In its 1960’s heyday, the USS Enterprise streaked the silver screen in tritanium and duranium – fictional alloys designed for deep-space travel.
But on Jan. 1, 2026, when the iconic Star Trek starship makes its debut in the 137th Rose Parade, it will come to life with grey lettuce seeds and white coconut.
As Paramount Pictures and CBS launch Star Trek’s 60th anniversary on the first day of 2026, float builders are promising a “Beam me up, Scotty” moment.
Only instead of Captain Kirk calling upon chief engineer Montgomery Scott to transport him back to the spaceship, magic-makers at Artistic Entertainment Services will make use of a set of transponder pods made of golden red millet and blue statice.
The hope is to bring some Star Trek mystique to the parade crowds, said Kyle Amerine, float project manager with AES.
One person will start in one of the transponders, said Amerine. Then, a screen simulating a de-energizing field will pass in front. The person will disappear from that transponder and appear several feet away in the other transponder, he added.
The magic behind the curtain?
“We’re looking for a set of adult twins to make that materialize,” Amerine said.
In addition to the “Beam me up” stunt, the float, titled “Space for Everybody” seeks to “reflect values of hope, inclusivity, exploration and unity,” according to CBS.
When the sci-fi franchise debuted in 1966, it celebrated the diversity of America with various races and ethnicities working together to save lives and survive battles from the USS Enterprise.
The ship’s communications engineer Lieutenant Uhura, for example, was played by Black actor Nichelle Nichols who later went on to recruit diverse applicants for NASA.
As for the Rose Parade float, it is currently in the fabrication phase, said Amerine, with the next phase painting before adding the floral elements. Some of the AES painters, he said, are big Trekkies.
“They are definitely looking forward to painting the Enterprise and really hitting all of the details to really make this float come to life,” Amerine said.
At the rear of the float, the USS Enterprise will soar over the crowds, with the golden transponders in the middle.
The front of the float features the Star Trek command bridge. That’s where characters Kirk (William Shatner), Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy) and others sought out new civilizations “to boldly go where no man has gone before.”
The float will also introduce the new series “Star Trek: Starfleet Academy,” starting next year on Paramount+. The show – based in San Francisco – stars Holly Hunter as commander and Paul Giamatti as the villain.
The nod to the new series takes the form of the academy’s campus with a backdrop of the Golden Gate bridge.
So far, Paramount and CBS have not announced what favorite Star Trek characters or actors might appear on the float. But, many have had prior Rose Parade appearances.
Shatner served as grand marshal in 1994 and rode a horse down Colorado Boulevard. LeVar Burton, who played blind Starfleet officer Geordi La Forge, was grand marshal in 2022.
AES Floral Director Scott Lamb, a Trekkie since the 1970s, said he and many of his employees are stoked to be working on the Star Trek float.
What celebrity float riders is he anxious about?
“I’m waiting for Spock and Kirk and Sulu and Uhura,” Lamb said. “I’m waiting for them all.”
Lisa Jacobs is a Southern California freelance writer and a former editor at the Southern California News Group.