On Sept. 22, the Cal Poly Rose Float Club officially announced its 2024 float theme and design.
The theme of the float is “Shock and Roll,” which features eels and manta rays playing music over a colorful reef. The design is a nod to the parade’s overall theme “Celebrating the World of Music.”
Students chose this theme to highlight the relationship between animals and sound. Eels are seen powering the instruments, creating music and harmony along the seafloor.
“We really wanted to emphasize the idea that the instruments and animals were sharing a community and had developed a symbiotic relationship through music,” student club president Quinn Akemon said in a news release. “The animals provide power to the instruments through electricity, and the instruments play music that flows through the scene and brings the community together in song.”
This year, the 55-foot float will have a new animation system constructed by the students. It has been a two-year process to develop, according to Electronics Lead Anna Bentler.
“We have a lot of complex movement such as the swimming eels and stingray, and since the parade theme this year celebrates music we want to sync animation with the music for the first time,” Bentler said. “Our new system can run animations on 16 analog channels (like hydraulic cylinders) and 40 digital channels (such as pneumatics and hydraulic motors), completely expanding our animation possibilities.”
The rose float has been built by students on the two Cal Poly campuses since 1949. Pomona builds the base, and San Luis Obispo builds the back. The two started building on their separate campuses in February of 2023, will conjoin their parts in October and then will continue to collaborate on the float in Pomona up until the Rose Parade in Pasadena on Jan. 1, 2024.