In the world that is the Tournament of Roses, the retirement of Els Hazenberg -- official decorator of the antique cars that ferry Rose Parade dignitaries -- feels like an earthquake.
The parade has printed special pins to commemorate her creative work. A museum-style poster sits on an easel at the entrance to the tent where she decorated all weekend, chronicling the history of her unique parade craft. After three years of practice, a replacement is ready.
"It has enriched our lives to be part of the Rose Parade," said Hazenberg, 64, who is assisted in her work by her husband, George, 73, an orchid grower in the Netherlands. "But at a certain age, you need to throw it over to a younger person."
For nearly three decades, the Hazenbergs have traveled from their home in the Dutch city of Aalsmeer so that Els can design floral displays for the automobiles that carry the parade grand marshal, Tournament president and Pasadena mayor.
It used to be that florists simply covered parade cars with a floral blanket, the kind that might be found on a casket. But over the years Hazenberg, with her detailed notes and planning, has turned car decorating into high art -- and brought her European cachet to Pasadena.
Her retirement is a jolt to Tournament traditionalists. The white-suited guardians of the Rose Parade pride themselves on upholding tradition, and the annual festival is governed by a complex bureaucracy of volunteer committees that can make the slightest shift feel like a revolution.
The Tournament of Roses selects the president of each parade eight years in advance, considered barely enough time to prepare for the role. And many of the odd jobs the parade has spawned -- floral glue mixer, float driver -- require such specialized skills that they change hands about as often as a Supreme Court seat.
Hazenberg's handpicked successor, highly respected Texas floral designer Keith White, 48, is spending his third year working alongside her, smoothly completing the transition of power.
"We're bringing in the younger generation," said John Delgatto, chairman of the committee that oversees the official cars. "But it's our hope that Els and George will be coming back and doing some consulting."
Hazenberg was living in Aalsmeer, site of the largest flower auction in the world, when a floral designer friend invited her to attend the 1977 Rose Parade. She was intrigued by the possibility of decorating a float, but figured such a task was unworkable for someone living overseas. Instead, she asked parade officials if she could come back the next year and decorate the official cars. They agreed.
