City of Hope has been transforming the future of health since 1913, through research, prevention, and treatment. The float depicts one of the Wishing Trees on campus, with notes of hope fluttering from the branches. It won the coveted Isabella Coleman Award.
by Laura Berthold Monteros
Since the foundation of the Tournament of Roses Parade is flower-covered floats, it may seem odd that in the new system of float awards there is a specific category for Floral Design. The floats that take home awards in this category display the most effective, beautiful, creative, and bountiful use of fresh botanical materials. One of the most prestigious awards, the Isabella Coleman, is in this category.
The winners in the 2018 Rose Parade are listed in the table below, and descriptions of flowering and animation are in the captions in the photo gallery. It’s a large gallery, but the floats are well worth the clicks.
Some interesting notes on a few of the floats:
City of Hope rider Daniel Bliley began donating platelets on his 18th birthday in memory of his mother, who died of leukemia when Daniel was 8. Fifteen years later, he has donated 200 times. Read more about this young man on the City of Hope website.
United Sikh Mission is a Southern California nonprofit founded by Rashpal Singh in 2006 to benefit the poor in rural Punjab. One of the major efforts is providing eye clinics. The dedication to service is foundational to Sikhism, which can be seen in this depiction of the Golden Temple kitchen (langar) which feeds 100,000 people a day. The Leishman Public Spirit Award, the organization’s first, is well-deserved.
A sapling from one of Hiroshima’s A-bomb survivor trees was on the Rotary float and slated to be planted in one Rotary’s Peace Gardens.
More than 97 percent of the flowers on the Cal Poly Universities float were grown in the State of California, which garnered them California Grown certification for the seventh year; the only Rose Parade float to do so. Masses of fresh flowers included 10,000 roses, 10,000 gerbera, 12,000 chrysanthemums, 12,000 button and cushion mums, and 1,000 irises.
Taiwan-based China Airlines signed the United for Wildlife Transport Taskforce Buckingham Palace Declaration in 2017. The airline has pledged to not transport illegal wildlife and related products.
2018 FLORAL DESIGN CATEGORY
Award
Sponsor “Theme” Builder, Designer
President Award for most outstanding use and presentation of flowers
Western Asset Management Company “Oceans of Possibility” Phoenix Decorating Company, Michelle Lofthouse
Isabella Coleman Award for most outstanding presentation of color harmony through floral design
City of Hope “Transforming Lives with Hope” Phoenix Decorating Company, Michelle Lofthouse
Queen Award for most outstanding presentation of roses
Downey Rose Float Association “Working Together” Self Built, Jeff Shadic, Jason Redfox, Thom Neighbors
Leishman Public Spirit Award for most outstanding floral design and display from a non-commercial participant
United Sikh Mission “Serving Kindness” Phoenix Decorating Company, Michelle Lofthouse
Princess Award for most floral display among entries 35 feet and under in length
Rotary Rose Parade Float Committee “Planting the Seeds of Service” Phoenix Decorating Company, Michelle Lofthouse
Past President Award for most outstanding innovation in the use of floral and non-floral materials
Cal Poly Universities “Dreams Take Flight” Self Built, N/A
Founder Award for most outstanding floral display built and decorated by volunteers from a community or organization
Burbank Tournament of Roses Association “Sand-Sational Helpers” Self Built, Catherine Glandeon, Fred Fraleigh
International Award for most outstanding floral display among floats from outside the United States
China Airlines “Caring for Our Sea” Artistic Entertainment Services, John Ramirez
Tournament Volunteer Award for most outstanding floral display of the rose parade theme among floats 35 feet and under in length
Shriners Hospitals for Children “Caring for Kids Around the World” Phoenix Decorating Company, Cynthia McMinimy
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A SCUBA diver explores kelp forests and a coral reef in the waters surrounding Taiwan on the China Airlines float. The heads on the turtles turn, and a bubble machine adds to the undersea feel.
The China Airlines float was almost entirely covered in dry materials, including statice, onion and poppy seed, palm fiber, strawflower, lentils, and split peas. Fresh materials included 5,000 orange, pink, and yellow roses, orchids, fruit, and foliage.
Day transitions into night from front to back, as Paula the Koala, Ollie the Otter, and Rusty the Red Panda fly through LED-lit clouds on the Cal Poly Universities float. Animal heads turn, propellers and pinwheels rotate, and the Cal Poly letters bob up and down.
The front and rear planes on the Cal Poly float roll side to side and feature a complete set of control surfaces (flaps, rudders, ailerons, elevators), and the front of the pod under the plane bobs and rolls.
Humpback whales follow a pair of cavorting dolphins through an underseascape bursting with hundreds of shades of floral, dry, and fresh materials. The turtle moves its head and fins as real bubbles float around it. The design was selected by Western Asset employees.
