Artistic Entertainment Services launched a new online portal on Sunday, July 13, for volunteers to register for float-decorating shifts ahead of the 2027 Rose Parade, replacing the paper waivers and scattered sign-up process that previously managed thousands of annual registrations.

The portal, AESVolunteers.com, lets anyone 12 or older reserve a spot at AES's Rosemont Pavilion studio at 700 Seco St. in Pasadena. AES is the only Tournament of Roses-approved float builder with its volunteer studio in the city. The 138th Rose Parade is set for Jan. 1, 2027, down Colorado Boulevard.

"We didn't want to adapt an existing platform; we wanted to build something specifically for the Rose Parade volunteer experience," Craig Bugajski, president and CEO of AES, said in the company's July 13 press release.

The site displays open shifts in real time, sends email reminders and text alerts, and includes a personal dashboard tracking hours. Group registration comes in two tiers: small groups of two to nine and large groups of 10 or more. AES says families, Scout troops, schools, churches, and corporate teams can register together.

How shifts work

No prior experience is required. Decorating shifts run a minimum of four hours, beginning in November and continuing through the end of December. Fresh flowers go on Dec. 28 and Dec. 29, according to AES.

Volunteers apply flowers, seeds, bark, fruits, vegetables, grasses, leaves, petals, beans, mosses, spices, and dried botanicals to the floats.

Katie McCormick, programs director and assistant floral director at AES, said the company depends on that labor. Thousands of volunteers contribute more than 100,000 hours each year, she said in written responses provided to Pasadena Now. McCormick, who first came to Pasadena as a volunteer nearly 20 years ago, said the portal was built for decorators whether they live locally or are traveling from across the country.

What's next

AES has built Rose Parade floats for more than four decades and has designed, built, and decorated more than 200 floats over that span. It is one of three Tournament-approved commercial float builders; the other two, Fiesta Productions Inc. and Phoenix Decorating Company, operate out of Irwindale.

The 2027 parade theme is "Welcome," announced Jan. 15 by Tournament of Roses President Terry Madigan. Registration is open at AESVolunteers.com, where AES describes signing up as a three-step process. Decorating shifts begin in November.