1 STAFF REPORT
DATE: July 15, 2025
TO: Justin Hess, City Manager
FROM: Marisa Garcia, Park, Recreation, and Community Services Director BY: Megan Wilke, Administrative Analyst II
SUBJECT: Approval of the City of Burbank Tournament of Roses 2026 Float Rendering
RECOMMENDATION
Approve the Burbank Tournament of Roses 2026 float rendering.
BACKGROUND
Since 1914, the City of Burbank (City) has been represented in the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade (Parade) on New Year’s Day. Originally, the Burbank Chamber of Commerce and Burbank schools entered floats on behalf of the City. In 1947, the Burbank Tournament of Roses Association (BTORA) took responsibility for the City’s annual float entries. The 2026 entry will mark BTORA’s 78th float entry and the City’s 93rd float entry in the Parade. There have been only a handful of years when the City did not submit a float entry due to unforeseen circumstances , including the cancellation of the Parade from 1942 through 1945 due to World War II, and in 2021 due to the COVID -19 pandemic.
BTORA is a non- profit organization comprised of community volunteers who construct and decorate a float to represent the City in the annual Parade. BTORA utilizes Burbank Water and Power’s (BWP) 6,000 square foot Auxiliary Warehouse on Olive Avenue for construction and decoration activities. The City is one of six remaining self -built floats, along with California Polytechnic Universities (Pomona and San Luis Obispo), and the cities of Downey, La Cañada-Flintridge, Sierra Madre, and South Pasadena.
Preparation for each year’s float begins immediately after New Year’s Day. Once the Parade theme is announced, concepts and drawings are solicited from the general public in a design contest. BTORA’s Board of Directors reviews, selects several of the submitted designs, and presents them to BTORA’s general membership for final recommendation.
PARKS AND
RECREATION
2 The selected design is then presented to the Pasadena Tournament of Roses f or approval.
Upon approval by the Pasadena Tournament of Roses, the construction and decoration committees review the final drawings and plans, and a final rendering is submitted to City Council (Council) for approval. Actual construction of the float begins shortly thereafter, and decoration materials are ordered. While orders for live flowers are placed with various growers for the float , most of the actual floral decoration begins on December 26 and continues until December 31. The float is moved to the Metrolink parking lot to be judged by Parade officials on December 30-31. Animation and music are displayed for the public before the convoy leaves the City . On the evening prior to the Parade, Burbank Police Department (BPD) escorts the float with motorcycles and police cars via surface streets to Pasadena
.
DISCUSSION
The 137th Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade theme is “ The Magic in Teamwork .” In March 2025, Parade officials approved the theme and the conceptual design for the 2026 City float entry named “ All Paws on Deck ” (Attachment 1). The float design and rendering were submitted by Dave Lowe from Burbank, California. This is Mr. Lowe’s first time winning the design contest for the Burbank float.
BTORA utilizes BWP’s Auxiliary Warehouse to construct the float and, in exchange, the float is entered in the Parade under the name of t he City of Burbank. The City, primarily BWP, partners with BTORA through staffing, facility usage, and financial support. BWP contributes $54,720 to BTORA annually for the construction of the float. This contribution supports construction materials including roses, flowers, and various tools and equipment. The City provides administrative support to BTORA through the Parks and Recreation Department, along with in-kind support from Burbank Water and Power (BWP) and the Burbank Police Department (BPD), estimated at $23,409. Annually, the City’s total contribut ion to BTORA , including staffing, facility usage, and financial support , exceeds $190,000. In addition to City support, BTORA organizes annual and ongoing fundraising efforts to help fund its programs and services.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
This activity involves approval of the BTORA float rendering for 2026 and has no potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment, and as such, is not a “project” subject to the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) 14 Cal.
Code Regs § 15378.
3 FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact associated with this report. The City’s contribution of $54,720 is included in the Fiscal Year 2025-26 Adopted Budget.
CONCLUSION
City Council acceptance and approval of the 202 6 Tournament of Roses float rendering will allow BTORA to begin construction of the float. The 2026 Parade will take place o n Thursday, January 1, 2026, at 8:00 am, and the Burbank parade float will join marching bands from across the nation, equestrian units, and majestic floral floats as they parade down Colorado Boulevard.
ATTACHMENT
Attachment 1 - Proposed 2026 City of Burbank Tournament of Roses Float Entry