LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Celebrating its 20th year of participation in the iconic Rose Parade® New Year’s Day celebrations, the Donate Life community announced today the theme for the 2023 Donate Life Rose Parade float, Lifting Each Other Up. The float will join dozens of floats, marching bands, equestrian units and Tournament entries that will travel down the streets of Pasadena on January 2, 2023, during the 134th Rose Parade presented by Honda.
The 2023 Rose Parade theme, Turning The Corner, celebrates the opportunity of rising above and embracing a fresh start, full of hope and joy. “Whether that corner is actual or figurative like the unlimited potential that each new year brings — we all enjoy the opportunity of a fresh start,” said Amy Wainscott, President and Chairman of the Board of the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association. “This year, as we turn the corner together, we share in the hope, beauty and joy of what 2023 will bring.”
The 2023 Donate Life Rose Parade float, Lifting Each Other Up, celebrates the power of organ, eye and tissue donation, with donors and recipients working together to support one another. A spectacular Chinese street dragon is the centerpiece of the float. In the Chinese culture, dragons symbolize great power. They are considered a sign of good fortune and strength. Dragons bring prosperity and abundance to everyone. The colorful dragon weaves through flowering trees, lanterns and fans, and is emblazoned with 44 memorial floragraphs, representing those who have given the gift of life.
The street dragon will be supported on poles by living donors, and surrounded by organ, eye and tissue recipients, whose lives have been transformed and have turned the corner to a more prosperous future, thanks to those who said “YES” to organ, eye and tissue donation. A traditional paifang bridge is featured in the back of the float, with a special message in mandarin that highlights the power of the Gift of Life.
Thousands of individually dedicated roses will also be part of the 2023 Donate Life float. These roses will be placed in special pods along the float, sharing personal messages dedicated to those who have given the gift of life to others, as well as to organ recipients and transplant professionals.
Award-winning float designer, Charles Meier was the creator of the float’s beautiful design, and the team at Fiesta Parade Floats will produce it this year.
“We are excited to return back to Pasadena for the 2023 Rose Parade,” said Tom Mone, Chairman of the Donate Life Rose Parade float committee and Chief External Affairs Officer of OneLegacy, the nonprofit organ, eye and tissue recovery organization serving the greater Los Angeles area. "We are also proud to celebrate 20 years of sharing the importance of organ, eye and tissue donation with our participants and their families this year, as well as with the millions of people who watch America’s New Year Celebration, the Rose Parade, every New Year’s Day.”
The 2023 Donate Life float will feature dozens of participants from around the U.S., who will travel to Pasadena with their families to be part of a series of events that highlight the power of organ, eye and tissue donation. These participants will either ride on the float or be represented on the float with a memorial floragraph or floral portrait.
Celebrating 20 years of participation in the Rose Parade and the Pasadena Tournament of Roses® televised special, the 2023 Donate Life Rose Parade float is the center of a national effort to reach viewers from around the nation and across the globe to share the important message that organ, eye and tissue donation saves and heals lives.
The Donate Life Rose Parade float is produced by OneLegacy and is made possible thanks to dozens of sponsoring donation, transplant, healthcare, and family care organizations and individuals who help make donation and transplant possible across the country.
As the world’s most visible campaign to inspire organ, eye and tissue donation, The Donate Life Rose Parade float inspires viewers to help the more than one million people in need of organ, eye or tissue transplants each year. Register today to become an organ, eye or tissue donor by visiting DonateLife.net.
About Donate Life America
Donate Life America is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit alliance of national organizations and state teams across the United States committed to increasing organ, eye and tissue donation. Donate Life America manages and promotes the national brand for donation, Donate Life, and assists Donate Life State Teams and national partners in facilitating high-performing donor registries; developing and executing effective multi-media donor education programs; and motivating the American public to register now as organ, eye and tissue donors.
About the Pasadena Tournament of Roses® and The Rose Parade® presented by Honda
The Tournament of Roses is a volunteer organization that hosts America’s New Year Celebration® with the Rose Parade® presented by Honda, the Rose Bowl Game® and a variety of accompanying events. The Association’s 935 volunteer members supply more than 80,000 hours of manpower, which will drive the success of 134th Rose Parade, themed “Turning The Corner” on Monday, January 2, 2023, followed by the 109th Rose Bowl Game. For more information, visit www.tournamentofroses.com. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
