Children's Dreams, Wishes and Imaginations Run Wild on Rain Bird's 2003 Tournament of Roses Parade Float Entry `Water Wonderland'

Business Wire, Dec 27, 2002

News & Assignment Editors, Business Editors

GLENDORA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 27, 2002

Rain Bird(R) Corporation:

-- Leading Manufacturer of Sprinkler and Drip Irrigation Equipment Focuses Their New Year's Day Float on Communicating the Importance of Water Conservation

-- Renowned Animal Experts Jack Hanna and Walter C. Crawford, Jr. To Ride 4-time Sweepstakes Trophy Winner Rain Bird's "Water Wonderland" Float

Rain Bird(R) Corporation, the world's largest manufacturer of sprinkler and drip irrigation equipment, salutes the Earth's most precious resources, while encouraging "Children's Dreams, Wishes and Imaginations" to run wild with its 2003 float entry titled "Water Wonderland."

In keeping with the 2003 Rose Parade theme, "Children's Dreams, Wishes and Imagination," "Water Wonderland" depicts an array of African animals gathered around a watering hole, featuring a family of magnificent elephants playing with their young. Surrounded by a grand display of newborn giraffes, baby zebras and native birds, and set against a magnificent waterfall, "Water Wonderland" is sure to be another crowd favorite as it travels down Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena, Calif., on New Year's Day 2003.

Rain Bird Corporation has enjoyed tremendous success since its first Tournament of Roses Parade entry in 1997, winning awards every year, including the coveted Sweepstakes Trophy in back-to-back years, twice (2002, 2001 & 1999, 1998). "Clearly, in the past 6 years, no company has had more success in the Rose Parade than Rain Bird, and we are very proud to be their float designer and builder of choice," said Fiesta Parade Floats President, Tim Estes. "The immense water features, using up to 1,500 gallons of recycled water, have become a Rain Bird Rose Parade float tradition, and always present a challenge to us when designing and building Rain Bird's float."

Following on Rain Bird's proud Rose Parade tradition, "Water Wonderland" celebrates the environment and reverence for water from which the company's name was derived. The company's devotion to sharing knowledge, values and behaviors that embrace nature and water conservation through The Intelligent Use of Water(TM) has been the focal point of each of Rain Bird's award-winning float entries.

"Water Wonderland underlines Rain Bird's commitment to water conservation and its concern for endangered species and the habitats in which they live throughout the world," said Rain Bird Senior Vice President Art Ludwick. "The animals depicted on our 2003 float entry are all intelligent species and realize the value of water, and the role it plays in their lives. As part of the world's environment, we need to use water intelligently to ensure that these magnificent specimens are available for future generations to enjoy, and not just dream about."

Animal enthusiasts Jack Hanna (who has been riding on Rain Bird's floats since 1999), director emeritus of the Columbus Zoo and host of "Jack Hanna's Animal Adventures," and Walter C. Crawford, Jr., founder and executive director of the World Bird Sanctuary (who joined Mr. Hanna on Rain Bird's floats in 2001 and 2002) will be on board, as well as "Liberty," a beautiful American Bald Eagle. Both float riders bring Rain Bird's important message of wildlife and environmental conservation to the 2003 Rose Parade.

"It has become an annual tradition for me to mark New Year's Day riding down Colorado Boulevard on Rain Bird's float. I can't think of a better way to spread New Year's wishes, and important environmental messages to a worldwide audience," said Jack Hanna. "The 2003 Parade will be my fifth time as a Rain Bird `environmental emissary' which in itself is a great way both to celebrate the New Year and to convey the importance of preservation of the environment. As always, Rain Bird's float is a magnificent spectacle of wildlife and water."

"Water Wonderland," designed and flowered by the award-winning team of Raul Rodriguez and floral director Jim Hynd, is a floral celebration of the arrival of spring. Symbolic of both new and continuing life, majestic and exotic animals will proudly display their offspring in a spectacular setting reminiscent of the savannah grasslands of Africa. Highlighted by five separate waterfalls, a signature element of all Rain Bird floats, baby elephants will joyfully frolic in cool refreshing ponds, under the watchful and protective eye of their mothers. Nearby, a newborn giraffe will explore its newfound playground flanked by cascading waterfalls as baby zebras peacefully graze beneath the delicate branches of the flowering acacia trees.

Realistic textures and coloration of the animals will be achieved with the use of black lichen, ming, fino and spanish mosses, safflower blossoms, cordon puffs, marigold petals, rolled oats, chive and onion seed. The cascading acacia trees will be made from thousands of vibrant yellow Giant Oncidium orchids with the trunks covered in spruce bark that will gracefully adorn the garden plateaus, colorfully sculptured in waves of Kimi, Curcuma and Torch ginger, Kniphofia tritoma, cymbidium orchid sprays and fluorescent hot pink Revel roses intermingled with King, Queen and Pink protea.