Central Coast makes its mark on Rose Parade Floats
PASADENA, Calif.— This week, thousands of people traveled to Float Fest in Pasadena to view the 39 floats from the Rose Parade up close.
The Rose Parade floats spanned several organizations and causes from animal welfare to healthcare.
Cal Poly Alum Elizabeth Renfrew designed her first float back in the 70s when she was a student. She went on to design 5 total floats and said it was the highlight of her college career
“The kids we worked with were great. You learn all different kinds of skills, and I'm sure I took them on into my field of work, just the leadership opportunities that it provided. So it was a win on every level,” said Renfrew.
Rose float marketing master Martha Zatloka said she learned all about marketing at Santa Barbara City College. Her love of Santa Barbara shines through even when she’s promoting Illinois.
“I switched majors when I got to Santa Barbara for business and marketing. And then I just continued through that. And that led me to get my masters in marketing. And now I visit Santa Barbara once a year,” said Zatloka.
Pasadena's Rose Parade is the second largest parade in the entire country. Even though it takes place all the way in Pasadena, there's still quite a bit of local influence from San Luis Obispo to Santa Barbara all the way down to Oxnard if you just look closely enough.
“Boys and Girls of Oxnard is a “Kindness is free” Boys and Girls Club. And so they had kids in the float. they put flowers on the float. Being a part of something and bringing our local community into something that's on national television is huge,” said Violet Way, who lives in Ventura.
“In past years, we worked very closely with Santa Barbara humane. They have fantastic programs up there. And I still read about them and how they're very progressive in their animal animal welfare work and their adoption programs, the rehoming of cats and dogs,” said Pasadena Humane Society Former CEO Steven McNall.
In past years, flower growers from Carpinteria have also donated hundreds of roses to the Cal Poly float.
