2nd Judging
New Year's Ever - the final day to get the float done and ready for the second round of judging. The third round takes place at the start of the parade route the next morning, with the winners announced about an hour before the parade starts.
This is the day most of the live roses go on the float. You can see what a welcome addition they are if you compare this view of the Burbank sign with the one from the prior day. The float was becoming very colorful indeed.
Floral displays arranged by a professional florist are inserted into the float pod to add large sprays of color. It was beginning to look more and more like a jungle!
Uh oh, it looks like one of the hoses has sprung a leak. No worries, though, as our monkey mechanic is ready with his wrench. All of that "hose" had to be covered in natural materials to meet the very strict Rose Parade rules.
We had debated using real water at the front of the float for the pond but it was quickly decided to go with flowers instead. Water is heavy and needs pumps that require more work and power, and we didn't feel the extra effort would add to our little story. As it turns out building this area out of flowers worked very well and drew the attention of the judges.
By the time this photo was taken the float was 99.9% done - just in time for the second judging!.
Once again the judges seemed to be happy with our float, but we had to wait until the next day to find out if we were right or not. By now everyone was too tired to worry about the results, though. A team would tow the float over to Pasadena and touch up anything that might have come loose on the ride, while the rest of us got some very welcome sleep before the parade.