49,200 fresh flowers were used on the Western Asset float, including roses, anthurium, protea, cabbage kale, ferns, eremurus, orchids, Leucadendron, kangaroo paw. Thousands of kumquats and 100,000 each of raisins and cranberries created the octopus at the rear.
A canopy of gorgeous flowers creates a City of Hope Wishing Tree, complete with tags bearing handwritten wishes. City of Hope is one of the foremost comprehensive cancer centers in the country, leading in research, prevention, and treatment of cancer and other diseases.
Riders on the City of Hope float: Dodger Enrique "Kike" Hernandez, former Dodgers GM & VP Fred Claire, platelet donor Daniel Bliley, cancer survivors Cory Norton, Rosemary Estrada, Chad Bible, Nicole Allen, Becky Velazquez-Mclntyre, Elizabeth Jenkins, Gary Lorenzini, and Jackie Solano
This fluffy grass and cotton bunny waiting for peaches to ripen is “a symbol of the watchful gaze of Rotarians” throughout the world. The jacket is red, yellow, and white mums with cranberries and blueberries.
White suiters are a friendly bunch! A Rotary outwalker greets a Tournament volunteer as the float rounds the corner. 53,300 fresh flowers decorated the float, with roses in white and various shades of pink covering the deck.
In his sixth Rose Parade appearance, Shriner astronaut Fezzy watches over a spinning earth amid planets and a space station. The 372,250 fresh flowers include roses (including Black Magic, specially grown for Phoenix), whole carnations, anthurium, protea, and heliconia.
Riders: Imperial Potentate Gary Bergenske & wife Anne; trustee Peter Diaz & wife Vicky; patient ambassadors, Alec Cabacungan, Emily Mellish, Isabella Rose, and Kechi Okwuchi. The float celebrates the opening of the Shriners for Children Medical Center outpatient facility in Pasadena.
The Downey Rose Float Association gathered about 10,000 roses, 3,000 orchids, and 2,500 gerbera in pinks, oranges, and yellows to create the arrangements and carpet on their float. The lattice globe rotated.
Miss Downey Guile Ledesma was front and center in white, accompanied by princesses Gessica Manteca, Connie Martinez, Samantha Meza, and Katherene Santana. Downey chooses princesses in various age groups, from young adult to very young girls.
The man with the camera walking in front of the United Sikh Mission float was hanging out near the press stands before the parade, looking so happy and excited, we thought he belonged in this photo.
Pots are filled with real vegetables, including squash, broccoli, and bell peppers. The leaf plates are larger replicas of the thousands of plates that are handcrafted daily for the Golden Temple langar. 90,959 fresh flowers were used on the float.
Real bread sits on the griddle, and baskets behind are filled with various colors of potatoes, cauliflower, carrots, and squash. Flowers include roses, orchids, carnations, iris, eremurus, gladiola, and stock. Lemon branches and yellow apples stand in for a jujube tree.
Sea creatures and birds pick up trash and recycling on the beach on the Burbank Tournament of Roses Association float. Can you spot the seagull with the bikini top? Animation: undulating waves, bobbing fish, rotating heads and moving tentacles, a flying seagull, rocking otter.
The florals on the Burbank float have a wonderful, beachy way of spilling over, like the iris waves and sandy roses. There were 10,400 roses 11,000 iris stems, more than 10,000 mums, and amaranthus, orchids, carnations, poinsettias, marigolds, and succulents.
All photos copyright 2016 Ramona Monteros, except as noted
Destination Irvine - Irvine Chamber of Commerce "Innovation Rocks!" designed by Mike Abboud and built by Phoenix Decorating Company was the city’s first entry in the Rose Parade. It represented Irvine’s 16 hotels. Peter the Anteater is UC Irvine’s mascot.
Destination Irvine "Innovation Rocks!" celebrated the 50th anniversary of the University of California Irvine as an innovation hub. Irvine is known for life-changing innovations in technology and life sciences.
Eight interlocking gears and two bubble machines created a whimsical mood on Destination Irvine - Irvine Chamber of Commerce "Innovation Rocks!"
Fanciful flowers nestled among the roses on the Destination Irvine "Innovation Rocks!" Rose Parade float.
American Armenian Rose Float Association, Inc. "Discover Armenia," designed by Johnny Kanounji and Mike Abboud and built by Phoenix Decorating company celebrated 16 landmarks of Armenia on the organization’s second Rose Parade float. The Mother Armenia statue of Yerevan, Armenia is front and center and the Sardarapat Memorial rises in the rear.
Three television personalities rode the “Discover Armenia” Rose Parade float: Araksya Karapetyan from Good Day LA, Sona Movsesian, Conan O'Brien assistant, and Ellina Abovian from KTLA. Two of the ladies are seated in front of two Urartu sphinxes.
