PHOTO: Andy Ketsdever | The South Pasadenan | Rose Parade 2025 South Pasadena ‘Seas The Day’ Float Winner of the ‘Fantasy Award’ at the 136th Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, New Years Day
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South Pasadena received the ‘Fantasy Award’ for the ‘Most outstanding display of fantasy and imagination.’
High praise, top honors and lofty acclaim continues to come South Pasadena’s way as the city captured the prestigious Fantasy Award in Wednesday’s 136th running of the Rose Parade in Pasadena.
No stranger to winning, interrupted only in 2021 when the floral parade spectacle was canceled on account of COVID-19, the city’s float won for the sixth straight time.
Starting in 2019, South Pasadena took home the Mayor’s Award for its “Three Little Birds” float. The same honor was bestowed in 2020 for “Power of Hope.” After the parade’s stoppage in 2021 due to the pandemic, the acclaim mounted in 2022 with the Founder Award for “Sky’s the Limit,” followed by the Bob Hope Humor Award in 2023 for “Spark of Imagination,” the Founder Award in 2024 for “Boogie Fever,” and finally this year’s success, “Sea’s the Day.” (
PHOTO Ed Donnelly SPTOR President 2025 | South Pasadena Rose Parade Float Winner of the Fantasy Award
The newly crowned float featured three friends – a turtle, a frog, and a duck – setting sail on an adventure for a carefree afternoon, creatively matching the overall theme of the parade – “Best Day Ever.”
The Fantasy Award goes to the float with the most outstanding display of fantasy and imagination.
While Ed Donnelly, the chair of the South Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade Committee, says it’s nice to keep the string of winning floats alive, he likes to point out, “What we really have in South Pasadena is an award winning team. Without the dedication and passion of our volunteers, we couldn’t do this, win awards, and build these great floats.”
PHOTO Andy Ketsdever | The South Pasadenan | Rose Parade 2025 South Pasadena Seas The Day Float Winner of the Fantasy Award at the 136th Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena New Years Day
For Donnelly, to be a part of the process to see the float evolve throughout the year from a sketch to full life, completely covered in flowers and natural materials, is simply the best, saying: “Being a part of this committee and this team is just personally rewarding, and to work side by side with these folks has absolutely been an education and inspiration.”
And in his next sentence, he emphasized: “It’s really about the people.”
Donnelly points out that about two dozen volunteers work on the local float year-round while hundreds more get involved during what’s known as “crunch time,” those final, crucial hours leading up to the New Year’s Day extravaganza when most of the flowers are applied to the float’s surface in order to keep them fresh.
Some help comes from all parts of the world, including a couple who paid a visit from France to lend a hand. Others from Wisconsin and Connecticut also wanted to be a part of the experience this time around. “A lot of people put it on their bucket list after seeing the parade on their TV’s over the years,” explained Donnelly, “and want to work and decorate it.”
Much of what is most meaningful about being a part of the float for Donnelly is its history. “The tradition here in South Pasadena is it’s the oldest continuous float in the Rose Parade since 1911, and I’m dedicated to keeping that tradition alive for another 100 years, he said. “It’s my personal mission to make sure to make sure we do that.”
According to the SPTOR chair, it takes roughly $150,000 to construct the city float, the funds to pay its sizable price tag coming from a series of fundraisers and donations from the public.
South Pasadena’s float is among six self-builts, meaning they are completely built and decorated by volunteers, the city joining Burbank, Downey, Sierra Madre, La Canada Flintridge and Cal Poly Universities. All six won awards in this year’s event.
“Our biggest expense, of course, are the thousands of flowers and natural materials,” said Donnelly. “This includes a specially bred batch of blue mums that were grown in Japan just for us that we can simulate the water our raft is sailing on. Our second biggest expense is the enormous tent we rent for the five months to build the float.”
Construction takes place in the 400 block of Fair Oaks Avenue behind the city-owned War Memorial Building, a location the SPTOR Committee hopes to build a permanent site someday, saving big on tent rental fees and providing additional security with four walls.
South Pasadena’s entry was among 39 floats, 24 bands and 16 equestrian units, and Tournament entries carrying distinguished individuals down the 5 1/2-mile route along Pasadena’s Colorado Boulevard. Among them were TOR President Ed Morales, Rose Queen Lindsay Charles and her Court, and tennis great and equality champion Billie Jean King serving as grand marshal.
PHOTO Andy Ketsdever | The South Pasadenan | Rose Parade 2025 The 136th Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena New Years Day
Other parade highlights featured a B-2 Spirit Bomber, a volcano aboard Burbank’s “Having A Lava Fun” float, a giant sized Charlie Chaplin on one presented by AIDS Healthcare Foundation, a collection of furry friends up for adoption on another by the Pasadena Humane Society, a flying witch to push the “Wicked” movie, buzzing bees taking flight designed by Kiwanis, and the Loch Ness Monster raising its head atop one built by Cal Poly Universities.
A mid-parade performance by Brandon Bennett and Chapel Hart put the pair of performers on stage next to larger than life music icons B.B. King and Elvis Presley.
As part of a second mid-parade performance, singer Timothy Wayne sang “Louisiana Saturday Night” aboard the Louisiana Feed Your Soul float, encouraging viewers to visit the Pelican State.
A third mid-parade performance featured Brian Culbertson, a Grammy-Award winning artist, singing tunes from the 1980s movie “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” and lifting parade-goers off their seats with the lively sounds. The float, “Play Hooky Illinois” highlighted the state’s attractions, including Chicago’s skyline, a Wrigley Field sign and balloons as Ferris enjoyed his best day ever.
PHOTO Andy Ketsdever | The South Pasadenan | Rose Parade 2025 The 136th Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena New Years Day
Debbie Gibson, who made hit after hit in the 1980’s, highlighting a high-octane performance during the parade’s grand finale.
Yet with all the excitement over the course of the day, for Donnelly, it always seems to come back to those who put in the hard labor year after year.
“The dedication and the passion of our volunteers to represent our community is inspiring and humbling,” he summed up.
Now that the 2025 Rose Parade is in the books, work on the next one will soon begin.
“Early this month we will be looking for new designs,” said Donnelly, noting the official theme has not been announced by Tournament officials, only a hint – “It’s always better to work together.”
Not wasting any time, he’s already looking ahead to the next one.
“We’ve already got the wheels turning on what the float might look like,” Donnelly said with a laugh, “with the team ready to build it.”
For float design idea submissions, go to SPTOR.org where information will soon be available about South Pasadena 2026 float.
PHOTO Ed Donnelly SPTOR President 2025 | South Pasadena Rose Parade Float Winner of the Fantasy Award
