Floating surf spirit

Huntington Beach will shower the first of its many centennial events with hundreds of thousands of flowers, when it participates in the 2009 Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena.

The “Surf City U.S.A.” float will commemorate the theme of “Celebrating 100 Years of Community.”

The 55-foot-long float carries out the family theme and depicts why people love to live in Huntington, city Community Relations Officer Laurie Payne said.

“We want people to be in the kitchen and have their wife say, ‘Honey, come here and see this,’” Payne said. “We just want people to remember Huntington Beach in a fun way. A lot of them have already experienced Huntington Beach, so we want this to reinforce what they know and love.”

The design will feature a family enjoying a barbecue on top of a surfboard, which crests a wave. Behind the family, pelicans and sea gulls fly in the air; dolphins swim underneath. The float will be 30 feet high.

The city approved the design, created by award-winning company Festival Artists, in July. The float’s debut will be the kickoff of the city’s centennial year.

Float Designer John Ramirez described the float as a “fun cartoon celebration of the California beach lifestyle.”

“We had a couple designs, but the family on the surfboard was an image that everyone gravitated toward,” Ramirez said.

“We really want to stress the sense of family and community that we have,” Payne said. “Plus, we’ve got a little bit of ocean life here. We really just tried to show why we love being here.”

Three city residents — Kenneth Bauer, Anita Jones and Patricia Pashich — were selected from a random drawing of 552 entrants in October to ride with new Mayor Keith Bohr on the float.

Elizabeth Fok, Sandie Justen and John Newton were named as alternates.

Other riders include city employee Debbie DeBow, Youth Character Award winner Araceli Arizmendi and Junior Lifeguard Catherine Wippler, along with Miss Huntington Beach Cayce Crowder.

Also on hand will be 35 students performing from Huntington Beach High School’s Academy for the Performing Arts.

The students will wear surf and swim wear popular since the city’s founding, and will dance to the Jan and Dean song “Surf City.”

Another potential design option included the family on the surfboard perched on top of a Woodie station wagon; a third showed the family grandmother following behind them on a smaller surfboard, Ramirez said.

He added that he has made no design changes since the rendering was submitted to the city.

Some of the design challenges the team faced included locating hardy, blue flowers, and engineering the wave and surf family to lower down during the parade.

“It was a tricky feat of engineering, because the family on the surfboard is really on the end of the big wave,” Ramirez said.

The designers expect the Huntington Beach Centennial Geranium, specially grown to be on the float, to have a prominent place on the float.

The mother’s hair will consist of Chinese lantern with an overlay of orange marigold highlights; her husband’s sunglasses will be made with amaranthus seed and black seaweed.

The dolphins leaping below are made from silverleaf and strawberry seed.

“There are hundreds of thousands of flowers and dried organic material used for each float,” Communication Director Nicki Miller of Festival Artists Worldwide said. “The flowers and dried organic materials come from all around the world.”

Festival Artists has been designing and building Rose Parade floats for more than 25 years. The company was a natural choice for the city, Payne said.

“They started this over a year ago,” Payne said. “Before the Centennial Committee was even formed, I had seen the Newport Beach float when they had their centennial, so I got the idea then.”

Payne made the first contact with parade organizers to begin the process.

“Basically, the only way new people get in is if old people don’t go back,” Payne said. Luckily for the city, an opening was made available.

After the city applied, Payne learned that they would need to confirm they have the money available before being accepted. She and her committee went to the City Council, which approved $200,000 for the float. When parade organizers received word that funding was available, they approved the application.

The city then sent a letter to the five major float builders the organizers recommended.

“They all sent us proposals, and we interviewed three,” Payne said. “Festival Artists came in with a design that was kind of similar to the ‘Ultimate Challenge,’ so we liked that.”

The surfer statue at Huntington Street and Pacific Coast Highway has been a local symbol for decades.

Payne recalled the company’s designer came to the meeting and sketched out ideas while the group talked about Huntington Beach.

“He captured us perfectly,” Payne said. “That was it.”

Groups of employees, family and friends have been caravanning to Azusa to work on the float.

In addition, Girl Scouts, and other groups and individuals have been working on float components at the Huntington Beach Art Center.

The committee has already raised more than $200,000, Payne said.

She added that all elements of the float — down to Miss Huntington Beach’s sash — had to be approved by the parade organizers.

“There’s a lot of tradition in that group,” Payne said. “It’s a lot of fun to be a part of it.”

The 120th annual Rose Parade, “Hats Off To Entertainment,” begins at 8 a.m. New Year’s Day.

FLOAT FLOWERS

 The Huntington Beach Centennial Geranium

 Straw

 Macaroon Coconut

 Parsley

 Blue Statice

 Seaweed

 Poppy Seed

 Chinese Lantern

 Yellow, and Gold Strawflower

 Yellow and White Button Mum

 Lemon Leaf

 Vanda Orchid

 Cornhusk

 Amaranthus Seed

 Mini Red Carnation

 Palm Fiber

 Chartreuse Moss

 White and Hot Pink Carnation

 Cranberry Seed

 Uva Grass

 Pampas Grass

 Lunaria

 Melaleuca Bark

 Onion Seed

 Flax Seed

 Millet Seed

 Red Millet Seed

 Silverleaf

 Strawberry Seed

 Orange and Yellow Gerbera

 Hot Pink and White Roses

CANDICE BAKER may be reached at (714) 966-4631 or at [email protected].