FLOAT FEVER REIGNS DEADLINE LOOMS FOR ROSE PARADE ENTRIES.

Byline: Helen Gao Staff Writer

BURBANK - It's a bit like building a spaceship. The work involves hundreds of parts, large-scale metal sculpturing and countless man-hours.

``People don't realize 90 percent of the work on a float is done before it's even ready to be flowered,'' said Don Hanes, president of the Burbank Tournament of Roses Association on a recent morning as he showed off the skeletal frame of the Burbank float.

``People don't realize all the technical expertise involved, all the work that goes in ahead of time.''

With the Tournament of Roses just two weeks away, both the Glendale and Burbank Tournament of Roses associations are stepping up their work schedules to complete their floats, respectively called ``Rock Around the Clock'' and ``The Jitterbugs.''

The Glendale float is a miniature version of the Bob's Big Boy restaurant with its cheerful icon. Once the hangout for town youths, the chain was launched by former Glendale high school grad and former Mayor Bob Wian.

The Burbank float features animated dancing bugs playing instruments in a forest setting covered with wildflowers, mushrooms and strawberries.

With the help of the Phoenix Decorating Co., Glendale's float is largely complete. Volunteers have started applying seeds, rice and other dried organic materials to create texture.

``We will be the first float done. We have been in the last two or three years,'' said Glendale Councilman Dave Weaver, who oversees volunteers. ``We are very well-organized.''

Volunteers are driving from as far away as Simi Valley and Manhattan Beach to work on the Glendale float, said Weaver. Many local high school students from Glendale, Pasadena and Eagle Rock are also involved, working out of Phoenix's Rose Palace in Pasadena.

``We have a lot of kids and adults who have been coming for a long time. We had 600 people last year. We have more this time,'' said Paul Estep, president of the Glendale association, 69, who has been involved in building floats since he was 17. ``It just gets into your blood.''

Behind schedule, the Burbank association, which relies entirely on a volunteer base, is having its crews work six days a week to complete the float structure and move on to first-stage decorations.

Burt Ballard, a steady volunteer, freely admitted it's not easy completing such a big project with entirely volunteer help. The Burbank float is budgeted at around $84,000 and Glendale's about $100,000.

``There are some times when you want to grab someone by the neck and someone will want to grab you by the neck, but it will pass,'' he said.

On a recent Wednesday at a Burbank city yard where the float was being worked on, spirits remained high, despite the tedium of some of the work that needed to be done.

At one table, Lynn Turner and Debbie Tait were busy painting leaves and flower petals made with foam and metal. The two had been dedicating themselves to the task for about two months to get 313 leaves and 112 flowers all painted.

``It's fun. Let's face it, we wouldn't be here if we didn't have fun,'' Turner said. ``When you see (the float) go down Colorado Boulevard, you feel like you got something accomplished.

``You can appreciate the other floats more, too, because you realize all the work that went into it.''

Pat Robertson has been volunteering to build Burbank floats for so many years, she has practically developed an expertise - covering metal sculptures with window screen to give characters a defined shape - a job that often leaves the less experienced with many cuts.

``It takes patience and perseverance,'' she said, as she painstakingly patched window screen onto the metal frame of a bug, using glue.

Ballard, who made all the flowers and leaves, said he enjoys the creative aspects of the work. ``I've never felt I was creative until I came down to work on the float,'' he said.

The most exciting part of building a float, however, would not occur until the last few days before the parade. Even then, the process could be tedious because each flower petal has to be glued on the float individually.

``Those last couple of days, it's just fun to see it develop into a thing of beauty,'' Estep said.

CAPTION(S):

3 photos

Photo:

(1) Crews of volunteers toil away on Glendale's Rose Parade entry float ``Rock Around the Clock'' on Saturday.

(2) Wendy Shoemaker, a detail artist and volunteer, sprays glue on the Bob's Big Boy portion of Glendale's entry.

(3) Students from Burbank High School's Key Club work on ``The Jitterbugs,'' the city's float entry in the Rose Parade.

John Lazar/Staff Photographer