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'It's Just Beautiful': Showcase Of Floats Gives People Second Chance To See Rose Parade Creations

PASADENA (CBSLA) — For those wanting to see the floats that graced the annual Tournament of Roses Wednesday morning in person, there's one more chance.

The encore to the Rose Parade, the Showcase of Floats, runs through Thursday, giving people a chance to get up close and personal with the colorful creations.

"No comparison to being here, seeing it personally," Leroy Harris said. "I would always imagine about the flowers, but actually seeing real flowers here...it's just beautiful."

Harris and his wife, Soana, came all the way from Hawaii to see the floats in person.

"It's very awesome," Soana said. "I've never seen it before. We always see it on TV, but it's really great."

All 44 floats from the Rose Parade were lines up for the showcase, so people could see the craftsmanship up close, and even catch a whiff of the roses.

"You can't really capture the beautiful flowers that they have here on TV," Victor Hercules said. "It's so big here, instead of on a small square. It's really beautiful."

The Hercules family came from Hawthorne, fulfilling mom Susana's dream.

"I used to watch it with my grandma...she passed away two years ago," she said. "She told me, 'You know what? One day we'll go there and see it.' And this morning I said, 'Let's go see it.' It's for my grandma."

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Like the 80,000 others who come each day, the Overman family was thrilled to see all the details up close.

"It's fascinating to see all the detail, all the individual petals," the father said. "You get a better idea of how much work goes into every one of them."

The Overman family's trip from Minneapolis was nine years in the making.

"I came when I was 8 months pregnant with her, and we vowed we would come back and bring her some day so she could see it in person," mom Marnie said.

As for their child, Maude, "I really liked them," she said.

The Showcase of Floats will open again Thursday from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. at the intersection of East Sierra Madre and East Washington boulevards in Pasadena. Seniors and people with disabilities will get some extra time, with gates opening at 7 a.m.

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