Volunteer float decorators are a determined, hard working group. But volunteers for the Pasadena Tournament of Roses who came out on Monday, the day after Christmas, are a cut above the rest.
"I did it last year one day, and I loved it, so I'm doing it every day this week," said one volunteer.
Many volunteers skipped the Christmas leftovers and after-holiday shopping to get elbow deep in glue.
Another volunteer said, "I had a good dinner and some wine and, actually it wasn't too bad, we made sure we got to bed early!"
Some young volunteers were seen hiking up scaffoldings instead of at home helping out mom.
"Oh, she's glad I'm out of the house," said a young female volunteer.
The float volunteers could be shopping, but instead they're snipping away at flowers and plants. It seems all the devotion to the floats stem from civic pride, school pride and company pride.
"(Got here at) around 8 o'clock. So, that's why I don't really have any makeup on," said another volunteer.
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And it may seem like today is the day that the float creators, the Phoenix Float Decorators, get to hand off their yearlong job to the volunteers, but it is never a hands-off operation.
"We’re keeping a close eye on everything," said Chris Lofthouse, of the Phoenix Decorating Company. "You know especially with the flowers and the square footage and how to measure and how to get everything precise when your flower bill is what mine is and you have ten percent over."
This is a very unglamourous life that lasts for a week, so that the rest of the world can turn on their televisions and be amazed at what Southern California can do with seeds, flowers, plants and imagination.
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