Thursday, February 12, 2015

2008 Rose Festival: Grand Floral Parade Floats

Here are some pictures of the floats from the Grand Floral Parade that were on display along Naito Parkway on Sunday, June 8, 2008, as part of the Rose Festival. Floats are not really my thing, but I was there and they are pretty impressive. My favorites are "Year of the Dinosaur," "Let's Fly," and "More Precious Than Gold."

IMG_1009 Year of the Dinosaur Grand Floral Parade Float in Portland, Oregon on June 8, 2008
“Year of the Dinosaur” Grand Floral Parade Float

"Year of the Dinosaur," sponsored by KeyBank, is a tribute to OMSI's "Dinosaurs, China's Ancient Giants" and features a life-size Tyrannosaurus Rex adult and newly-hatched young. The float features orange and red roses, anthurium, banksia, red ginger, king protea and bird of paradise. It is KeyBank's first float and was built by Studio Concepts, Inc.

IMG_1011 Walk Like a Rose Grand Floral Parade Float in Portland, Oregon on June 8, 2008
“Walk Like a Rose” Grand Floral Parade Float

"Walk Like a Rose," sponsored by Regence Blue Cross Blue Shield of Oregon, is a salute to the inaugural Regence Grand Floral Walk. The tennis shoes consist of red carnations, white iris, red gladiolus and red roses. It was built by Studio Concepts, Inc.

IMG_1013 2008 Rose Festival Court Grand Floral Parade Float in Portland, Oregon on June 8, 2008
“2008 Rose Festival Court” Grand Floral Parade Float

"2008 Rose Festival Court," sponsored by IKEA, carried the 14 members of the Rose Festival Court in the parade. The float includes liatris, orange roses, pink gerbera daisies, hot pink roses and green hanging amaranthus. It was built by Studio Concepts, Inc.

IMG_1015 I Do Redo Grand Floral Parade Float in Portland, Oregon on June 8, 2008
“‘I Do’ Redo” Grand Floral Parade Float

"'I Do' Redo," sponsored by Portland General Electric, featured the winners of PGE's "I Do" Redo contest: Ralph & Patricia Evans (married 57 years), John & Denise Harding (married 29 years) and Steve & Marilyn Fulton (married 21 years). The float includes green hanging amaranthus, green roses, hot pink snapdragons, bells of Ireland and green spider chrysanthemums. It was built by Studio Concepts, Inc.

IMG_1017 Romancing Rose Grand Floral Parade Float in Portland, Oregon on June 8, 2008
“Romancing Rose” Grand Floral Parade Float

"Romancing Rose," sponsored by the Spirit Mountain Casino, includes sunflowers, purple larkspur, blue delphinium, huckleberry and red and yellow roses. It was built by Studio Concepts, Inc.

IMG_1019 The Romance of the Clydesdales Grand Floral Parade Float in Portland, Oregon on June 8, 2008
“The Romance of the Clydesdales” Grand Floral Parade Float

"The Romance of the Clydesdales," sponsored by Anheuser-Busch, is their 29th consecutive float in the Grand Floral Parade, all of which have been pulled by the famous Budweiser Clydesdales. The use of the Clydesdales as a symbol of Budweiser dates to 1933 when August A. Busch Jr. and Adolphus Busch III presented a hitch of Clydesdales to their father August Busch Sr. in commemoration of the first bottle of post-prohibition beer brewed in St. Louis.

IMG_1020 The Romance of the Clydesdales Grand Floral Parade Float in Portland, Oregon on June 8, 2008
“The Romance of the Clydesdales” Grand Floral Parade Float

The float includes the brewing ingredients of beer: barley kernels for malt on the outside of the stable, rice for crispness on the stonework & fences and hop vines for aroma and spice on the side of the building. The float was built by Studio Concepts, Inc.

IMG_1022 Best Festival in the World Grand Floral Parade Float in Portland, Oregon on June 8, 2008
“Best Festival in the World” Grand Floral Parade Float

"Best Festival in the World," sponsored by the Portland Rose Festival Foundation, includes red gladiolus, red carnations and red roses. It was built by Studio Concepts, Inc.

IMG_1025 Honoring Those Who Serve Grand Floral Parade Float in Portland, Oregon on June 8, 2008
“Honoring Those Who Serve” Grand Floral Parade Float

"Honoring Those Who Serve," sponsored by Shilo Inns Suites Hotels, Yorke & Curtis and CIDA, salutes members of the United States Armed Forces and the Salvation Army. The float includes red, white & blue flowers and was built by Studio Concepts, Inc.

IMG_1026 Let's Fly Grand Floral Parade Float in Portland, Oregon on June 8, 2008
“Let’s Fly” Grand Floral Parade Float

"Let's Fly," sponsored by the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum, celebrates the opening of the brand-new Evergreen Space Museum in McMinnville, Oregon and depicts a Gemini spacecraft, used for ten manned flights in 1965 and 1966.

IMG_1028 Let's Fly Grand Floral Parade Float in Portland, Oregon on June 8, 2008
“Let’s Fly” Grand Floral Parade Float

The float was built by Studio Concepts, Inc.

IMG_1029 More Precious Than Gold Grand Floral Parade Float in Portland, Oregon on June 8, 2008
“More Precious Than Gold” Grand Floral Parade Float

"More Precious Than Gold," sponsored by Reser's Fine Foods, includes a large pirate clearly (but not officially) inspired by Johnny Depp's Captain Jack Sparrow from the Pirates of the Caribbean movie series.

