Pride of Surf City

Everything’s coming up roses for the city of Huntington Beach, which won a prestigious award Jan. 1 for its first-ever entry in the Pasadena Tournament of Roses parade.

The float, “Surf City USA,” won the Mayor’s Award for the most outstanding city entry in the parade.

Featuring a family enjoying a barbecue on top of a swaying surfboard, the 55-foot float introduced a flower created especially for the occasion: the Huntington Beach Centennial Geranium.

Hundreds of volunteers, from Girl Scouts to 4-H members to city employees, worked to assemble and decorate the float, both locally and in the Azuza site where the float was created.

Thirty-eight Huntington Beach High School students danced to Jan and Dean’s “Surf City” alongside the float during the entire parade route.

Mayor-elect Keith Bohr was joined by Miss Huntington Beach, Cayce Crowder; Public Works employee Debbie DeBow; junior lifeguard Catherine Wippler; and Ocean View High School student and Youth Character Award winner Araceli Arizmendi.

Out of more than 500 entries, three winners were selected in a special drawing to ride on the float with the luminaries: Patricia Pashich, who grew up just off the parade route and now lives in Huntington Beach; Kenneth Bauer, an OCTA employee and longtime Huntington resident; and Anita Jones, a 20-year resident who attended Huntington Beach High School.