As New Year’s Day looms, flowers bloom, and glue guns are loaded, the Tournament of Roses has once again opened the barn doors for another “Sneak Peek.” The fourth of the season, this preview of the 2026 Rose Parade’s floats reveals that teamwork, this year’s theme, remains very much in bloom—along with marigolds, mums, the faint scent of caffeinated glue, and equally caffeinated volunteers.
If collaboration is magic, then these six entries are conjuring hard. Let’s peep it:
Go Bowling — “Rolling Together as One”
Bowling may not have the cachet of pickleball or Pilates, but if it’s good enough for Mookie, it’s good enough for all of us. Go Bowling’s float insists that knocking things down together can be uplifting. A five-foot ball hovers mid-strike, pins freeze mid-tumble, and riders beam like league champions on dollar beer night. There’s even a 25-foot lane—long enough for at least one small miracle. The message: if you can’t find the meaning of life, you can still roll a spare.
Kindness is Free — “Building Kinder Communities”
The Boys & Girls Clubs of the West San Gabriel Valley and Eastside reimagine the Three Little Pigs not as real estate speculators but as empathy influencers. Their float swaps conflict for cooperation, with straw, sticks, and bricks replaced by compassion, understanding, and a suspicious number of strawflowers. The moral is clear: if we work together, even wolves might learn to use their inside voices.
Lions International — “In Harmony We Serve”
The Lions are rowing—literally—through a sea of chrysanthemums, marigolds, and civic virtue. “In Harmony We Serve” places the world’s most efficient volunteer organization in a canoe, proving that service and upper-body strength are not mutually exclusive. The floral craftsmanship is exquisite; the metaphor, unsubtle: when Lions paddle together, no one ends up in the drink.
San Francisco Travel Association — “Believe in San Francisco”
After a 50-year hiatus, San Francisco sails back into the parade with a float so picturesque it rivals the Colorado Street Bridge. The Golden Gate Bridge arches gracefully over a floral cityscape of Chinatown lanterns, Painted Ladies, and 25,000 roses the color of startup optimism. “Believe in San Francisco,” it proclaims, as if reassuring the skeptics that the city still exists—and smells faintly of safflower and hope.
Sierra Madre Rose Float Association — “Pancake Breakfast”
Sierra Madre, the tiny town that always builds its own float (and occasionally its own rules) in a metal barn somewhere east of here., celebrates firefighters with a syrup-drenched ode to carbs and butter and civic pride. Pancakes rise higher than zoning ordinances; a fire truck glistens with sesame seeds and seaweed; and a giant bottle of syrup pours generosity over it all. All hail the only emergency response vehicle in America powered by maple and marigolds.
The Michael D. Sewell Memorial Foundation — “Banding Together”
Finally, a float for the music teachers who told us to march in tempo and keep our chins up. “Banding Together” features a towering conductor presiding over a drumline of flowers and good intentions. It’s exuberant, sentimental, and slightly louder than the rest—just as any proper band should be. The late Mr. Sewell, who spent four decades teaching students to find harmony, would surely approve of the chord progression from crushed walnut shells to marigolds.
And so the countdown continues. On January 1 of next year, Pasadena will again bloom into technicolor teamwork—thousands of petals, gallons of glue, and five miles of magic.
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