Rose Parade 2023: Only a handful of floats are “homemade” or assembled by volunteers

BURBANK, Calif. (KABC)– Most of the floats at Pasadena’s annual Tournament of Roses Parade are assembled by professional float builders dedicated to the craft, with the help of armies of volunteers and funding from corporate sponsors.

But a handful each year are “homebuilt” or entirely designed and assembled by teams of amateur volunteers, supported by individual donations and fundraising efforts.

Six such floats will be built for the 2023 parade, representing, for example, the communities of Burbank and Sierra Madre.

The groups support each other, especially during this final crunch week before the parade. They say they just do it for the joy of putting a smile on people’s faces.

To learn more about their efforts, please watch the video above.

The Rose Parade will be broadcast live on ABC7 on Monday 2 January 2023 from 8am.