{"id":116750,"date":"2026-01-02T00:06:14","date_gmt":"2026-01-02T00:06:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/116750\/"},"modified":"2026-01-02T00:06:14","modified_gmt":"2026-01-02T00:06:14","slug":"10-great-floats-from-the-2026-celebration-the-press-democrat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/116750\/","title":{"rendered":"10 great floats from the 2026 celebration \u2013 The Press Democrat"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s hard to pin down which floats go above and beyond each year in the annual Rose Parade<\/a>. Created with planning that happens months \u2014 sometimes even years \u2014 out from the parade, each decked out with hundreds of flowers and hours of labor when they finally grace Colorado Boulevard, each float is designed to impress.<\/p>\n

RELATED: Wet musical instruments, a grounded B-2, ponchos everywhere, the first Rose Parade rain in 20 years made its mark<\/a><\/p>\n

There\u2019s the ones that go home with awards, yes, but there\u2019s usually a few that fall through the cracks, too. The staff at Pasadena Star-News was on scene during Thursday\u2019s parade, and here are the ones that they think deserve some extra recognition:<\/p>\n

San Francisco Travel Association<\/p>\n

The sights and sounds of the City by the Bay \u2014 cable cars, Pier 39, Golden Gate Bridge and more \u2014 came to life aboard this inaugural entry from the San Francisco Travel Association.<\/p>\n

The float featured more than 100,000 individual blooms, including 15,000 fluorescent orange marigolds used to create the oversized California poppies encircling the float.<\/p>\n

\"SanSan Francisco Travel Association float \u201cBelieve In San Francisco\u201d travels down Colorado Blvd during the 137th Rose Parade in Pasadena California on Thursday, Jan. 1, 2025. (Photo by Connor Terry \/ Contributing Photographer)
\nVisit Mississippi<\/p>\n

The sophomore entry from Visit Mississippi featured a giant Kermit the Frog, which impressed as it went by accompanied by a musical performance by Mississippi-native Charlie Worsham. Kermit\u2019s appearance paid homage to the frog\u2019s hometown, which his creator, Jim Henson, listed as Leland, Mississippi.<\/p>\n

\"VisitVisit Mississippi float \u201cMississippi: Where Creativity Blooms\u201d travels down Colorado Blvd during the 137th Rose Parade in Pasadena California on Thursday, Jan. 1, 2025. (Photo by Connor Terry \/ Contributing Photographer)
\nAmerica250<\/p>\n

With New Year\u2019s Day opening America\u2019s semiquincentennial year, the 55-foot-long float featured a botanically rich landscape inspired by the country\u2019s natural beauty. The three larger-than-life bald eagles represented the past, present and future of the United States.<\/p>\n

\"America250'sAmerica250\u2019s \u201cSoaring Onward Together for 250 Years\u201d float travels down Colorado Boulevard during the 137th Rose Parade in Pasadena on Thursday, January 1, 2026. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram\/SCNG)
\nTrader Joe\u2019s<\/p>\n

Cult-favorite float contributor Trader Joe\u2019s brought a float themed around an ice cream float to this year\u2019s parade. Joining the ice cream float was a giant ship made of fruit, steered by a parrot captain.<\/p>\n

\"TraderTrader Joe\u2019s float \u201cYou Float Our Boat!\u201d travels down Colorado Blvd during the 137th Rose Parade in Pasadena California on Thursday, Jan. 1, 2025. (Photo by Connor Terry \/ Contributing Photographer)
\nCal Poly Universities<\/p>\n

The Rose Parade\u2019s 2025 Sweepstakes Award<\/a>, marking the most beautiful entry, was presented to the Cal Poly Universities early Thursday \u2014 and we don\u2019t disagree. Designed, constructed and decorated by students at Cal Poly Pomona and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, this float features rainforest animals working together to restore an old robot. It was a visual representation of \u201cThe Magic in Teamwork\u201d theme.<\/p>\n

