Volunteers come out to help build Newport Beach’s Rose Parade float, ‘Jingle on the Waves’
As the new year draws closer, so too does the debut of Newport Beach’s float for the upcoming Rose Parade.
The city’s first entry in several years is called “Jingle on the Waves” and is an homage to the city’s most iconic features: the Christmas Boat Parade, which recently finished its 115th run; the Balboa Fun Zone, also newly revived after a change in ownership; and the Balboa Pavilion.
With the float’s superstructures completed, volunteers, including some from Newport Beach, started adding dry, nonfloral decorations earlier this month at the Irwindale warehouse, where what is reportedly the longest float in the Rose Parade’s history is being staged. Floral and other “wet” decorations will start being placed on Dec. 26. Visit Newport Beach is still accepting volunteers at airtable.com/appbc54x6ikyah7YI/shrJXZzV2pqUx1Zzw.
Newport Beach has not participated in the Rose Parade since 2006, when it sought to celebrate its centennial. Visit Newport Beach president and chief executive officer Gary Sherwin said in previous interviews that an official with the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Assn. reached out to the city to participate as both the city and parade had a long, preexisting relationship.
Newport Beach will be one of a number of cities participating in this year’s parade. Others include La Cañada Flintridge, Sierra Madre, Downey, South Pasadena, Burbank, Alhambra and Torrance. Florida’s Ft. Lauderdale will also have a float.
Built by Phoenix Decorating Co., the cost of the Newport Beach float to boost tourism is in the “low six figures,” Sherwin said.
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