Registration is now open to serve as a Petal Pushers volunteer who helps bring to life several of the floats for the 2024 Tournament of Roses Parade scheduled for January 1 in Pasadena, California. The Petal Pushers, a group of thousands of volunteers who decorate the Lutheran Hour Ministries (LHM) float and up to nine others each year, will begin decorating floats on the four Saturdays prior to Christmas (Dec. 2, 9, 16, and 23) and will then be working two shifts a day beginning Dec. 26 until the floats are completed.
Individuals ages 13 and older can work as little as one shift or as many as they want on a variety of tasks necessary to complete the floats, including attaching thousands of roses, carnations, lilies, mums, and other flowers, as well as natural materials, such as seeds, coffee beans, and leaves, to create the beauty and splendor of the floral floats traveling down Pasadena's Colorado Boulevard on parade day. Volunteers of all skill levels are needed; whether this will be your very first time, or you are a seasoned veteran, there are dozens of jobs to do.
"My parents and brother had told stories while I was growing up about how much fun they had decorating the floats, so I first got involved about five years ago," says Sami Herrmann, a California native who attends Concordia University, Nebraska. "I love detailed work, and this is a great way to express my love for art. I love meeting new people from all across the country, getting to know them, and seeing the tremendous camaraderie among the volunteers. It is inspiring to meet people who have never heard of LHM and share the great work of the ministry with them."
"This had been on my 'bucket list' for about ten years," says Arlene Price of Randolph, New Jersey. "I first learned about the opportunity to decorate parade floats during a Lutheran Women's Missionary League convention and finally decided to come out with my husband to Pasadena last year as part of a Luther Tours group. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience I will never forget."
"My mom loved to volunteer for many things and had mentioned decorating floats for this parade would be a great opportunity," says Gary Tiedt of Appleton, Wisconsin. "She passed away, so I decided to come to Pasadena during the week before the 2023 parade to honor her legacy of volunteerism."
Building off the parade theme of "Celebrating a World of Music," the 2024 LHM float entry is titled "Make a Joyful Noise unto the Lord" and marks the 73rd time our float has been part of the parade. As the only Christian float in the Rose Parade, the LHM float carries on a mission of providing a Gospel witness to viewers everywhere, from along the parade route to televisions worldwide.
The LHM float is a self-funded project of the Lutheran Hour Ministries Float Committee and the Southern California District of the International Lutheran Laymen's League. The committee's ongoing work is funded primarily by generous donations from Christian friends and multiple fundraising activities and is not included in LHM's operating budget.
"Only about forty individuals are needed each year to work on the LHM float, so the majority of Petal Pushers decorate other parade floats, which brings in funds to lower the cost of the LHM float being part of the annual event," says Dick Gast, chair of the LHM Float Committee. "Working on a variety of floats allows our volunteers to work with people from diverse backgrounds who join us from all across the country, believers and non-believers alike, offering a unique chance to make new friends, network, and share expressions of the faith that gives true meaning to this experience."
Visit petalpushers.org for more information about the Petal Pushers, or to register to decorate. Information can also be found on the site about the tour options that the LHM Float Committee is sponsoring through Luther Tours.