"Discover Armenia" float: Tatev Monastery, built in the 9th century, and 10th century Gavazan Swinging Column. The column is a feat of engineering, constructed with a pivoting base to withstand earthquakes.
Two riders beside the “We Are Our Mountains” monument, now in Azerbaijan, and in front of the pre-Christian era Temple of Garni on the “Discover Armenia” float.
Riders in front of the Sardarapat Memorial on “Discover Armenia.” White doves were released from the float during the Rose Parade.
City of Glendale, Calif. “Getting There Is Half the Fun,” designed by Michelle Lofthouse and built by Phoenix Decorating Company was Glendale’s 101st Tournament of Roses entry, placing the city behind only Los Angeles in Rose Parade longevity. Its entries have won more than 50 trophies, including 12 Sweepstakes.
The feathers on Glendale’s official bird, the peacock, fluttered in the breeze on “Getting There Is Half the Fun.” The swirls in the “eyes” of the tail feathers are Glendale’s city logo.
Glendale’s “Getting There Is Half the Fun” had 15 riders in various conveyances: Sarah, Arthur, and Rachel Fritz; Robert and Catherine Nicksin; Patricia Trytten;, Lori, Olivia, Evan, and Michael Silao; Melody Rogers; Katherine and Glenn Yamada; Charleen Badell-Slaughter, and Bill Slaughter.
Trains, planes, automobiles, and even bicycles have brought folks to the City of Glendale throughout the decades. The plane propeller spun and the locomotive wheels rotated. Bikes on Rose Parade floats are real, but completely covered in botanical materials. The float observer did double duty as the engineer.
United Sikh Mission, “A Sikh-American Journey,” designed by Michelle Lofthouse and built by Phoenix Decorating Company. The second entry for this organization celebrated the Vaisakhi a
Punjabi harvest festival. The Punjab region of India is home to the Sikh culture and religion.
The white horse and Sikh rider dominated the front of United Sikh Mission “A Sikh-American Journey.” The equality of all human beings is central to Sikh beliefs.
Sikhs wore traditional and conventional clothing on “A Sikh-American Journey” in the Rose Parade. The temperature was close to freezing when the parade started, which is a good reason for the young man to be wearing gloves.
Dancers joyfully accompanied the United Sikh Mission float. The rectangular baskets among the roses held authentic Indian sweets, which were allowed because they are a natural substance.
A working Ferris wheel was framed by traditional Punjabi urns and peacocks on the United Sikh Mission float. Sikhs work with underprivileged communities through civic, educational and personal development programs.
The rear of the United Sikh Mission float featured a map of India detailing the Punjab region framed by stalks of grain and the American and Sikh flags. The region is similar in agricultural wealth to California’s Central Valley, where many Sikhs live and farm.
United Sikh Mission, “A Sikh-American Journey,” designed by Michelle Lofthouse and built by Phoenix Decorating Company, viewed from the “off-camera” side. Photo by LB Monteros
City of Alhambra “Parks Make Life Better,” designed by Dave Pittman for Phoenix Decorating Company marks the city’s 88th entry in the Rose Parade. The arch is symbolic of Alhambra’s location at the mouth of the San Gabriel Valley.
A solo cyclist guided Alhambra’s “Parks Make Life Better” along Colorado Blvd. in the Rose Parade.
Child’s play, golf, and soccer are a few activities that take place when “Parks Make Life Better” in Alhambra. Alhambra’s six parks—Alhambra, Almansor, Granada, Story, Emery, and Burke Heritage—offer community services to the residents.
Riders on “Parks Make Life Better” included City of Alhambra's City Manager Mary Swink and
several Park & Recreation employees. The leaves on the twin trees were whole magnolia leaves. Photo by LB Monteros
Lutheran Laymen's League/Lutheran Hour Ministries “Jesus is the Light of the World,” designed by Michelle Lofthouse and built by Phoenix Decorating Company It is the organizations’ 66th Rose Parade entry. The lighthouse topped by a cross is a traditional symbol of the float’s theme.
“Jesus is the Light of the World” carried both biblical era and modern disciples in a 20 foot fishing boat, complete with nets of tightly-wrapped raffia. Riders were Dr. John Nunes and Monique Nunes (Chile), Rebeca De Franco (Guatemala), Sathiyanathan Sathiyabalan (Sri Lanka), Dave Rueter, Matt Nolte, Christopher Schaar, Vivian Ernst, Rebekah Buchholz, Ryan Cosgrove, and Dick Gast, General Chairman of the Lutheran Hour Ministries Float Committee.
Roses encircled the lighthouse Lutheran Laymen's League/Lutheran Hour Ministries “Jesus is the Light of the World.” Every year, some 4500 Lutheran Petal Pushers volunteers decorate seven Phoenix floats.
