2015 Archive: Floats prepared for San Francisco's Chinese New Year Parade

SAN FRANCISCO (KTVU) - (2015 Archive of Chinese New Year Parade) - On the evening before 2015's Chinese New Year Parade, in the final hours, the finished floats with expensive electronic equipment were pushed inside into warehouses for safekeeping.

After months of work, long days of creating two dozen floats are coming to an end. "Adrenaline... it's all adrenaline," said Stephanie Mufson, a float builder.

Red and Gold, the colors of favor, are symbols of wealth and good fortune.

2015 was the Year of the Ram and the animal was represented on many floats.

Up to 800 pounds of glitter and two miles of decorative paper were used to build the eye catching attractions.

The final test comes when they are seen by the public. "It's like the first time you get a painting and you put it into a frame. Our frame is the street so we want to see how it looks on the street," said Dave Thomas, master float builder.

One woman who drove along the waterfront stopped to see the glitter from the floats that caught her eye.

"I had to stop to see what it was because it's so beautiful," said Amy Bach of San Francisco.

Inside the Hilton Hotel at Union Square, there was a coronation ball for the newly crowned Miss Chinatown USA.

Nineteen-year-old Rose Li from Houston, Texas says she embraces her Chinese heritage.

"I'm fluent in Chinese Mandarin. My grandma just came over from China. We incorporate a lot of the traditional Chinese values into our daily lives," said Li.

The college student said it's an honor to be in the parade and a part of San Francisco's rich Chinese American history.

"It's really special to see how long Chinese Americans have been in America," said Li.

At Union Square, the KTVU Fox 2 crew started at 7 a.m. on Friday, setting up for Saturday's live broadcast.

Dozens of crew members set up lights and eight cameras to put on a show that has been a Bay Area tradition for three decades.

"You have a good bond with the community. You produce a good looking show... one that's family friendly. It's just an exciting fun show," said Jim Haman, Director of Broadcast Operations for KTVU Fox 2.

As for Amy Bach , who lives in San Francisco, she plans to see the parade in person since the forecast says there's no raining on this parade.

"You want to see them in all their glory on the parade route looking beautiful against the backdrop of our city," said Bach.