On Dec. 14, nine students from the Burroughs Interact Club visited Phoenix Decorating Co. in Irwindale, California, to work on the Rotary Rose Parade float. Interactors from other schools and Rotarians also joined in for the decorating.
The students had a variety of tasks, ranging from cutting dried flowers to gluing materials onto the float.
“Most of my work involved gluing and applying the material of black recycled rubber onto the spots of a rainbow-haired cow and meticulously applying finicky lentil beans in a linear pattern to the beak of a jovial rooster,” said Gabriel Garcia, the club’s vice President. “The variety of materials used to create different textures, effects, and colors of the float was fascinating as it showed how miscellaneous items could be used to create unique artistic details.”
Club members faced a few difficulties in bringing the float’s artistic design to life.
“One of the challenges I encountered was the delicate nature of our materials and the need to work with limited precision,” said Garcia. “At one point, I accidentally knocked over a box of coffee grounds, spilling most of it onto the ground. Cleaning up the mess took extra time and care, but I worked efficiently to fix the mistake and ensure it didn’t disrupt our progress.”
Despite the hard work that needed to be put into making progress on the float, the decorators had a great time overall, especially knowing their efforts were worth it.
“My favorite part of helping with the float was knowing that my small contribution would be on a large float for so many people to see,” said junior Nisha Wallace. “It felt really cool to know that I played a role in bringing people together, even in a small way.”
Interact Club students truly enjoyed the opportunity to meet new people and learn from others.
“I liked being able to communicate with people who I would not have had the chance to do so otherwise, including the Immanuel Interact Club and two of the elder, experienced volunteers named Kathy and Rich, who both shared their float advice, and life advice, which was appreciated,” said Garcia.
The float, themed “On the Road with Rotary,” will appear in the 136th annual Rose Parade in Pasadena on Jan. 1, 2025.
Juniors Emaan Ahmad, Gabriel Garcia, Jayden Nevarez, Nisha Wallace, Siona Otillio, Michael Munoz, Miguel Guerrero, and freshmen Saphira Luevano and Sabreena Brown participated as float decorators.
