“Together, we celebrate where we’ve been and what we look forward to. It’s about family, friends, and community and what we have to celebrate — and to be thankful for,” Tournament of Roses President Ed Morales said in a statement.
Sitting near the warehouse entrance, Diane Davis plucked black beans one by one from a white cup and glued them with a thin paint brush to a panel bearing the image of Jesus and two children.
His brown hair was made of cinnamon, his white robe crushed rice and the blue background was finely cut statice flower that had been trimmed with small scissors.
The scene was being constructed on a panel, one of many that made up the Lutheran Hour Ministries float in 2023. It has since been repurposed as a display model to teach visitors about the work that goes into creating floats.
An identical one will be featured on this year’s Lutheran Hour float, which will showcase two heralding angels and a church complete with stained glass windows.
Davis’ mother, Fran, worked on the original panel two years ago and noticed that the black beans she so carefully installed were beginning to crumble. This week, on her 89th birthday, she began the painstaking work of using a razor blade to remove the damaged beans and replace them with new ones.
Even a display panel must look its best, both mother and daughter said.
“These beans have a little white on them and that’s not supposed to show,” Davis said.
“My mom has a bit of a short fuse,” she added with a laugh. “She did it for three hours today and then said, ‘I’m done.’ So I have to make sure I get this right.”
This year’s participants finalized designs in the spring and spent the rest of the year bringing their vision to life. For Canadian nonprofit Coding for Veterans, which trains service members to work in tech and cybersecurity, the Rose Parade is a chance to honor the armed services and send a message that veterans are ready for a new life.
