Cal Poly Seeks Float Designs for 138th Rose Parade After Historic Win

Cal Poly’s student-run float program is accepting public design submissions for the 2027 Rose Parade, seeking concepts that will travel 5.5 miles down Colorado Boulevard before an estimated 700,000 spectators on New Year’s Day.

The call for entries comes three weeks after the program won the Sweepstakes Award at this year’s Rose Parade—its first in nearly eight decades of participation and only the seventh time since the award was established in 1924 that a self-built entry has earned the parade’s top honor.

The deadline for submissions is 5 p.m. Thursday, February 5.

“It’s really remarkable to win this award and celebrate it, especially on this year’s theme,” Cal Poly Rose Float President Aubrey Goings said after the award was announced. “We’re really just ecstatic, especially because this year’s theme—’The Magic in Teamwork’—and us winning this is really celebrating our teamwork how we get together and make everything from scratch, learning from each other.”

The winning 2026 float, “Jungle Jumpstart,” depicted rainforest animals working together to restore a 40-foot robot. The entry measured 53 feet long, 25 feet high and 18 feet wide.

Cal Poly Rose Float is a joint program between Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. It is the only student-built float in the Rose Parade and has earned 64 awards since students built their first entry for $258 in late 1948. About 60 students, split equally between the two campuses, will review submissions and vote on the winning concept.

The 2027 Rose Parade theme is “Welcome,” announced January 15 by newly installed Tournament of Roses President Terry Madigan.

“The theme celebrates the simple joy of belonging—that feeling that you’re always welcome, no matter who or where you are,” Madigan said in a statement, according to a Tournament of Roses press release. “It’s the warmth of family—whether related or chosen, the love of good friends, and the welcoming embrace of community.”

The winning designer will choose between $500 or a pair of tickets to the 2027 Rose Parade.

To submit a design, email Rosefloat@cpp.edu with the subject line “2027 Concept.” Submissions can be color or black and white and must be no larger than 11 by 17 inches. Include your name, phone number and email in the body of the email, not on the rendering. There is no limit on entries. Designs become the property of Cal Poly Rose Float upon submission.

For questions, contact Josh D’Acquisto at jdacquis@calpoly.edu or 805-756-1182, or Cary Khatab at kkhatab@cpp.edu or 909-869-3204.

The 138th Rose Parade will be held January 1, 2027.

“To our knowledge, a self-built float has never won this award before—at least we haven’t,” Goings said of the Sweepstakes win. “Every year we’re just really excited to prove ourselves and show what we can do.”

Information in this article is based on press releases from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.