The Voyage of Hope 1620

Have you ever wondered what goes in to making a float for the Rose Parade?  This year many of us will be participating in a variety of ways to help get a float ready for the parade and the beginning of a year’s celebration of our ancestors that arrived on the Mayflower in 1620.

The theme of this year’s Rose Parade in Pasadena, California will be ‘The Power of Hope’.  The Rose Parade Committee states “The Power of Hope, celebrates the influence of optimism and hope. The belief that what is wanted can be attained. From the struggles of those who came before us to dreams yet fulfilled, hope is more than simply the possibility of fulfillment.”  2020 will be the 400th Anniversary of the Mayflower Voyage. 

The first step was for the California Society of Mayflower Descendants to submit an application to have a float in the Parade.   The float will be titled “The Voyage of Hope-1620”.   Approval was received to have a Mayflower Float in the 2020 Pasadena Rose Parade on 1 January 2020.  The float was then designed and will be built by Fiesta Parade Floats.

(design photo from FaceBook page for Fiesta Parade Floats)

The San Diego Colony of the General Society of Mayflower Descendants held a ‘Petal Clipping’ session yesterday.  So, what actually is a ‘Petal Clipping’ session and what does it have to do with the Rose Parade float?

Many of us volunteered to get together with box tops and scissors at the Village Church in Rancho Santa Fe to begin the process of getting flowers ready to be attached to ‘The Voyage of Hope-1620’ float at the end of December.  Yellow/orange straw flowers imported from Holland are the flowers being used.  

We carefully clipped the petals off the flowers

my hat was delivered with it's new band so I just had to try it out

the petals were collected in huge bags to be ready for December

There were about 35-45 people working in the afternoon when I was helping.  Here are the volunteers at the table I was at

clockwise from left -Vicki May (William Bradford descendant), Beverly Willey ( William Bradford descendant), Bill Peters (William Brewster descendant), Rick Bailey (descendant of George Soule, John Alden, William White, Edward Doughty, Thomas Rodgers, William Bradford, Miles Standish) and Kathy Hughes (seamstress of my costume)

• While we were working we played Pilgrim Bingo and learned a few new things about our ancestors.  I learned that my maternal 10th great grandfather John Alden was the first to step off the Mayflower at their first stop on Cape Cod when they stopped for fresh water.  He was carrying a Wheel-Lock carbine rifle.  Read more about John’s Wheel-Lock at Thanksgiving’s First Rifle.
• Fiesta Parade Floats is currently building the framework for the float and for objects that will be on the float.  Pictures were shown during our Petal Clipping of the progress they are making as they start the build.  (Tidbit: the masts for the Mayflower will need to be moveable so they can be lowered along the parade route due to bridge heights.)
• See previous posts about the Aldens:  What Would Priscilla Mullins Alden Think? and San Diego Colony of Mayflower Descendants and others.

This was a great time to meet other descendants and ‘cousins’ of that Mayflower Voyage that started it all 400 years ago and learn the process of building one of those great floats we like to see on January 1st at the Rose Parade. 

William "Budd" Leef, San Diego Colony Governor and San Diego Colony Deputy Governor, Kathleen Loftman 

Kathleen did an amazing job organizing this event! 

Only 142 days to go before the parade.  A GoFundMe page is available for anyone who would like to contribute to this amazing undertaking.

The Voyage of Hope 1620 - Crossing the Waters for a New Generation

If you have any corrections, additions or stories to share I look forward to hearing them.
Enjoy the journey,
Debby