Monday, December 13, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

NEWSMAKERS: Florist's efforts set to bloom in Tournament of Roses Parade

Floral designer will work on Las Vegas-themed float

This is an artist's drawing of Las Vegas-themed float Rick Crause will help construct. Rick Crause

Rick Crause has come a long way since his childhood days when he used to dig in the garden with his mother.

Crause, 43, manager and floral designer for Tiger Lily Flower Shops in Las Vegas, is the lead floral designer for two floats entered in the Tournament of Roses Parade that takes place each New Year's Day in Pasadena, Calif.

The floats, called "Las Vegas ... 100 Years of Celebrating," sponsored by the city of Las Vegas, and "Playful Pandamonium," sponsored by commercial irrigation company Rain Bird, are among 12 floats in the parade by Fiesta Parade Floats. Crause works for Fiesta Parade Floats for one week out of the year specifically on the floats for the Tournament of Roses Parade.

The Las Vegas float will feature an enormous birthday cake, stairs along the sides decorated with showgirls, a large bottle of champagne and several Las Vegas landmarks such as Vegas Vic, Sassy Sally and the "Welcome to Las Vegas" sign, which is reworded to say "Las Vegas Centennial 1905-2005."

"Playful Pandamonium" will feature a family of panda bears and will have 13,000 pounds of water in the form of waterfalls as part of the design.

Crause has had a lifelong interest in flowers, beginning when he and his mother used to garden in Littleton, Colo. He got involved in float decorating nine years ago while living in Tucson, Ariz., when his supervisor was working on a Rain Bird float.

"I found out about the floats because I am a member of the American Institute of Floral Designers," Crause said. "At the time, my supervisor needed help so I volunteered. It's been really great, I've even been able to ride on the floats a couple of times."

He moved to Las Vegas in 2001 to work in the floral department at Bellagio. But a hiring freeze following the World Trade Center attacks thwarted that opportunity so he took a job working with silk plants at Plantworks. Missing fresh flowers, he moved to the Tiger Lily Flower Shops.

While planning for the floats goes on nearly year-round, Crause's involvement begins when he arrives in Pasadena the week before the parade.

"We'll get to Pasadena on (Dec.) 27th, and work 10-hour days, until the last (stretch), where we will work for 36 hours straight," he said. "We do that so the flowers are as fresh as possible."

The floats consist of a steel frame covered with a meshlike screen. Insulation foam is put on top and painted the color of the flowers as a guide. They are required to be completely covered with only organic materials, whether it's flowers, seeds, dried materials, mosses or leaves. None of the material can be sprayed, dyed or preserved, so there is a lot of creativity that goes into creating a successful design and float.

"On the Rain Bird float, there are panda bears," Crause said. "So we use onion seeds to create the (color) black."

For the Las Vegas float, they will decorate the giant birthday cake with coconut to give it a fluffy look. He said there are approximately 15,000 to 20,000 stems of flowers planned on each float. The flowers are cut to 4 inches and put in water-pick stems, which are carefully placed in the right configuration. Crause said many orchids and tropicals will adorn the Rain Bird float, along with beds of roses.

"Orchids have a tendency of staying fresh (longer than other flowers)," he said.

The floats are entered in parade categories such as most beautiful float, best animation float and best international float, to name a few. The winners get trophies and, of course, bragging rights.

There are many different awards and trophies given out, and Fiesta Parade Floats has a history of bringing them home. They have won the highest honor, the Sweepstakes Trophy, 11 years in a row.

"My favorite part of the process is watching the floats go down the parade route," Crause said. "One of the perks is you get great tickets, and to see our floats completed and traveling down the route, it really is amazing."

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