\"CalCal Poly Universities float \u201cJungle Jumpstart\u201d during the 137th Rose Parade in Pasadena on Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. (Photo by Libby Cline Birmingham, Contributing Photographer)
\nRising Together<\/p>\n

To honor the lives lost during the early 2025 wildfires in Altadena, Pasadena, Pacific Palisades and Malibu, 31 sunflowers appeared on the float \u2014 the first Rose Parade entry from the California Community Foundation and the Black Freedom Fund. Rising from the center of the float was a phoenix in mid-ascent.<\/p>\n

\"CaliforniaCalifornia Community Foundation And Black Freedom Fund float \u201cRising Together\u201d makes its way down the parade route during the 137th Rose Parade in Pasadena on Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. (Photo by Libby Cline Birmingham, Contributing Photographer)
\nThe UPS Store<\/p>\n

With an under-the-sea themed float, The UPS Store returned with a majestic 34-foot-tall seahorse coaching his charges through a synchronized swimming routine. It was adorned with an impressive number of flowers (170,000) and natural elements, but perhaps more impressive is the record that it set: Shortly before the parade, Guinness World Records proclaimed the seahorse the largest animatronic fish ever.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe UPS Store float \u201cSharing Skills For Success\u201d makes its way down the parade route during the 137th Rose Parade in Pasadena on Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. (Photo by Libby Cline Birmingham, Contributing Photographer)
\nStar Trek 60<\/p>\n

A recreation of the starship U.S.S. Enterprise soared over Colorado Boulevard to celebrate 60 years since the launch of the legendary TV series \u201cStar Trek\u201d (Sept. 8, 1966). Other iconic imagery from the show included rocks representing the geology in the Vasquez Rocks Natural Area, a 945-acre park in Agua Dulce, about 45 miles north of Pasadena and frequent filming location; and the Enterprise\u2019s famous command bridge, where \u201cStar Trek\u201d actors will be stationed for the parade.<\/p>\n

\"StarStar Trek 60 float \u201cSpace For Everybody\u201d during the 137th Rose Parade in Pasadena on Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. (Photo by Libby Cline Birmingham, Contributing Photographer)
\nExplore Louisiana<\/p>\n

For its fifth Rose Parade entry, Explore Louisiana and the Louisiana Office of Tourism celebrated the combined efforts of fishermen, farmers, market vendors and chefs who create something uniquely Louisiana \u2014 gumbo. The float\u2019s pelican chef was constructed with an internal lift system that allowed him to raise and lower his ladle, creating the illusion of stirring the bubbling pot of gumbo.<\/p>\n

\"ExploreExplore Louisiana float \u201cGulf to Gumbo\u201d travels down Colorado Blvd during the 137th Rose Parade in Pasadena California on Thursday, Jan. 1, 2025. (Photo by Connor Terry \/ Contributing Photographer)
\nKiwanis International<\/p>\n

Making its 44th Rose Parade appearance, Kiwanis International had a quartet of hippos \u2014 a mama and her three youngsters \u2014 enjoying their time at a watering hole. They were decorated with light- and dark-grey light lettuce seed, and pink and white fine-cut strawflower; the freckles are dark grey lettuce seed, and the eyes are black beans and white navy beans. The submerged hippos spun and bobbed, while the other baby hippo on land tilted.<\/p>\n

\"KiwanisKiwanis International float \u201cHappy Together\u201d makes its way down the parade route during the 137th Rose Parade in Pasadena on Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. (Photo by Libby Cline Birmingham, Contributing Photographer)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s hard to pin down which floats go above and beyond each year in the annual Rose Parade.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":116751,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[7,100,101,103,102,104,106,105,420],"class_list":["post-116750","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-francisco","tag-california","tag-news","tag-san-francisco","tag-san-francisco-headlines","tag-san-francisco-news","tag-sf","tag-sf-headlines","tag-sf-news","tag-things-to-do"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116750","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=116750"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116750\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/116751"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=116750"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=116750"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=116750"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}