South Pasadena 2016 Rose Parade Float Stars in Movie

The 2016 award-winning “Fishing Follies” South Pasadena Rose Parade float has found a new life in an upcoming Hallmark Channel movie entitled “A Rose for Christmas.”

Earlier this year, the Hallmark Channel approached the Tournament of Roses about using a storyline involving the building of a Rose Parade float in one of its Christmas holiday movies, according to Ed Corey, Chief Operating Officer of the Tournament of Roses.

“We were initially contacted by two writers who had the story concept and the Tournament thought the idea and potential affiliation with Hallmark was a great opportunity”, Ed Corey explained. The movie’s producers needed an actual float from the 2016 Rose Parade to base their story on, so they could use actual television footage from the parade in the movie.

“Being a South Pasadena resident, I thought what better way to acknowledge the great efforts the many float volunteers than to use our own float in the movie,” Ed explained. The movie’s producers re-created a smaller version of “Fishing Follies” in Victoria, British Columbia for the filming. As the South Pasadena float gets rebranded with a fictitious company’s name for the script, the Tournament of Roses secured a few references to South Pasadena in the movie, including South Pasadena’s new “made for television” Orange Hills College, in addition to the actual float being used in the closing scenes.

The movie, starring Rachel Boston, premiered Wednesday, December 14, at the Arclight Theater in Pasadena. Members of the South Pasadena Float committee were invited as special guests. “A Rose for Christmas” airs on January 1st at 8 p.m. on the Hallmark Channel. Hallmark Channel then will air the Rose Parade on Monday, January 2, following the Tournament’s “Never on Sunday” rule.