10F
Date: May 6, 2025
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: John La Rock, Community Services Director
By: Monica Harte, Cultural Services Manager | [email protected] Subject: Supplemental Material #2 for Agenda Item 10F
DISCUSSION
On Tuesday, May 6, 2025, staff received an email from Lynn Robinson of the Torrance Rose Float Association, which included a memorandum outlining the history of the City of Torrance Rose Float for your review and consideration.
ATTACHMENT
1. Email Correspondence
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Huizar, Carlos
From: Valenciano, Isela
Sent: Tuesday, May 6, 2025 1:05 PM
To: Huizar, Carlos
Subject: FW: Agenda Item 10F Torrance Entry into the 2026 Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade
Attachments: A Brief History of the City of Torrance Rose Float version 2.pdf
ISELA VALENCIANO
Administrative Assistant I/II - Office of the City Manager [email protected]
TorranceCA.Gov |
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From: [email protected]
Sent: Tuesday, May 6, 2025 1:03 PM
To: CityCouncil <[email protected]>
Subject: Agenda Item 10F Torrance Entry into the 2026 Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade Mayor and City Council,
I am writing in regard to Agenda Item 10F Torrance Entry into the 2026 Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade. I urge you to approve the float design and fund the float. The City of Torrance has a 111-year history with the Tournament of Roses Parade. 2026 will be the 70th float entered by the City. Torrance is one of the few cities remaining in the Parade, a tradition that our citizens are very proud of and want to continue.
Since the formation of The Torrance Rose Float Association, it has had the responsibility for fundraising and all the administration of the float. For a number of years, the City of Torrance has paid $125,000.00 and TRFA has paid $25,000.00. For over 12 years Fiesta Parade Floats kept the price at $150,000.00. The 2026 float price will be $230,000.00. While this is a large increase, it would have been about $6700.00 per year if Fiesta had increased the price during that time. In addition to the $25,000.00 that TRFA has paid toward the float costs each year it has also paid another $55,000.00 in operating expenses.
Torrance receives worldwide attention and positive publicity each year from being in the parade. Television commercial time during the live broadcast of the parade on multiple stations Some people who received this message don't often get email from Learn why this is important 2 2
costs more than the price of our float. This is a great marketing tool for our city and hope you will continue your support.
I have attached a brief history of the City’s floats and of the Torrance Rose Float Association since its creation by the City in 1971. I hope you will all take the time to read it. I would also like to remind you that all of the 69 photos of these beautiful floats are still on exhibit at the Torrance Historical Society Museum through the June 1st.
Lynn Robinson
3 A Brief History of the City of Torrance Rose Float
The Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade was started in 1890 by the Valley Hunt Club. Torrance city founder, Jared Sidney Torrance, was president of the Valley Hunt Club from 1895 – 1896.
In 1895 the Valley Hunt Club decided that the parade has grown too large for them to handle, and the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association was formed.
In 1912 Mr. Torrance and his business associates purchased part of Rancho Dominguez to form a new city. They began selling lots through Thomas D.
Campbell and Company. Mr. Torrance was a major shareholder in this company.
The new City of Torrance had its first float in the Tournament of Roses Parade in 1914. It was entered in the parade by Thomas D. Campbell and Company to promote interest in the City of Torrance. The float titled “Industry” was built by local tradesmen.
Our next floats 1947 “Admission Day” and 1948 “The Friendship Train” were sponsored by the Torrance 20-30 Club and built locally. The city did not have floats from 1949 to 1957.
Torrance returned to the parade in 1958 and had floats every year through 1966.
These floats were sponsored by the Torrance 20-30 Club or the Chamber of Commerce. The records from this period are very few. The floats were built by Isabel Coleman.
In 1967 Tournament asked Torrance to give up our place in the parade for an international float. It was only 1 of 2 years since 1958 that we have not been in the parade.
In 1968 and 1969 our floats were again sponsored by the Torrance 20-30 Club or the Chamber of Commerce. The floats were built by Isabel Coleman.
The Torrance 20-30 Club or the Chamber of Commerce again sponsored the 1970 and 1971 floats. These floats were built by Herrin-Preston.
In 1971 the City of Torrance formed a committee to form a Rose Float Association to take on the task of managing the float. The association held its first meeting in October of 1971 and entered a float in the 1972 Rose Parade. The float “Lidsville” 4 was based on a children’s TV show. The show’s characters appeared at the local mall.
TRFA’s floats from 1972 to 1987 were built by C.E. Bent and Son and many were in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service. They featured Smokey the Bear and Woodsy the Owl. The 1980 Float featured the New Christy Minstrels. The 1985 float “Springtime in Yellowstone” was a partnership with the Wyoming Travel Commission.
It is not clear who the float builder was from 1988 to 1993. The 1994 and 1995 floats were built by D.C. Arts Parade Floats and the 1996 float was built by Studio Concepts.
In 1997 TRFA began our relationship with Fiesta Parade Floats. Raul Rodriguez designed many of our floats during this time. In 2017 we started a student design contest. Any high school student living in Torrance can submit a concept drawing.
The winner of the contest gets to ride on the float. Their ride is sponsored by Plasma Technologies, a long time TRFA supporter.
Fiesta has built our float every year except 2021 when the parade was cancelled due to Covid. They have done a fantastic job for us. Twenty-two of those floats have won awards. Our 2023 float won the President’s Trophy, the equivalent of second place in the parade.
In August of 2024 Fiesta Parade Floats closed and our float was moved to Artistic Entertainment Services (AES). AES is built our 69th float for the 2025 parade.
Throughout the history of the City’s participation in the Rose Parade the cost of the float has been shared by the City, citizens, volunteer groups and local businesses.
The Chamber of Commerce and the 20-30 Club held many fundraisers and for many years there was a Torrance Rodeo that raised money for the float.
Since the formation of The Torrance Rose Float Association, it has had the responsibility for fundraising and all the administration of the float. For over 12 years Fiesta Parade Floats kept the price at $150,000.00. The City of Torrance has paid $125,000.00 and TRFA has paid $25,000.00. AES honored that price for the 2025 float. The 2026 float price will be $230,000.00. While this is a large increase, it would have been about $6700.00 per year if Fiesta had increased the price during that time.
5 In addition to the $25,000.00 that TRFA has paid toward the float costs each year it has also paid another $55,000.00 in operating expenses. These expenses include Celebration Dinner food, Celebration Dinner room rental, bank fees, Pasadena Tournament of Roses parade entry fee ($7,500.00 this year), Square and Pay Pal transaction fees, float riders transportation to and from float judging day and parade day, insurance, Attorney General charitable trust registration and raffle permit, domain name, use and sales tax, Franchise Tax Board-annual info return, post office box rental, supplies/postage for decorator registration, tax preparation, purchase of promotional sales items, rose parade tickets, TUSD buses to transport decorators to and from float site and food for decorators during float decorating.
TRFA also contributes over 3,000 volunteer hours of float decorating, float administration and fundraising activities.
Torrance receives worldwide attention and positive publicity each year from being in the parade. Television commercial time during the live broadcast of the parade on multiple stations costs more than the price of our float. This is a great marketing tool for our city. 2026 will be the city’s 70th float in the parade. Will our community and our City help to continue this Torrance Tradition? TRFA is ready to continue to do all the work it has been doing since 1971. If the City’s contribution remains at $125,000.00, TRFA will have to raise an additional $55,000.00, which will be very difficult for a small nonprofit run completely by volunteers.
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