Submit your design for the 2027 Cal Poly Rose Float!
Have you ever wanted your work to be showcased on international television? This is your chance!
“The 2027 theme celebrates the simple joy of belonging—that feeling that you’re always welcome, no matter who or where you are. It’s the warmth of family—whether related or chosen, the love of good friends, and the welcoming embrace of community.”
Cal Poly Rose Float is currently accepting submissions for the 2027 Rose Float Concept Contest through Feb. 5, 2026, at 5 p.m.
This will be Cal Poly Universities 78th Float entry and the winning concept will cruise down Colorado Blvd. in Pasadena, Calif. as part of the 138th Rose Parade which will be held on Jan. 1, 2027.
Anyone is welcome to submit a concept, and the winner will choose between two tickets to the 2027 Rose Parade or a $500 cash prize.
The theme of the 2027 Rose Parade is: “WELCOME”.
The 2027 theme celebrates the simple joy of belonging—that feeling that you’re always welcome, no matter who or where you are. It’s the warmth of family—whether related or chosen, the love of good friends, and the welcoming embrace of community.
Received submissions should only have been submitted to Cal Poly Rose Float and will become the property of such once received. There is no limit to the number of entries an individual can submit. Students on the Rose Float leadership team from both San Luis Obispo and Pomona will review the submissions and vote on the winning concept, which will provide the basis for the 2027 final design. The Cal Poly Rose Float is the only student-built float in the Rose Parade and has been invited to participate for 78 consecutive years.
For questions or more information, contact:
Josh D’Acquisto at (805) 756-1182 or jdacquis@calpoly.edu
Cary Khatab at (909) 869-3204 or kkhatab@cpp.edu
Follow the Rose Float Facebook, Rose Float Instagram, and Rose Float Twitter for news and contest updates.
Happy designing!
Concept Contest Guidelines
Completed submissions must be emailed to rosefloat@cpp.edu with the subject line “2027 Concept.”
Include the applicant’s name, phone number, and email in the email (NOT ON THE RENDER)
Submissions can be in black and white or in color
Submissions cannot exceed 11-by-17 inches in size
CAL POLY ROSE FLOAT AWARDED SWEEPSTAKES!
SWEEPSTAKES!
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SWEEPSTAKES! -
On January 1st, 2026, our 77th parade entry Jungle Jumpstart made its long-awaited journey along Colorado Blvd. at the 137th Rose Parade! For the first time in our program’s history, our float was awarded the prestigious Sweepstakes trophy. Sweepstakes in an all-encompassing accolade that recognizes excellence in design, floral presentation and entertainment, and is considered to be the highest honor a parade float can achieve.
THE ROAD TO SWEEPSTAKES!
TEAMWORK! This first half of the year, Rose Float has hard at work imagining, developing, and preparing for this year's Pasadena Tournament of Roses Rose Parade. The selection of this year's float concept has been followed up with several vital meetings between SLO and Pomona. At these meetings, our departments have been achieving their own goals with Design and Construction developing the physical shape of the float, Operations showing off their marketing skills designing new merch, and Decorations planting and harvesting some of the materials that will bring the float to life!
What is Cal Poly Rose FLoat?
Cal Poly Rose Float is a joint effort between Cal Poly Pomona and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo universities to enter a student-built float in the annual Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association’s Rose Parade. Both Cal Poly Pomona and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo are the two designated Polytechnic universities within the 23-campus California State University System (the largest four-year public university system in the U.S.).
Since 1949, Cal Poly Rose Float has continuously designed, built, financed, and decorated the float-entry in the annual Parade. Over the last 74 years, Cal Poly Rose Float has been awarded a total of 61 awards/trophies (about 83% of all participating years).
More importantly, Cal Poly Rose Float has been a tremendous leader in the introduction of new technology to the Parade. This includes the first use of:
Hydraulics for animation in 1968.
Computer-controlled animation in 1978.
Fiber optics in 1982.
Animated decorations in 2014.
Color-changing floral effect in 2017.
This program is one of the longest consecutive running self-built entries in the parade, as well as the only "student self-built" float designed and constructed entirely by students year-round on two campuses. They compete against professional float builders who manufacture entries for sponsors, many of them with development budgets approaching $1 million. This tradition continues today and marks the partnership between the two campuses.
VIDEO: It's a 130-year-old tradition - the Rose Parade on New Year's Day.
VIDEO: Learn how California State University students from different campuses and majors worked together over a 13-month span to create an award-winning 70th entry in the 2018 Rose Parade Tournament of Roses, an annual affair that attracted millions of worldwide spectators.
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