ANAHEIM, Calif. (December 18, 2006) – On New Year’s Day, the City of Anaheim will share the celebration its 150th birthday with the world at the 2007 Rose Parade.® Anaheim’s own American Idol finalist, Lisa Tucker, will perform an original rendition of Frank Sinatra’s "Young at Heart" on the float while 28 dancers perform alongside.

Accompanying Tucker on the float will be six winners of the Mayor’s TechScholar program, an initiative sponsored by the City of Anaheim, EarthLink Municipal Networks and Anaheim Public Utilities to help Anaheim students advance technologically and academically. These students will be outfitted in gear from Anaheim’s various sports teams and recognizable attractions, including the Anaheim Ducks, Angels Baseball, Anaheim Arsenal, USA Men’s National Volleyball team, Disney and the Tiger Woods Learning Center.

Anaheim’s float is themed with the City’s sesquicentennial celebration motto, "Always Fresh & Never Grows Old" and will feature the City’s historical agricultural roots while highlighting its contemporary landmarks. Decorated with a wide array of colorful flowers, oranges, grapes and other fruits, a depiction of the Santa Ana River will run through the center of the float. Disneyland’s monorail and the Angel Stadium of Anaheim’s haloed "Big A" will tower over the top of the float.

The monorail is covered in ground rice, silver leaf, black seaweed and statice. The area’s namesake oranges are covered in ground lentil, yellow split pea and rice; an orange crate "label," which is the City’s anniversary logo, is "painted" with sesame and poppy seeds, lentils and statice flower. The sunflowers are created with sunflower "heads" and corn husk. Trademark Southern California palm trees are made up of commander fern and dendrobium orchids perched atop palm fiber enclosed trunks. Fireworks at the rear of the float explode with dendrobium orchids presented in "bursts" and on "coco" sticks.

Designed by Michelle Lofthouse and decorated by Phoenix Decorating Company, the 55-foot long and 45-foot wide float is the only float representing an Orange County city. The Disneyland Resort lent its expertise to enhance the entertainment aspects of the float.

To view Anaheim’s float during decoration, or to volunteer to decorate, visit the Anaheim 150 website and www.anaheim.net.

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NOTE TO EDITORS: The float is currently being decorated at the Rosemont Pavilion in Pasadena. On Wednesday, December 27, the Boys & Girls Club of Anaheim and Disney VoluntEARS will join Mayor Curt Pringle at floral decoration. Media interested in interviewing City officials or teens from the Anaheim Boys & Girls Club are encouraged to attend this day from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Visuals include teens from the Boys & Girls Club of Anaheim participating in this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to decorate their City’s float, the Mayor participating in the floral decoration and Disney VoluntEARS donating their time to making Anaheim’s float fresh with roses. For more information about interview and visual opportunities, please call 714-240-6291.

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ABOUT ANAHEIM - The City of Anaheim, founded in 1857, is one of the nation's premier municipalities and is California's 10th most populous city. Anaheim covers 50 square miles with more than 345,500 residents and more than 3,200 City employees. The municipal corporation's annual budget is $1.4 billion. Anaheim supports a thriving business community with companies such as Carl Karcher Enterprises, Inc., L-3 Communications, Pacific Sunwear, and Disneyland Resort. Successful sports franchises call Anaheim home, including Angels Baseball, Anaheim Ducks, the 2008 Olympic Gold Medal winning U.S. Men's National Volleyball Team, and the 2008 Olympic Silver Medal winning U.S. Women's National Volleyball Team. Anaheim also boasts world-class meeting and entertainment venues with the Anaheim Convention Center, the largest on the west coast, Honda Center, The Grove of Anaheim, The Shops at Anaheim GardenWalk, and Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Annually, Anaheim welcomes millions of visitors to the city, truly making it where the world comes to live, work and play. For more information, please visit www.anaheim.net.