The Pasadena Tournament of Roses is months away, but local officials offered a sneak peek at six of the floats that will appear in the 2022 parade.
The floats previewed Thursday, July 22 come on the heels of a similar preview done in May and include entries from the Burbank Tournament of Roses Association, City of Hope, La Cañada Flintridge Tournament of Roses Association, Lutheran Hour Ministries, The UPS Store and Torrance Rose Float Association.
The 2021 parade was the first time there was no march since 1945, but the Tournament of Roses festivities are set to return to Colorado Boulevard on Jan. 1, 2022, with participants looking to celebrate the parade’s 2022 theme of “Dream. Believe. Achieve.” in their own unique way.
The UPS Store float
The UPS Store float’s animated design features a colorful, spectacled rooster standing atop a stack of books, reading to his family of young chicks.
By highlighting the theme “Rise, Shine & Read!”, the float looks to celebrate the positive impact literacy can have on a child’s ability to succeed while showcasing the company’s support of the Toys for Tots Literacy Program, according to a news release sent Thursday, July 22.
The Burbank Tournament of Roses Association
The Burbank Tournament of Roses Association’s 89th Rose Parade entry is one of six floats that are self-built by volunteers and it’s expected to be 53-feet-long, 18-feet-wide and 25-feet-tall when the dragon is completed.
“‘An Unlikely Tale’ is a story of friendship between a young knight and a dragon who make their dreams come true by spending time together and reading in harmony,” the release states, mentioning the Burbank Tournament of Roses Association is an all-volunteer, non-profit organization that designs, builds and decorates the City of Burbank’s float entry.
City of Hope
“Garden of Hopes and Dreams,” City of Hope’s 48th Rose Parade float entry, looks to continue the organization’s longstanding tradition of spotlighting the magic of health care.
The 50-foot long and nearly 17-foot-tall float will feature animated butterflies as symbols of hope and transformation, along with whimsical mushrooms, which serve as a metaphor for the sustained battle patients and their health care teams have against cancer. Designers said the float is also a respectful nod to the dreamed-about eventual end of the COVID-19 pandemic, the release states. Cancer survivors will stand on the float next to daffodils during the parade to ring in the new year.
La Cañada Flintridge
The La Cañada Flintridge Tournament of Roses Association’s 43rd entry, “Who Says We Can’t” will again be one of only six self-built floats in the entire parade. Designed, built, decorated and operated entirely by volunteers, the entry answers the age-old adage, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” La Cañada Flintridge resident Grant Delgatty’s design celebrates accomplishment against the odds and dreaming and believing in achievement, even when others say you can’t. So, as the world fully reopens thanks to the efforts of heroes in many walks of life, to all the doubters and nay-sayers of the world we say, “Who Says We Can’t.”
Lutheran Hour Ministries
Lutheran Hour Ministries will participate in the parade for the 71st year and attempt to share the teachings of Jesus Christ with millions of parade viewers around the world with their float themed “Jesus Teaches,” the release states. The float features Jesus with 12 modern day disciples in a woodland setting where they are surrounded by books about Jesus’ teachings and a cross that’s fixed to solid rock.
Torrance Rose Float Association
The conceptual design was chosen through a contest open to high school students within the City of Torrance and the result is “The Embodiment of Nature,” the Torrance Rose Float Association’s 66th entry to the parade.
An African elephant and colorful toucan highlight the warmth and beauty of the animal kingdom while promoting awareness of endangered species, the perils they face, and the realities of habitat destruction, pollution and the shrinking of rain forests, according to a release. This inspirational display also aims to encourage everyone to believe anything can be achieved if it’s dreamed.
All six float concepts are expected to be among the dozens of commercial, non-commercial and self-built floats that will make the 5.5-mile procession along Pasadena’s historic Colorado Boulevard on Jan. 1, 2022.