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In the late 1970s, as the radio airwaves were filled with disco sounds, one of those at the top of the heap was “Boogie Fever,” made famous by the Sylvers.
The group that sang the groovy tune during an era when life was a gas, cool, and outta sight, along with other popular sayings in the day, has generously allowed the music to be played aboard South Pasadena’s float in the 135th Rose Parade on New Year’s day.
The local entry depicts a turntable from a cargo plane falling into the rainforest. A collection of animals found it “and are getting down,” to the Sylvers’ lively beat, South Pasadena Tournament of Roses (SPTOR) Chair Ed Donnelly told KTLA news reporter Gayle Anderson during an early morning segment on Monday.
“The detail is extraordinary,” Anderson said, referring to a design of the float.
The overall theme of the parade is “Celebrating a World of Music,” and, as Donnelly noted, “We looked for a design that not only was celebrating music throughout the world, but also the enthusiasm and positivity of all of our folks here in the community of South Pasadena.”
The news station then played a small portion of the movin’ and grovin’ sounds of “Boogie Fever” before Donnelly explained that two road tests are conducted by the Tournament of Roses officials each year, the second one coming up on Saturday, to ensure the safety of those on board the float during the parade.
Decked out in white overalls with a giant red rose on the back, the TOR team takes it out for a ride along Fair Oaks Avenue in town escorted by the South Pasadena Police Department. They want to make sure all systems are go for the float to travel the 5.5-mile route down Colorado Boulevard in front of thousands of viewers and millions more watching worldwide on television.
“You have to make sure not only that it moves, but you have to check the safety,” Anderson said to Donnelly as volunteers behind them were shown working off to the side of the float.
“What we’re looking for is fire safety, making sure the occupants, the driver, the observer will be safe if something goes wrong, we’re ready to respond. We have to deploy our tow hitch within eight seconds so they can pull the float out of the way if there is an issue. The Tournament of Roses organization makes sure that every float is safe.”
Anderson pointed out that South Pasadena has the oldest self-built float in the parade, meaning it’s creation is made possible entirely by volunteers, unlike most that are constructed commercially, by companies paying top dollar to be a part of the festive pageantry that welcomes in the new year.
Six self-built floats are in the parade each year. Joining South Pasadena are Burbank, Cal Poly, Downey, La Canada Flintridge and Sierra Madre.
“The self-builders handle everything – design, decoration, assembly,” said Anderson to viewers. “Everything is handled by volunteers.”
For more than a century, pointed out Donnelly, unpaid help has “been putting this thing together,” he said, “working tirelessly. It’s a year-round project. We don’t just do this in December.”
He stressed that the effort to make it happen is volunteer driven for fundraising, construction and decoration of the floral masterpiece.
“Every year since 1911, the community has come together to put together the best float that we can,” he said.
A major player in that effort is SPTOR Decoration Chair Janet Benjamin, who was interviewed by Anderson during a later segment on Monday.
As part of the float’s requirements from the Tournament of Roses, along with the use of Roses it must be covered in all natural materials that have color and texture. For example, Benjamin explained that an elephant character – “Frankie” – on board will use Ming Moss, to give it a gray color. Benjamin then showed viewers other materials used on the float, including yellow clover, flax seed, white beans and paper bark.
As the days wind down closer to the float’s deadline to finish, Anderson emphasized that after this weekend and the second technical test, it will be “full tilt boogie every day, every hour of the day to get this [float] ready.”
Donnelly, noting the urgency of support, added: “This is crunch time. This is when we need the most help we can get all year. Please sign up for a shift, or you can come walk in.”
The SPTOR chair also encourages those who simply want to take in the beauty of the float to also stop by.
The float site, a giant circus-like tent, is in the back parking lot of the War Memorial Building in the 400 block of Fair Oaks Avenue.
“Come visit us and take a look,” he said. “Seeing the detail of all of these flowers and materials on the float is amazing.”
To jump on board to volunteer now and to find out how you can get involved with the committee, go to: SPTOR.org/volunteers