IMG_1030 More Precious Than Gold Grand Floral Parade Float in Portland, Oregon on June 8, 2008
“More Precious Than Gold” Grand Floral Parade Float

IMG_1031 More Precious Than Gold Grand Floral Parade Float in Portland, Oregon on June 8, 2008
“More Precious Than Gold” Grand Floral Parade Float

The float was built by Studio Concepts, Inc.

IMG_1034 Sustain the Spirit Grand Floral Parade Float in Portland, Oregon on June 8, 2008
“Sustain the Spirit” Grand Floral Parade Float

"Sustain the Spirit," sponsored by the Portland Rose Festival, announces the Oregon 150 celebration of Oregon's sesquicentennial, or 150th birthday, on February 14, 2009. The float includes Noble Fir branches and cedar bark, and was built by Studio Concepts, Inc.

IMG_1035 A Lifetime Love Affair Grand Floral Parade Float in Portland, Oregon on June 8, 2008
“A Lifetime Love Affair” Grand Floral Parade Float

"A Lifetime Love Affair," sponsored by Fred Meyer, celebrates the joy of gardening. The float includes broccoli, Brussels sprouts, red cabbage, carrots, corn, eggplant, alliums, delphinium, three colors of roses, hot pink alstromeria, and oriental red lilies, and was built by Studio Concepts, Inc.

IMG_1037 A Lifetime Love Affair Grand Floral Parade Float in Portland, Oregon on June 8, 2008
“A Lifetime Love Affair” Grand Floral Parade Float

I don't know if it was intentional, but I think the gardener resembles Renee Zellweger's Vanessa Bloome from Bee Movie.

IMG_1038 The World Loves a Clown Grand Floral Parade Float in Portland, Oregon on June 8, 2008
“The World Loves a Clown” Grand Floral Parade Float

"The World Loves a Clown," sponsored by the Portland Rose Festival, includes eremuris, giant alliums, blue iris and red & yellow roses and was built by Studio Concepts, Inc.

IMG_1040 Courting Rosie Grand Floral Parade Float in Portland, Oregon on June 8, 2008
“Courting Rosie” Grand Floral Parade Float

"Courting Rosie," sponsored by George Morlan Plumbing, includes purple iris, red roses, red carnations and red gladiolus.

IMG_1041 Courting Rosie Grand Floral Parade Float in Portland, Oregon on June 8, 2008
“Courting Rosie” Grand Floral Parade Float

The float was built by Studio Concepts, Inc.

IMG_1043 Dressed Like a King Grand Floral Parade Float in Portland, Oregon on June 8, 2008
“Dressed Like a King” Grand Floral Parade Float

"Dressed Like a King," sponsored by Exclusively Misook, carried festival king Rex Oregonus. The float includes hot pink gladiolus, carnations, liatris and roses. It was built by Studio Concepts, Inc.

IMG_1045 Welcome Our Friends From San Antonio Grand Floral Parade Float in Portland, Oregon on June 8, 2008
“Welcome our Friends from San Antonio” Grand Floral Parade Float

"Welcome our Friends from San Antonio," sponsored by the Royal Rosarians, carried Queen Mary Elizabeth Rogers and Princess Callie Melissa Mortimer of Fiesta San Antonio, organized by the Battle of Flowers Foundation.

IMG_1046 Welcome Our Friends From San Antonio Grand Floral Parade Float in Portland, Oregon on June 8, 2008
“Welcome our Friends from San Antonio” Grand Floral Parade Float

The float includes red roses, red gladiolus, red carnations and red hanging amaranthus. It was built by Studio Concepts, Inc.

IMG_1048 Love is in the Air Grand Floral Parade Float in Portland, Oregon on June 8, 2008
“Love is in the Air” Grand Floral Parade Float

"Love is in the Air," sponsored by Battle Ground Rose Float, is Battle Ground, Washington's 54th consecutive float in the Grand Floral Parade and was designed, built and decorated entirely by volunteers.

IMG_1049 Love is in the Air Grand Floral Parade Float in Portland, Oregon on June 8, 2008
“Love is in the Air” Grand Floral Parade Float

IMG_1051 Love is in the Air Grand Floral Parade Float in Portland, Oregon on June 8, 2008
“Love is in the Air” Grand Floral Parade Float

The float includes colored rice, dyed coconut, green & yellow split peas, mung beans, parsley, sesame seeds, 2,900 roses, 3,200 iris and 1,500 carnations.

IMG_1052 The Romance of the Race Grand Floral Parade Float in Portland, Oregon on June 8, 2008
“The Romance of the Race” Grand Floral Parade Float

"The Romance of the Race," sponsored by the Portland-Kaohsiung Sister City Association, is in the form of a dragon boat, with orange carnations, red gladiolus and red and yellow roses. It was built by Studio Concepts, Inc.

IMG_1054 The Romance of Fiesta Grand Floral Parade Float in Portland, Oregon on June 8, 2008
“The Romance of Fiesta” Grand Floral Parade Float

"The Romance of Fiesta," sponsored by La Pantera, McDonald's and Regence, includes heliconia, red anthurium, ginger, yellow and orange roses, yellow chrysanthemums, red carnations and oncidium orchids. The float was built by Studio Concepts, Inc.

This concludes the original content of my 2008 Rose Festival page. To see any additional blog entries about the Rose Festival, click on the Rose Festival label.

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