Rose Parade: Anatomy of a Float

Yesterday, we got you map-ready. Today, we'll get you float-ready. Tomorrow? Who knows, maybe we'll get you marching-band ready.

A commenter pointed out yesterday that the Rose Parade floats aren't all made out of roses, but are made up of many different flower and plant-parts. Conveniently, the LA Times has a new interactive feature up today (is Tony already working his magic over there?) that details the making of last year's Once Upon a Time dragon float, step-by-meticulous-step.

The tutorial covers four stages: Sculpture, Animation, Skin, and, the best step of all, Decoration. True to our commenter's note, other than some carnation and gladiola petals, very few actual flowers are used to decorate the surface. What's used instead? Ground parsley, split peas, brussel sprouts, crushed coconut, clover seeds, tea leaves and corn husks! This dragon sounds good enough to eat!

So remember this, dear readers, as you admire the floats from afar (or close-up if you make use of the parade viewing areas we mentioned yesterday), if it gets really tough out there, if it gets so crazy that you can't get food for hours, you could always nibble on a float or two. You're on your own for drinks.

Photo of last year's dragon float by bunkfordbraun via Flickr