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Whoa, Nessie! The Loch Ness Monster comes to life in Pasadena thanks to Cal Poly's Rose Parade team

Students working on the Cal Poly Rose Parade float before it was covered with more than 37,000 flowers.
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
Students working on the Cal Poly Rose Parade float before it was covered with more than 37.000 flowers.

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Cal Poly Pomona team up to continue their more than seven decade long tradition of building a Rose Parade float.

While most of us have been enjoying the holidays, an ambitious group of college students from the Central Coast, and their counterparts from Pomona are busy putting the finishing touches on their 2025 Rose Parade float.

"Our float this year is titled Nessie's Lakeside Laughs. It's all themed around a lake day with the Loch Ness Monster," said Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Float Team President Collin Marfia.

Every year since 1949, students at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, and Cal Poly Pomona have teamed up to build a Rose Parade float. It’s the only student designed and built entry in the parade.

Marfia describes this year’s 55 foot long, 17 foot wide float.

"Nessie emerges from the depths of Loch Ness for the first time, and ends up making a whole lot of new friends," said Marfia. "They have a lake day party, and celebrate friendship, and Nessie's bravery for coming to the surface. We have Nessie, the Loch Ness Monster, who will take up a large portion of the float. We have puffins which will be using Nessie's fins to slide into the water. We have a couple of beavers, two dogs, and also a cow floating around in the lake in an inner tube."

The 60 team members from both campuses jointly design, and build the float. Cal Poly Pomona students traditionally build the front half of the float, and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo students the back half. The pieces of the float made on the Central Coast were then trucked to the Pomona campus in October for finally assembly.

On New Year's Eve, the final of more than 37,000 flowers are being added to the float in a warehouse near the Rose Bowl.

It means working through much of the holidays. "I know when taking this on originally my parents were probably not the biggest fan of it," said Marfia. "Now, they've come to love this process as well...they become super excited...they're always texting and asking for their updates, and pictures."

This is the fourth year Marfia has been part of the Cal Poly float team. He said last year, he had a special perspective of the parade. He was in the float, as it made its appearance in from of millions of spectators on the parade route, and watching on TV. "It's such a strange experience. It feels like you are in a tank. He was part of the team responsible for making sure the drive train was working properly, and safely.

This year, he’ll have a much better view of his team’s handiwork, watching from a part of the stands reserved for the Cal Poly community.

What’s it like for him, and his team members to be a part of the New Year’s Day tradition?

"It was a little nerve-racking to take on this role. What if I mess it up? But throughout the year, I've had a chance to grow, and lead this team. They're just having a good time," said Marfia.

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo

Marfia was a double major at Cal Poly in history and anthropology. He’s now getting a master’s in higher education. He said he’s not done with float building yet.

"It's going to be hard to pull me away from this." said Marfia. "I'm not done yet."

If you’re headed to Pasadena to see the parade in person, or watching on TV, Nessie’s Lakeside Laughs will be about three quarters of the way through into it. It’s number 63 in the parade.

Marfia said while everyone is tired, they are thrilled the big day is arriving. They hope everyone enjoys what they’ve created.

Lance Orozco has been News Director of KCLU since 2001, providing award-winning coverage of some of the biggest news events in the region, including the Thomas and Woolsey brush fires, the deadly Montecito debris flow, the Borderline Bar and Grill attack, and Ronald Reagan's funeral.