PASADENA, CA — Now in its 14th year as a parade entrant, Rain Bird has been communicating the importance of The Intelligent Use of Water and environmental preservation to millions of viewers worldwide through its participation in the Tournament of Roses Parade.
Rain Bird’s Rose Parade floats celebrate the environment and reverence for water from which the company’s name was derived. The company’s 2010 float entry, Mountaintop Majesty, showcases a family of magnificent primates, one of man’s closest relatives. As a symbol of both new and continuing life, Mountaintop Majesty bolsters Rain Bird’s commitment to water conservation as it relates to the preservation of endangered species and the habitats in which they lived throughout the world.
Water, a signature element of all of Rain Bird’s floats, is featured on Mountaintop Majesty with 1,500 gallons of flowing recycled water cascading over numerous waterfalls as a family of gorillas frolic i in a brilliant display set in the mountainous regions of Africa.
Highlighting the company’s corporate philosophy of promoting environmental preservation through The Intelligent Use of Water, the incorporation of water on Rain Bird’s Rose Parade float extends a company tradition dating back to its first float entry in 1997.
In November, hundreds of volunteer, including Rain Bird employees and their families, began applying hundreds of thousands of fresh flowers and other plant material to Mountaintop Majesty, a task that consumes a total of 10,000 cumulative hours to complete.
Fiesta Parade Floats, the leading float building for the Rose Parade, is responsible for float construction; Raul R. Rodriguez, winner of more awards than any other designer in the history of he Parade, designed the float; Fiesta President Tim Estes is the engineering designer; while Fiesta’s Vice President and Floral Director Jim Hynd, AIFD, is responsible for the layout of the float’s flowers.
Since 1997, the first year that Rain Bird participated in the New Year’s tradition, its float entries have won top honors (Sweepstakes) for the most beautiful floats eight times in the past 13 parades, including an unprecedented three straight Sweepstakes Trophies from 2001 through 2004 and back-to-back wins in 1998 ad 199 as well as in 2008 and 2009.
Riding on the float again this year is Jack Hanna, director emeritus of the Columbus (OH) Zoo and Aquarium and Walter Crawford, founder and director of the World Bird Sanctuary.
