On a rainy New Year’s Day, Cal Poly universities took home a top prize at the 137th Pasadena Tournament of Roses.
The team from the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and Cal Poly Pomona campuses won the Sweepstakes Award, given to the most beautiful float in the parade.
Aubrey Goings is a fourth-year architecture student and the Cal Poly Rose Float President from the San Luis Obispo campus.
“It's really exciting to have this award given to a float that is designed, operated and decorated all by students,” Goings told KCBX.
The school’s entry was called “Jungle Jumpstart.” Goings says it tells the story of a robot that’s fallen apart on the jungle floor.
“Some rainforest friends decide to bring it back to life by incorporating what they know best, the jungle,” Goings said.
The float depicts forest creatures repairing the robot using materials from the jungle, like a new shoulder made of wood. Goings says it represents the symbiosis between nature and technology.
The float was built using natural materials like blue corn grits, chrysanthemums and lemon peels from lemons grown on the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo campus.
According to a Cal Poly press release, the school has been participating in the Rose Parade for almost 80 years. This is the first time they've won the Sweepstakes Award.
The statement said that the Sweepstakes Award is usually won by commercially-built floats.
