Building a Rose Parade Float: Sierra Madre's Bollywood

Marching bands, equestrian teams, and parade-goers are eagerly waiting for the 120th Rose Parade in Pasadena, California. This year's theme is Hats off to Entertainment featuring Cloris Leachman as the 2009 Grand Marshal.

Television viewers see the finished floats decorated in flowers and plants of all varieties. But they don't see the many hours of preparation taking place around the clock in the days immediately before the Rose Parade which begins January 1 at 8am Pacific Time.

I paid a visit on Christmas Eve to the float barn in the town of Sierra Madre, about 7 miles from the Rose Bowl, nestled against the foothills below Mt. Wilson with a population of just under 11,000 people. Float builders were putting together the final touches on the structure before volunteers could start pasting and fastening on the flowers and other organic materials to cover the outside.

Sierra Madre's float theme is "Bollywood" - celebrating the film industry out of India. The float itself is an elephant that is 55 feet long. The elephant is "carrying" a man to his wedding with dancers holding yellow parasols to provide motion. Several individual braces are fastened to the platform to secure the participants who will ride on the float during the Rose Parade.

The structure itself has hundreds of places where it's welded together in forming the head and will be covered with hundreds of strawflowers.

While corporately-sponsored floats are built professionally with moving parts and elaborate sound systems, Sierra Madre's float is being constructed using volunteer help. I visited the float barn on Christmas Eve and a volunteer told me it's a project that takes place year round.

Once the parade ends, the current float has to be taken apart and then planning begins for the float the following Rose Parade.

One challenge local cities like Sierra Madre face who build their own floats and want to compete with the major corporations is keeping up with the costs involved.

Visitors to the float barn off of Sierra Madre Boulevard can walk steps up to a scaffolding, walk around the float, and they can donate in a bucket set out to collect a funds of any amount.

While rain has poured down steadily on Pasadena and Sierra Madre during the past week with more rain predicted on December 29, the forecast for New Year's Day is for pleasant skies and temperatures in the upper 60s.

Sierra Madre is keeping the Bollywood theme alive even after the parade is finished. The Sierra Madre library will host an event called "BOLLYWOOD COMES TO HOLLYWOOD, 1-17-09" from 2PM to 4:30PM.

There will be films, discussions, traditional dances, henna tatooing and traditional refreshments.

Sierra Madre is located northeast of downtown Los Angeles and can be accessed by taking the Baldwin Avenue exit from the 210 freeway.