By Frank Sinatra, AAP Editor
Pennsauken native and professional florist Rick Cuneo recently completed the biggest project he’s ever undertaken: the floral design for Cal Poly and California State Polytechnic University in Pomona’s 75th float entry in the 2024 Rose Parade in Pasadena, Calif.
“It was really an unbelievable opportunity to work on this,” said Cuneo, a member of the American Institute of Floral Designers, the oldest and largest non-profit organization dedicated to recognizing and promoting the art of floral design as a professional career. “It’s amazing to see how it all comes together in just a matter of days.”
The theme of the float was, “Shock n’ Roll: Powering the Musical Current,” which depicted electric eels powering musical implements in a colorful undersea environment with massive manta rays and a giant clam shell. Working with fellow AIFD member Roger Dennis, their design concept turned a 35-foot-float into a canvas of flora, using over 35,000 fresh flower stems, plus cases of vegetables, citrus fruit, thousands of stems of dried flowers, white rice, seaweed, and more.
“Just the base alone, we used 22,000 stems of different types of flowers: orchids, roses, and gerber daisies,” explained Cuneo. “Any kind of flower you could think of, we used.”
What makes the Cal Poly and California State Polytechnic University float truly unique is that it’s the only one built top to bottom by students.
“It was really interesting and fun to work with the college students. They were super motivated and highly energetic,” said Rick. “There were over 2,500 volunteers who worked on the float. The floral portion took two and a half days to finish. We couldn’t have done it without them.”
All that hard work paid off, as their float won the Crown City Innovator Award, which recognizes innovations in technology and imagination.
And while normally you’d call this a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, that doesn’t apply to Cuneo’s work in the parade.
“They’ve asked me back for 2025. I’m looking forward to a second run,” said Rick. “I’m excited. The experience was awesome.”
Rick Cuneo is the owner of the Cherry Hill Flower Barn, which is actually located in Pennsauken at 7905 Browning Rd., Suite 212, in Cooper Center. Find out more about his business at CherryHillFlowerBarn.com.
Cal Poly News, https://www.calpoly.edu/news, was used as a source for this article, in addition to an interview with Mr. Cuneo.
