American Armenian Rose Float wins 2017 “Past President’s Trophy”
The American Armenian Rose Float Association, Inc. (AARFA) is proud to announce that it has been accepted for the third time into the Tournament of Roses Parade. The 128th Tournament will be held on January 2, 2017. Though a tremendous challenge, this project is a great vote of confidence for AARFA. With skilled and talented members and supporters, the float is sure to be a success, again this coming year.
PASADENA, Calif.—The American Armenian Rose Float Association, Inc. (AARFA) presented “Field of Dreams,” the 2017 float which was the winner of the “Past President’s Trophy” for the most creative design and use of floral and nonfloral elements. “Field of Dreams” depicts this year’s 128th Tournament of Roses Parade, themed Echoes of Success, is comprised of about 18,000 plus white and red roses and other flowers, placed on the artistic rendering of Mount Ararat with thousands of other non-floral elements such as pomegranates, artichokes, nuts, lentils and more that covered the Artsakh Stallion. This is the third year that the American Armenian Rose Float Association, Inc. presents a float in the Tournament of Roses, which takes place annually in Pasadena, California.
In continuation with now a yearly tradition and to honor the role of the American Armenian community in the United States, the AARFA unveils a float to represent the strength, beauty and symbols of the Armenian community to the world. The three children upon the Artsakh stallion represent the echoes of success of the American Armenian community in science, literature and music.
A few of the float riders included Houry Gebeshian, gymnast; Michael Aram, artist; Claudette Stefanian, TV news Personality; Sarkis Mazmanian, Caltech Medical Microbiologist; Ralph Winter, Producer of Armenian Genocide movie The Promise.
AARFA is able to create and present this float only with the help of the community. The cost to manufacture and create the float is approximately $250,000, and with all of the events and donations we conducted in 2016, we remain with a balance of a little over $50,000 to be paid by the end of the month. AARFA is a nonprofit organization for the sole purpose of presenting to the world the American Armenian community’s achievements. Please help us complete this tradition annually and donate today at AARFA.org.
For more details about “Field of Dreams” and the 2017 Riders, please see our prior press releases at AARFA.org.
The Tournament of Roses began as a promotional effort by the distinguished Valley Hunt Club of Pasadena. In the winter of 1890, the club members invited their former East Coast neighbors to warmer California for a mid-winter holiday, where they would watch games like jousting, chariot races, polo, foot races and tug-of-war. Thanks to the warmer California weather and the abundance of fresh flowers, even in winter, the club decided to add another event to these festivities: a parade of carriages decorated with hundreds of blooms. This was the start of the world-famous Tournament of Roses Parade.
On January 2, 2017, floats will be showcasing “Echoes of Success” down Colorado Blvd. along with high-stepping equestrian units and spirited marching bands. AARFA has decided to share ‘Echoes of Success” as a podium of the American Armenian diaspora success story. It is an honor to share Armenia as an sucess story in the world during the 2017 Rose Parade.