The Cal Poly Rose Float team revealed “Soaring as One” as their 78th Rose Parade float theme.
The Tournament of Roses’ parade theme this year is “Welcome.” Cal Poly plans to depict this by featuring a flock of flying and usually flightless birds soaring together through a sunset.
Cal Poly Pomona and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo have collaborated on entries for the Rose Parade float since 1949. The universities are separated by 250 miles but come together to create the only student-designed and student-built float in the Rose Parade.
“‘Soaring as One’ invites audiences to follow the students’ journey as they bring the float to life and share in the inspirational story of flying and flightless birds coming together to soar to new heights together,” according to a Cal Poly press release,
Through a design competition in early February, students propose designs based on the parade’s theme for the year.
“‘Soaring as One’ was chosen to capture the uplifting feeling of belonging and being included,” said Sarah Vali, child development junior and design chair. “With their newfound ability, the birds are embraced as one flock as they learn to fly alongside the others.”
The float will feature a Canada goose with a 16-foot wingspan, a mallard duck, a nene goose and a great blue heron. The float will also feature earth-bound birds in flight, like a kiwi bird, according to the press release. The birds fly together to represent inclusion.
A blimp will also fly overhead, which provides space for a peacock and a Rhode Island red chicken.
“We have some exciting mechanisms to help breathe life into the float and lots of beautiful floral arrangements planned that we are incredibly excited to share progress on throughout the fall,” said Daniel Botzbach, vice president of the Cal Poly rose float program and mechanical engineering senior.
An estimated 42,000 flowers will be used on the float to imitate the feathery look of the birds. Celosia and gomphrena are two of the many flowers that will be used on the float. Students are planting flower fields as of September, according to the Associated Students, Inc website. The float’s flowers are growing at both the Pomona and San Luis Obispo campuses.
According to Botzbach, these flowers are grown by the Rose Float Lab.
“We also just ordered a greenhouse that we’re working to construct this next lab weekend. Most of the flowers we grow on campus are used as dry decorations, with most of our fresh florals, such as the roses, being purchased or donated,” Botzbach said.
In October, Cal Poly students will harvest the flowers and begin float construction. A major challenge students face is updating the hydraulic system for the movement and concealment of the 2,000-pound blimp.
The float will be completed at the end of December, according to Botzbach.
“The week before New Year’s is when the float is decorated, which needs to be done very close to the day of the parade itself to make sure that all of our florals are as fresh as possible,” Botzbach said.
The float will be showcased in the Rose Parade on Jan. 1, 2027, in Pasadena.