For La Crescenta resident Sarineh Ghazarin, decorating a float in the upcoming 2024 Rose Parade is a family affair.
Ghazarin, her nephew and two children spent some of their winter break volunteering to decorate the American Armenian Rose Float Association’s sixth parade float. It was the first year to decorate for the children, who are of Armenian descent, and a special memory Ghazarin will always cherish.
The 55-inch-long “Armenian Melodies” float — decorated with pomegranates, drums, and birds playing musical instruments — features aspects of Armenian culture, symbolism, history, current events and more. It’s the sixth year the association has participated in the annual Rose Parade.
The 2024 float is among a line-up of new and returning entries, special guests and performances that aim to reflect diversity represented in the parade’s theme: “Celebrating a World of Music: The Universal Language.”
At the center of “Armenian Melodies” is a mother, dressed in vibrant, traditional garb, holding her child. The figures are surrounded by important symbols of Armenian heritage, such as cranes. Cranes are known as “krunk,” which are long-depicted symbols in Armenian art and folklore, organizers said.
Armenian birds play a major role on the float — such as the crane, chukar and the little ringed plover; a bird indigenous to the Armenian Highlands — surrounding the mother and child.
The mother’s dress, called a Taraz, is designed with red Christmas mums, whole pomegranates, dried apricots, cranberry seeds and green Ti leaves. The crane and other birds are decorated with orange lentil, blue and purple statice, red cranberry, lima beans, kidney beans and yellow strawflower. Drums seen on the front and back of the float are made of flax seed, blue and pink statice, black onions, ground rice and other materials.
Float designer Johnny Kanounji, one of the founders of the American Armenian Float Association, said that cranes are often seen…
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