The 125th Tournament of Roses Parade rolls down Colorado Blvd. with its' traditional display of spirited marching bands, magnificent floral floats , and high-stepping equestrian units.
If this is your first time decorating a Rose Parade Float, you will experience long hours and hard work, but take home wonderful memories that will last a lifetime. If this is a return experience, you already know about the exhilaration you feel as the float you helped create proudly turns the corner onto Colorado Blvd. on January 1, 2014. We have had many years of experience and have found that the following is the information each person is required to know for all participants to enjoy their job and to do it right. Take a sneak peek and see how a float is built from head to toe and how you will be a part!
We want you to know what is expected of you in advance so that you can make an informed decision about whether you want to participate or not. Please read our Clarification Statement before you sign up to decorate. This is a real world job, not just a Girl Scout good time. This is an excellent life-skills learning opportunity for your girls if approached with that attitude; and your attitude as their leader will have a big influence on their attitude. If you or your girls cannot live with any of these rules please don't come. This is really hard work, but it's also lots of fun and there is a tremendous amount of satisfaction on parade day when you watch those floats roll down the street. You're some of the few people IN THE WORLD who know all the work that went into each and every one of them.
Bragging rights are earned!
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*It is part of our contract to do Dry Decorating before December 25. There is a section on the sign-up sheet just for these weekends. These days are great for 1st timers, no crowds, easier parking, and a mellower atmosphere. We require that all first-time decorating troops or groups do at least one dry decorating day.
* Those invited to participate on the dry decorating days include Ambassadors, Seniors, Cadettes and also 4th, 5th and 6th grade Juniors (regardless of their age). All non-scouts, siblings, etc. participating in dry decorating must be in the 4th grade or higher. Junior troops may work half day shifts and will not receive any money, but will gain valuable experience and be able to start their paid participation without a "0" (zero) on their backs. NO BROWNIE AGE OR DAISY AGE GIRLS WILL BE PERMITTED TO ATTEND. This is true regardless what any other decorating group does. (Some specially hand selected 6th grade Juniors MAY be asked back after December 25 for exceptional work and attitude! - Providing additional people are needed.)
* To participate on the floral decorating days (Dec. 26-30), everyone must be at least 12 years old or at least a 6th grade Cadette Girl Scout (regardless of age), as defined by our contract with Fiesta Floats. Please be sure that those who attend (adults included) are mature enough to take direction and not be a discipline problem. You (or your adult in charge) are responsible for the behavior of your entire group (friends, family, boyfriends, etc) not just the girls.
* Registration can fill up quickly, so do not wait for your permission slips to come in. Instead, sign up with your best guesses for numbers. If your numbers change more than 5 in either direction (more or less), please let me know ASAP. If your decorating shift is CLOSED (see Dates, Times, & Forms), please do NOT increase your confirmed numbers without prior approval from me. If during registration we are approaching our capacity and there are mulitple troops who want to take the last remaining spots, those who work a "dry-dec" day will have priority.
* Once you sign up, you are expected to show up. WE ARE COUNTING ON YOUR ARRIVAL. If for some drastic reason you cannot show up (sorry, rain is NOT an emergency), please notify me ASAP.
* Bet ya didn't know!: Leaders DO NOT have to be there in order for the girls to decorate. All that is needed is the proper ratio of adults to girls. That means any mom, dad, adult sibling, aunt, uncle, grandparent, neighbor, or friend, etc. can take the girls (providing they're willing to work too)! The adults don't have to be registered girl scouts. So sign up for more than one day!!
* A medical for each participant (Your troop medical is fine, or you may download our medicals)
* A small first aid kit
* A Good Attitude
* Every person needs a money or a sack meal - all Dry Decorators MUST bring a sack meal!
(After Dec. 25th a Catering Truck will be on site with decorator prices - $8 and under for most items.
There is NO nearby restaurants at our new location! Please support the caterer!)
* Anyone with hay fever or allergies should bring necessary medications.
AFTER DECEMBER 25 ADD:
* 2 inch wide masking tape
* Broad tip marker
* Down time activities (see below under: "Once You Get There")
OPTIONAL
* Automotive hand cleaner (handy for getting glue off hands)
* Towels/Rags
* Folding Chair (for Dry Decorating Days)
REMEMBER TO LABEL ALL PERSONAL/TROOP ITEMS
* Long pants
* Tee-shirt (with sleeves!)
* Sweatshirt
* Bandana
* Sturdy, broken in, closed-toe shoes (no sandals)
* Wrist watch (adults AND GIRLS!!!)
* Hip Pack or thin wallet for your pocket instead of a purse
* Scissors on a STRING!!! (worn around your neck) This is a must!
