Cal Poly students from both Pomona and San Luis Obispo campuses are preparing to put the final touches to their float for the 136th annual Tournament of Roses Parade. The float was recently towed to Pasadena to prepare for the New Year’s Day event.
The float is called “Nessie’s Lakeside Laughs” and features the mythical Scottish creature, Nessie, with other animals enjoying themselves around a lake. It’s meant to reflect this year’s parade theme, “Best Day Ever.”
Collin Marfia, the San Luis Obispo president of the Cal Poly Rose Bowl program, said it’s taken a lot of work to get this far.
“Just working with my team this year– they've been so amazing,” Marsia said. “There's always bumps in the road in processes like this, and they stuck with it and have been so awesome the entire time, and I'm just super proud of that.”
The float is 21 feet tall and 55 feet long. The structure itself is built, but we will have to wait until New Year’s Day to see how it’s decked out in flowers and other organic materials.
The Tournament of Roses dates back to 1890, and the two schools have been collaborating on a float each year since 1949. The rose bowl parade kicks off at 8 a.m. New Year’s Day.
