On Jan. 2, “Seaside Amusement” translated into voter amusement when a parade float co-designed and built by the Cal Poly universities won the inaugural KTLA Viewers’ Choice Award for the Tournament of Roses.
The float nabbed 3,219 out of a total of 10,618 votes, according to a Cal Poly press release. The float was built by students at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo and California State Polytechnic University in Pomona.
Parade viewers cast their votes online where they could see video footage of the Rose Parade and scrutinize each of the floats.
The Cal Poly float is the only entry in the annual Tournament of Roses parade designed, built, and decorated solely by students and volunteers—a tradition that dates back to 1949.
Students in the Rose Float programs at the San Luis Obispo campus build half of the float, which is then trucked to the Pomona campus in November. Students, parents, alumni, and volunteers add the finishing touches, including flowers, in Pasadena during “Deco Week” before the New Year’s Day parade.
This year, the float was inspired by amusement parks on California’s coast. “Seaside Amusement” featured a working Ferris wheel, a roller coaster, and a parachute drop. Cal Poly planted more than 2,000 marigolds and asters to use on the float.
The Cal Poly universities’ 2008 float, “Guardians of Harmony,” won the parade’s Fantasy Trophy.
This article appears in Jan 8-15, 2009.