***All these things must be able to get RUINED! The glues may never come out of clothes or hair!***
* On the back of every person's tee-shirt and sweatshirt, please place a strip of tape (minimum 2" wide) with the persons first name written boldly in black marker and a number representing their years of float decorating experience. (1st year decorating = O (zero), 2nd year = 1, 3rd year = 2, 12th year = 11, you get the idea). Please do this BEFORE you arrive.
* Place the nametag badge and a medical attached to the front of their sweatshirt or tee-shirt. (Not on the jeans or low on the shirt please.) After December 25th SECURITY WILL NOT LET YOU INSIDE WITHOUT THIS NAME BADGE!
* Please arrive at least 15 minutes before your shift time begins.
* All decorating is at one location! Parking for both Dry and Floral will be in the marked adjacent lot on Adelante St., which is just a short walk to the motor home (after Dec. 25th) and the Fiesta building. Do not park in the lot next to the Fiesta Building on Avenida Padilla. There is NO street parking anywhere. Please make sure all of your drivers are aware of this.
* Since you sign in, you must also sign out. Any troop without a sign out time will only earn half a shifts pay. When working two shifts, please send one adult to HQ to sign out of the first shift and re-sign in for the second. Also, be sure your non-scouts in the group know what troop number they are working with.
* There is no room inside the building for storage. All personal belongings, including purses, water bottles, meals, etc., should be kept in your car(s). Any apparently lost items you find should be turned-in to HQ and they will be returned providing there is a name and troop number on them. All unclaimed items will be discarded after December 31st. **We are not responsible for any lost items or theft.**
* Please do not leave for meals until the break is officially called. We have a brief schedule of clean-up before the meal breaks, and by leaving early, you hinder that schedule.
* No food or drink is allowed inside the building. No alcohol is allowed on Fiesta Premises (or at Girl Scout events for that matter.) Smoking is only allowed outside the building as well.
* No one is to climb or sit on the float or scaffolding unless they have been explicitly assigned and trained to a specific job. Once their job is done there, they should leave the float and/or scaffolding as soon as possible. Be sure to clean up your area BEFORE you leave.
* There WILL be sitting around time, particularly at the beginning of a shift. Be prepared! Bring books, cards, G.S. handbooks, etc. This is an opportunity to teach the girls patience and resourcefulness.
* The most important rule of all: HAVE FUN!!!!
* Jobs include (but are not limited to): Sweeping, being a "gofer" or "runner;" cutting and sorting flowers or dry materials; preparing dry materials (combing palm bark, ironing corn husks, crushing coconut, etc); and applying dry and/or floral materials to the float.
* Jobs are assigned with many things in consideration: Years of experience sometimes counts, ability to follow all directions always counts, patience, size (there are some quite tiny and/or hard to reach spaces on the floats), ability to tolerate heights (scaffolding), and in some cases, artistic ability. There are still plenty of jobs for everyone though!!!
* Jobs will be assigned as needed. Your entire troop may not be taken inside or used at the same time or could be split and put on one or more different floats.
* Once assigned to a job, DO NOT LEAVE IT! Please explain to your girls BEFORE YOU ARRIVE that the jobs are often repetitive, but all of them are desperately necessary. Even if a girl is not happy with her job, she still must stick with it until it is complete or she is replaced. It may take MANY HOURS of preparing dry materials and flowers for application to the float. Complaining to the Girl Scout supervisor or Fiesta supervisor about your job will not be tolerated. Decorating the floats is a privilege, not a right. If you leave a job you have been assigned to try and find a "better" job, you will be asked to leave and will not be paid
* Leaders!!! Please do not switch people from their jobs without clearance from the the Fiesta supervisor or the Girl Scout supervisor.
* Many jobs do not involve direct application of flowers to the float, therefore, Fiesta Floats and the Girl Scouts cannot guarantee that you will be assigned a job directly applying flowers to the float.
* If you have nothing to do, please sweep, pick up trash, and in general tidy up around the float. Accidents are more likely to occur when the float is not kept clean and organized.
* If your float also has "vendor" people working on it (people from the company sponsoring the float) they sometimes get assigned to jobs first. But the good news is that they often tire quickly and have no real commitment, so your group will probably take over their positions.
We are obtaining non-member insurance for all scheduled days. Use blanket permission slips for all minor participants and make sure everyone (adults too) has a medical. Encourage the girls to invite friends (age 12 and up) and family. It is suggested that you have some sort of medical for any minors, Girl Scouts or not. If you need any additional medicals you may download ours.
MS Word Child Medical
Acrobat Reader Child Medical
MS Word Adult Medical
Acrobat Reader Adult Medical
Acrobat Reader can be downloaded free from their website.
FIESTA PARADE FLOATS
16016 Avenida Padilla
Irwindale, CA 91702
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Please DO NOT contact Fiesta Parade Floats or your Girl Scout Council.
Visit our Frequently Asked Questions (F.A.Q.)
contact Kathleen Gavuzzi
phone: (909) 862-1412
e-mail: Kathleen