This is a depiction of the float that will honor the deceased and the survivors in the Rose Bowl Parade.
This year, a Rose Parade float will be dedicated to the fire survivors of the Palisades and Eaton Fires. The Pacific Palisades Community Council website notes “Representing PPCC and the Palisades community, President Sue Kohl will ride on the beautiful “Rising Together” float, depicting a Phoenix rising, sponsored by the California Community Foundation, with other community leaders & survivors in areas devastated by the 2025 Eaton & Palisades Fires. Our own Citizen of the Year Jim Cragg will also walk alongside the float!
“We hope Sue and Jim can stay dry and enjoy the special day! Watch them both in the Parade on TV starting at 8 a.m. on January 1, 2025”
Other people walking along the float will be families who have lost their homes, survivors and community volunteers.
The float is number 73 in the lineup and the first Rose Parade entry from the California Community Foundation and the Black Freedom Fund.
The float, Rising Together, is meant to honor the lives lost during the early 2025 wildfires in Altadena, Pasadena, Pacific Palisades and Malibu, 31 sunflowers will appear on the float (representing the 12 dead in Palisades and the 19 lost in Altadena).
Rising from the center of the float is a phoenix in mid-ascent. The landscape beneath transitions through California native plants and floral textures inspired by the foothills and valleys of Altadena and Pasadena and the San Gabriel Mountains, where the Eaton fire burned. At the rear of the float, the rolling ocean waves and shoreline elements represent the coastal communities of Pacific Palisades and Malibu.
The float is 16 feet high, 18 feet wide and 50 feet in length. The number of flowers is 75,000.
South Dakota
(Editor’s note: Since I grew up in South Dakota, appreciate all the natural wonders in that state and I’m glad the rest of the world will be able to take a glimpse.)
This float, which is 53 in the lineup is called “Carved in Stone: A Legacy of Teamwork.” It includes the rugged formations of Badlands National Park, roaming bison across the prairie, and, of course Mount Rushmore. This is only the second time in the parade’s history the nation’s 40th state has had a float.
It includes 40,000 floral elements, including corn, wheat, sunflowers, plus textured rust cornsilk for the bisons’ coats.
Mount Rushmore was built with light lettuce seed, sesame seed, and ground brown lentil, accented with tall long-needle pine for natural depth and texture.
To build the Dignity of the Earth and Sky stature located on the Missouri River, soft grey poppy seed and delicate iris petals were used.
Behind the scenes, a pump and basin system powers the real waterfall, keeping water flowing. There are mechanical features inside the bison to create smooth head movements.
Dignity is a 50-ft-stature along the Missouri River. My mom and sisters pose in the foreground.