Parade Float Volunteers Aren't Letting Bitter Cold Keep Them From Decorating

PASADENA (CBSLA.com) — Cold, schmold! Parade volunteers have floats to finish.

And many of them told CBS2 and KCAL9 reporter Andrea Fujii Sunday night, that despite cold weather, the show and the flowers must go on.

Katie Ruhm, who is one of the many Cal Poly students who volunteer, said "The weather here is freezing cold. Wonderful for the flowers, terrible for us."

That might be an understatement.

Of course, not all flowers love the cold. Even the ones that don't ... like irises ... are getting some TLC from the students.

Says student/volunteer Young Choi, "We're putting a lot of sugar in the water. We're also putting them near heat so the flowers think it's a lot warmer, so that they can open up."

Outside, it's even colder of course. And the many people who line the banks of Colorado Boulevard for days camping out are also coming up with ingenious ways to stay warm.

Linda Engelbart, busted out the RV camper. "It was so beautiful last year  --  but we have our fire and we all have our motor homes and warm jackets. So I think we'll all be fine."

For the past 12 years, the Perez family from Alta Dena has camped out in sleeping bags. But this year is different. Christian Perez is also in a RV. "It's too cold. That's why we bring the trailer and and we bring the heater because it's really cold this year."

All those layers of clothing can't damper the spirit being put into the decorations or the decorators. Says Ruhm, "It's really hard to want to decorate and put flowers on a float when you can't feel your fingers or your toes but it turns out beautiful and it's well worth it."