Decorating Rose Parade Floats
 

So every year I say I want to help decorate a Rose Parade Float, but want to make it a reality for 2020.

I'd like to hear suggestions/comments from either those who have done it or live in the Pasadena area. I've already looked on line and have found companies that accept volunteers, but I'm trying to think of the logistics of doing this.

Three "musts" would be to decorate for a couple of days, see parade and also the floats after the parade. My main questions are:

• How easy is it to get around the city, like from hotel to decorating venue​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ and parade? Is there public transportation or is driving better?
• Suggestions for getting seats at parade. I know there are lots of tours that include them, but not really looking for tour. Idea of "camping" out overnight isn't appealing. "Best" suggestion for parade viewing area. Since it's 5 miles long, would an area other than the main area shown on tv be just as good or are those the places you have to stake out a spot overnight?
• Would you suggest staying outside of Pasadena, and if so, where?
• How early to make reservations?

​​​​​​​Thanks for any suggestions and would really appreciate comments from anyone who has done this.

Oops, some of my questions were deleted when I submitted.

Other questions:
How easy is it to get a seat/ticket for the parade? I know tours include them, but not planning to do tour. Also not into "camping" out overnight to get seat. Are areas away from the main viewing area shown on tv just as good or is that where you have to stake out your spot very early?

How early should hotel, car and ticket reservations be made?

You may have already learned that the majority of floats are created by Fiesta and Phoenix in the Irwindale/Azusa area about 15 miles east of Pasadena. If you want to use public trans, you need to check how close the nearest Gold Line station would be to the float "barns," but I think it would be pretty easy to travel back and forth on the Gold Line.

https://media.metro.net/documents/9a...70294abd7e.pdf

I live in the L.A. area and have never stayed in a Pasadena hotel. I would guess that rates in Pasadena are high the closer you get to New Year's. You'd have to research whether staying in Pasadena for several nights at this time of year is within your budget. You should also study the route of the Gold Line between Union Station/DTLA and Azusa, and you may decide to stay close to the float builders for a few nights and then move to lodging closer to the parade route.

Old Town Pasadena is a fairly small, very walkable area, but there are things like the Huntington Gardens, Griffith Park and a tour of JPL that would be easier done by car.

I would start researching everything now so that you can think about how you want to accomplish the different elements of your trip. You can buy grandstand viewing tickets from Sharp Seating Company starting on February 3, 2020, at 9:00 a.m. Personally, if I was this invested in the parade experience for this trip, I would want grandstand seats and would not take my chances on getting a good viewing spot elsewhere on the route.

Hopefully maitaitom will see your thread . . . but here is one of his TR's from a few years ago:

https://www.fodors.com/community/uni...-words-918119/

Downey does their own float and decorates it in Downey!

They aren't that far from Pasadena. I don't know the list of all of the small cities that "self decorate" but probably not that hard to research, especially right now.

https://www.downeyrose.org/

AFAIK, the Cal Poly floats are (proudly) designed and built by the students only.

This will help with some of your questions:

https://www.visitpasadena.com/events/float-decorating/

Start your planning early, and yes, do get in touch with Sharp about buying grandstand seats for the Parade. Hotels in Pasadena will be the most expensive rates, and book up early. Many people stay further away, and take the Gold Line in from Arcadia or Monrovia. I would probably advise having a car, to get around Pasadena, from the Huntington Library to the float pavilions, to the pre parade activities in the Rose Bowl area.

I noticed in the link above, they mention the small cities who build floats and rely heavily on volunteers. We lived in South Pasadena for decades, and the float was a big part of the holiday festivities. Working on a small city float would give you a real sense of community involvement. But again plan this early; it gets really popular in the last few days before judging, when the flowers are put on, and they often have more volunteer requests than spaces.

If you want to stay in Pasadena and decorate nearby, Sierra Madre would be a good choice.
www.sierramadrerosefloat.org

Out family has decorated the Cal Poly Pomona-SLO float for many, many years and I can tell you a bit about their process. We sign up months in advance sending one dollar per person, names and dates we want. We are notified by mail if we have a time and date. ( This year we were NOT able to decorate.) The sessions are for one hour or so. There are many, many people who want to decorate and they try to give everyone a spot. All that to say, I don't think you should plan on three days of decorating. You'll be lucky to get an hour or two and I'm sure each group has their own process. A community float, as mentioned would probably be your best bet. Sharp does have the best seating packages. Enjoy!
To address jeans comment above, it's true that the floats are designed and built by students but they are decorated by students and alumni! ( Perhaps they allow community members as well, I'm not sure, many of our family are alumni.)

What a fabulous experience!