Rose Parade 2026 awards announced: Top honor goes to Cal Poly Universities

The Rose Parade’s 2025 Sweepstakes Award, marking the most beautiful entry, was presented to the Cal Poly Universities early Thursday.

This is the seventh time a self-built float has been honored with the Sweepstakes Trophy and the first time for Cal Poly Universities.

The Pasadena Tournament of Roses announced the 23 floats awarded official honors, recognizing excellence in a variety of categories. The winners, alphabetically, were:

Volunteers work on Travel South Dakota’s 2026...