The City Council on Tuesday officially approved the design concept for the City’s 2009 Tournament of Roses Parade float.
The float’s design depicts life in Mission Viejo and highlights community elements that reflect the City’s orientation toward family and community. The float’s key feature is a 12-foot-deep, 20-foot-long “lake,” which represents Mission Viejo’s iconic landmark, Lake Mission Viejo – a man-made lake nestled near the City’s northern tip. The sides of the float showcase the creative elements of community-based artwork along Oso Creek Trail. The community float also features recreational activities as entertainment in Mission Viejo, coinciding with the 2009 Rose Parade’s “Hats Off To Entertainment” theme.
Building the float is the culmination of the City’s 20th anniversary of cityhood and revives a 10-year Rose Parade tradition originally started by the Mission Viejo Company to instill hometown spirit and community pride. The Council on Tuesday also awarded a not-to-exceed $300,000 contract to Pasadena-based Fiesta Parade Floats to help design and build the community’s float that will measure 55’ long by 18’ wide when decorated.
Fiesta Parade Floats was selected in March among five float design and construction companies by the City’s Rose Parade float ad hoc committee. The world-renowned firm has won countless awards throughout the history of the Tournament of Roses Parade, including seven awards for previous Mission Viejo Rose Parade floats. However, it was the firm’s commitment to involve the community in the Rose Parade float project that stood out and gave it the nod over the four other highly qualified firms. The company will help the City coordinate community-based decorating in October and November and supervise the weeklong final decoration between Christmas and New Year’s Day.
Fiesta Parade Floats will build the float chassis and frame. However, bringing the vision alive will require hundreds of Mission Viejo volunteers, thousands of donated man-hours and support from the entire community. The process kicks off in October with four days of dry-flower preparation in Mission Viejo, with the decorating process in Irwindale following with two more days of dry decorating in November and December.
Participation in the Rose Parade is an inter-generational, community collaboration meant to unify residents, homeowner associations, non-profit organizations, schools, sport groups, service clubs, faith organizations, businesses and others. The City’s float complements its goal to maximize community participation, encourage volunteerism and personally engage every single member of the community.
Officials believe the Rose Parade float is a “win-win” for the entire community. It’s a great way for students to fulfill community-service requirements and for folks to get involved in the community, meet new friends and be a part of this historic tradition. It will also directly benefit others by creating more fund-raising opportunities for civic organizations and service clubs and promotional opportunities for local businesses. Like the Mission Viejo Nadadores, which will participate in the float’s theme, the worldwide recognition the City receives through participation in the Tournament of Roses Parade contributes to Mission Viejo’s reputation as a desirable place to live, work and operate a business.
For more information about participating in this community-building event, call 949-470-3062 or visit the City’s Web site at http://www.cityofmissionviejo.org. Look for the float-decorating schedule in the fall issue of Leisure Time. Folks are encouraged to sign up for the City’s eNews or visit its new blog at http://missionviejolife.org for details about float-decorating activities and community involvement.
