sounds.
The design highlighting an elephant, giraffe, snake, parrot and monkey in a wild outdoor setting allows the float’s decoration crew to do “a lot of creative things with the flowers and plant materials,” explained Donnelly. “I think it’s going to be stunning, a really beautiful float.”
Award-winning entries have been plentiful in recent years for the city, South Pasadena earning the coveted Bob Hope Humor Award for “Spark of Imagination” last January, and the Founder’s Award in 2022 for “Sky’s the Limit,” but as Donnelly points out, while the acclaim from the Tournament of Roses is important, he stressed just putting a float in the parade for all the world to see is the bottom line goal each year.
“Recognizing that we’ve done something special by winning an award is great, but that’s not why we do this,” he insisted. “We do this because this is a South Pasadena tradition. It celebrates our community. It’s a great opportunity to represent that spirit. If we happen to win one, that’s just gravy.”
The Tournament of Roses Parade has been around since 1890, and not much long after its launch, South Pasadena jumped on board. “It’s nearly as old as the city that we’ve put a float in the parade,” noted Donnelly. “In fact, we’re the oldest volunteer-built float in the parade, entirely constructed and funded by people in South Pasadena and outside the city. That is really exciting. It’s just not something the city pays for and is a nice thing to do. It’s something where I think we, as a city needs to keep the tradition alive. I want this float to be in the parade a hundred years from now, and far beyond that. Coming on as the president of the organization, that was my focus. We have to sustain this not just until next year, but for another 100 years and longer.”
South Pasadena joins a group of six distinguished entries known as “self-builts,” floats created entirely through the efforts of volunteers. Unlike commercially-constructed floats with top-dollar budgets behind them, the city’s relies on the efforts of community members, residents in neighboring cities and many others from around the country, some fulfilling a bucket list item, saying they made a small contribution to being a part of the annual pageantry. Other self-builts include the cities of Sierra Madre, Downey, La Cañada Flintridge, Burbank and Cal Poly universities.
To help fund the float, the SPTOR holds a series a fundraisers throughout the year, including its biggest called the Crunch Time Party, aptly referring to year-end big push to finish the float, featuring a catered event, silent and live auction on Friday, December 29, at the War Memorial Building.
“At that point the float is very close to completion, so people can see firsthand what our hard work has done to get it at the starting area,” Donnelly said. “It’s an event where people are incredibly generous and it’s absolutely crunch time. We have 48 hours to get this thing ready to roll down Colorado Boulevard.”
As president, Donnelly says he has two immediate needs – one, to get additional help from the public to finish the current float, urging interested parties to go to SPTOR.org and sign up for a volunteer work shift nights and weekends. Or, simply show up at the worksite and pitch in. “All are welcome,” he said, noting that there are some age requirements for those working on board the float. “People can walk over, see what’s going on, and ask how they can get involved. But even for little kids with parents, we can find activities for them so they can say they helped build the float.”
And second, in order to sustain the float building tradition, “We need a pipeline of new folks to help us make it happen year-after-year,” he said. “That’s our long-term challenge. We need a succession plan for all those with institutional knowledge of building and decorating the float to pass it down to those willing to the next generations.”
To jump on board and be a part of it, Donnelly recommends going to the SPTOR.org website and contacting those on the committee through a list of posted emails. Individuals can also attend the organization’s monthly meeting, generally held the first Tuesday of every month at a city location.
Contributing to the float’s success has become a way of life for thousands throughout the decades and Donnelly is not one to take their contributions for granted. In awe of those committed to the project over the years, seeing the float come to life from a design sketch approved by the Tournament early in the year to it traveling along Colorado Boulevard to the amazement of onlookers, he continues to praise the work of those giving up valuable hours all in the name of city pride.
“We have a well-oiled, seasoned team in all aspects of the organization who really know what they are doing, yet we can always use more help, especially in sustaining our future,” he said. “I’m proud of the work of everyone involved and looking forward to January 1, 2024 when this float goes down the parade route.”
