by Celine Hoang, Social Media Manager & Laura Le, Staff Writer
The Tournament of Roses Parade is an annual celebration that takes place in Pasadena, California. This year, the parade took place on January 2, 2017, “New Year’s Day Observed,” because the first day of the new year happened to fall on a Sunday.
Annually, volunteers around the country gather in Pasadena in several different locations to decorate the floats. This year, Kiwanis International and Lions International each had a float in the parade. Fountain Valley clubs had students volunteer to decorate the floats. Fountain Valley High School’s (FVHS) Key Club and KIWIN’s both volunteered under Kiwanis and helped decorate the American Heart Association’s and Trader Joe’s float in addition to the Kiwanis’ float. FVHS LEO Club assisted in decorating the Lions International float.
“We [volunteer to decorate] every year so people are always looking forward to it. It’s also just really fun to work together as a club, and it’s even more amazing when we see the parade the next morning,” said Elaine Le (‘17), president of FVHS Key Club.
Volunteers mainly helped out with preparation by trimming or cutting petals off of flowers, filling water vials or cutting roses and placing them into the water vials. Some of the volunteers were granted with the opportunity to do work on the float if they were wearing appropriate shoes and had a good grip. For example, they glued on flowers and rice to the float, while others helped out by sweeping floors and keeping the area clean.
The clubs decorated the floats in cold weather and long shifts, as it was raining when LEO Club was present, but volunteers had the opportunity of bonding with other members at the event. For instance, Garden Grove High School’s LEO Club joined FVHS LEO Club in decorating the floats. Club members spent time with other members and got to know each other better while being involved in service.
“I think the best thing that volunteers got out of this event is the opportunity to bond with others and meet new people. I enjoyed being able to spend time with my members and get to know them better, all while involving ourselves in service,” said Carol Wann (‘17), president of FVHS KIWIN’s.
