(December 17, 2004) — The Rose Palace was filled with the noise of scissors cutting and the volunteers talking. Volunteers gathered around boxes, cutting the flowers into them, while others were on scaffolding decorating the floats with other materials. On Dec. 4, Clark students were all invited to help decorate the float that will represent Glendale in the 2005 Tournament of Roses Parade. Some helped with the preparations while others started pasting seaweed and beans onto the float. At the beginning of the month, volunteers cut and blend flowers. These cut flowers will later be used to decorate the float. Also, people flatten cornhusks and paste them onto the float. In order to keep the live materials fresh, the flowers on the base of the float will be added two days before the parade. “It’s fun to see a transformation, which is what happens here,” said Dave Weaver, a councilmember from Glendale and the crew chief of the floats. This year, the theme of the Rose Parade is family. “I think the theme fits in well because many times people forget the importance of a family. This parade is a great opportunity to help us realize that,” said junior Ron Lee. The public chose the design “Mother’s Love,” where one mother owl is with her two owlets. According to Weaver, the float is a lot more detailed than other floats in the Rose Palace. “The mother owl’s eyes blink, baby owls’ head turn, and the branches blow up hydraulically,” said Weaver. The council decided to spend about ninety thousand dollars on “Mother’s Love.” Clark has contributed to the Rose Parade for two to three years, and many students have come to volunteer every year according to Weaver. Although there may be only one Clark day of the year, students are still encouraged to come other days.