Irvine : Everything Coming Up Roses for Parade Entry

Next January Irvine will become the third Orange County community represented in the annual Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, joining Santa Ana and Mission Viejo.

In the next three weeks, members of the Irvine Rose Parade Float Assn. will begin interviewing float builders, according to the group’s president, Betsy Mathis.

“Our aim is the broadest participation possible,” said Mathis of efforts to raise an estimated $110,000 to pay for the float.

The 100-member association, which was informed of the acceptance by the Rose Parade committee last week, is hoping for “a mix of corporate funding balanced with a community fund-raising effort,” she said.

Since last July, when the group first applied to participate in the Rose Parade, Mathis said, more than 1,300 Irvine citizens signed large posters of support, each paying $1 for the privilege.