From the Cal Poly web site
Cal Poly universities’ Stargrazers float, which brought to life a scene from the classic Mother Goose rhyme “Hey diddle, diddle,” received the Animation Award at the 133rd Rose Parade, held New Year’s Day.
The honor, announced two hours before the start of the parade, recognizes the most outstanding use of animation, said Regina Chapuis, the Cal Poly SLO team president.
The entry aimed to exemplify the parade’s 2022 theme of “Dream. Believe. Achieve.” — a celebration of education’s ability to open doors, open minds and change lives.
More than 80 students, equally split from each university (Pomona and SLO), worked to finish the float during the COVID-19 pandemic and last year’s parade hiatus. While the Cal Poly campuses are multi-decade veterans of the Pasadena classic, this year’s entry overcame a number of administrative challenges and achieve some milestones: It is the first “two-year float”; and this is the first time that student float leaders who initiated the project had to hand over completion responsibilities to a new group, said Chapuis, whose duties as club president include promoting communication between various departments, heading team events and facilitating the float move to Pomona.