As parade nears, Downey Rose Float works on finishing touches

Miss Downey Princess Aliyah Dubon paints one of the five large flamingos that will be featured on Downey’s Rose Float. (Photo by Alex Dominguez)

DOWNEY - With just a few short days before the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade, the Downey Rose Float Association is hard at work putting the finishing touches on its 2024 entry.

This year’s parade theme is Celebrating a World of Music. Going along with that theme, Downey’s entry -called Rhythm of the Caribbean - will feature five large flamingos, 10 animatronic butterflies, Ms. Downey and her court, and steelpan drum band The Islanders, who will be playing live.

The float was designed by Jason Redfox.

“The float’s got that touch of the Caribbean with the flamingos and the tropical look, and of course the live steel band playing,” said Construction Chair Kelley Roberts. “It’s going to be a very musical, fun, colorful, floral float to see in the Rose Parade.”

According to Rose Float President Jeremy Clifton, The Islanders have been “playing together and by themselves for several decades.”

“Cecil Frances, the gentleman I spoke to to kind of get the ball in motion with it, has been playing the steel pan for 60 years,” said Clifton. “He started at 8 years-old out of Trinidad. Each one of those individuals, there’s four of them, are originally from the island.”

“They’ve played in different symphonies around the world,” added Roberts. “They’ve taught steel pan, they’ve done productions, they’ve done Carnival, they’ve been everywhere.”

The Islanders are donating their time and their performance to Downey Rose Float.

Downey Rose Float Association also has a relatively new source of help in an annual $30,000 grant from the city that was approved in August.

Clifton called it “truly a blessing.”

“Fundraising hasn’t been as great as it should be,” said Clifton. “As most people know, every single one of us works a full-time job, things have changed in a lot of our jobs, and so we – I don’t want to say lack of interest – but lack of time and [we’ve] been priced out of a lot of venues to do our fundraisers at.

“With the city helping, it is a tremendous relief on the burden on all of us, but we still do fundraise to get to where we’re at.”

Downey Rose Float association opened up their barn to community volunteers on Tuesday for their annual “Dec week.” Prior to its start, Clifton and Roberts said they were ahead of schedule if they “keep their foot to the pedal.” Decorations actually started a week before Dec week.

“We’re usually the other way around,” joked Roberts.

There won’t be any relaxing until Jan. 5, when everything is said and done and the float returns to the barn and is “back home.” Still, despite all the hard work, long nights, and heaping amounts of stress that come with building a float, there’s a sense of pride and legacy that comes with seeing it roll down Colorado Boulevard that makes it all worth it.

“We’re a legacy float; we’re only one of six that are actually designed, built and decorated solely by volunteers in the granddaddy of them all, Rose Parade,” said Roberts. “That’s pretty special. It is very special to be one of the six, and now with more support from the city, it’s helping us tremendously.

“Even the support with Los Angeles County, it’s like Jeremy said, it’s been a blessing. Because a lot of this stuff could not get done or would not get done without everyone’s support in making this float happen.”