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Gray and misty, Monday was a typical day for a Portland parade.
Reggie Fierro, a silver-mustachioed veteran of 10 Rose Festival Grand Floral Parades, crawled into the belly of the 2008 Reser’s Fine Foods float and flipped the “start” switch.
The 45-foot-long float adorned with a giant pirate holding a rose moved slowly down a Northwest Portland street, following the PGE float’s towering pink hearts. In the distance, the Tyrannosaurus rex on the Key Bank float lurched around a corner, its tailpipe puffing smoke.
Fierro, the top of his head poking out of the center of his float, drove nearly blind.
“I can’t see past that mountain of gold,” he said, nodding to the pile of burlap booty in the front of the pirate.
Think the Grand Floral Parade happens June 7? Well, sure, that’s the official event. But on the evening of Memorial Day, when no one was watching, 19 float drivers took the 2008 fleet out for a test-drive.
The pre-parade mini-parade in Northwest Portland’s industrial area is tradition, giving volunteer drivers and their guides a chance to work together before the big day.
“On Memorial Day, the neighborhood’s closed down,” said Kendra Comerford, vice president of Portland float-building company Studio Concepts. “We can sort of spread out all over the neighborhood.”
The faux festival lasted about 45 minutes, stretching a few blocks before making a U-turn and heading back to the Studio Concepts warehouse off Northwest Nicolai Street and 28th Avenue.
Oh, and most of the floats were what Comerford called “naked” — assembled and painted but without the flowers, seeds, rice, beans and other decorations that builders will start to apply this week. A few were nothing more than rough wood and wire frames on bus and truck chassis. One float looked more suited for “The Road Warrior” than the Rose Festival.

oregonlive.com