Rose Parade Float Volunteers Seek Donations Before South Pasadena Yard Sale

For three evenings next week, the South Pasadena Tournament of Roses Committee will be collecting gently used items at the War Memorial Building.

Donations are encouraged. The committee stocks its annual yard sale with them, and the sale runs Friday, August 14, and Saturday, August 15, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at that same building, 435 Fair Oaks Ave., South Pasadena, CA 91030. Admission is free. All proceeds help fund the construction and decoration of the city’s 2027 Rose Parade entry, “Welcome to the Neighborhood.” In an announcement issued August 1, the committee said South Pasadena’s entry is built entirely by volunteers, from construction and decoration to fundraising to cover annual costs of $150,000 for materials and the large tent that houses the float between August and December.

Drop-offs are scheduled Tuesday, August 11, from 5 to 8 p.m., and Wednesday, August 12, from 4 to 8 p.m., both at the basement door off the parking lot. The last window runs Thursday, August 13, from 4 to 8 p.m. at the front door. Mattresses, entertainment centers, large sofas and large appliances are not accepted, according to the committee. Tax-deductible donation receipts will be available, the announcement said.

The sale is organized by longtime committee members Steve Fillingham and Janet Benjamin.

“This yard sale is entirely community-driven,” Benjamin said in the announcement.

Goods on offer include furniture, collectibles, books, tools, clothing, kitchenware, jewelry, toys, holiday decorations, electronics and more, according to the announcement, which said the sale draws hundreds of shoppers.

“From the neighbors who donate their treasures to the volunteers who sort and sell them, to the shoppers who show up to buy them, everyone plays a part in getting South Pasadena’s float to Colorado Boulevard on New Year’s Day,” Benjamin said.

The Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association says the all-volunteer South Pasadena committee has built and decorated its own floats since 1893, making it the oldest self-built entry in the parade, which runs down Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena on January 1. The committee lists five other self-built organizations: Burbank, Cal Poly, Downey, La Cañada Flintridge and Sierra Madre.

The 2027 parade theme, “Welcome,” was announced January 15 by Pasadena Tournament of Roses President Terry Madigan. While attending South Pasadena High School, Madigan twice drove the city’s float in the Rose Parade, according to the association. He lives in South Pasadena.

South Pasadena’s 2026 entry, “The Great Picnic Heist!”, received the Past President Award — given for most outstanding innovation in the use of floral and non-floral materials — at the Float Awards on January 1.

The War Memorial Building has an on-site parking lot; the donation entrance opens onto it and the front door faces the street. Questions about local large-item pickup can be directed to sftballsteve@aol.com. The committee can be reached at (626) 720-2230, and sale details are posted at sptor.org/pages/events.html.

The 2027 design, by Renee Hoss-Johnson, shows a family of bluebirds moving into a new home while new neighbors arrive to roll out the welcome mat — a squirrel with an armful of acorns, a skunk carrying tulips, a groundhog with carrots, according to the committee’s description.