The effort to return a Vancouver float to the Portland Rose Festival’s Grand Floral Parade on June 8 — after a 19-year absence — might have to wait another year.
Two local businessmen — Byron Jacobus, owner of Water & Air Works, and Ron Carr, director of community development for the Vancouver Volcanoes — have been trying since December to raise between $40,000 and $50,000 to build a float.
So far, they’ve collected about $5,000 from local businesses and residents through their “Vancouver Rose Festival Float” account at Riverview Community Bank. They would need to reach at least $20,000 by the end of April to make the 2013 festival parade a feasible goal, Carr said.
“I think it’s still doable, but we need some heavy-hitter business to step up,” Carr said. “The other possibility is, we pull this to a halt this year and move it to next year. We’ve talked to our sponsors and they’re OK with that.”
