JOY OF FLOAT DECORATING MOTIVATES VOLUNTEERS.

Byline: Sylvia L. Oliande Staff Writer

PASADENA - The American bald eagle perched on the ``Symbols of America'' float could be seen for blocks, as visitors walked down Rosemont Avenue on Sunday to watch volunteers put finishing touches on the majestic floats.

At the American Honda float, Steve Varma, 33, crouched under the eagle's perch and placed sprays of white flowers at the base - ``some added touches to make the judges ooh and ahh,'' he said.

Varma grew up in Granada Hills and has been traveling back to California from his home in south Florida for seven years, not willing to let thousands of miles get in the way of a personal 16-year decorating tradition.

The Phoenix Decorating Co. crew chief said the volunteers and staff members he works with are like family. They spend so much time on the float that they grow attached to it and are proud to watch the reaction the float gets as it makes its way down Colorado Boulevard.

``It's that feeling you get when you look at it,'' Varma said of the awe-inspiring float. ``You're only looking at it for a short time - we've built it! We own this float. We've put our time and effort into it. It's that same feeling that keeps us coming back.''

Like Varma, many volunteers said decorating a Tournament of Roses parade float involves many long hours of tedious work, but the sense of accomplishment they get makes it all worthwhile.

Dozens of the 2001 parade's 52 floats were on display Sunday at FanFest, an annual festival featuring a behind-the-scenes look at the float decorating, expos of sponsors and bands near the Rose Bowl stadium.

The decorating crews, some paid professionals but the vast majority giving their time free, started working the day after Christmas. They can safely glue on dry material - the seeds, the herbs and the beans - but the flowers themselves can be placed only as early as two days in advance.

That means New Year's Eve is crunch time for hordes of decorators. They also have the added deadline of getting it all done before the judge's come by in the afternoon.

``You feel the pressure, certainly, but you want to do it right,'' said Joan Aebi, as she and four others hastily put yellow and red carnation petals on a painted flame that makes up a campfire on the joint entry from the two California Polytechnic State universities.

``You want it to be perfect, but you have to balance that with getting it on the float,'' she added. ``It doesn't do anybody any good if it's not done.''

As the workers toiled through the day, hundreds of spectators filed past and quizzed them about their floats. Many of the onlookers said they arrived in town for the Rose Bowl game today between University of Washington and Purdue University.

Jan Whiteman, an Indianapolis resident whose husband is a Purdue graduate, said she's not interested in actually going to the parade but wanted to get an up-close look at the floats.

``I can watch the parade on TV,'' she said. ``I've been told by people that the parade is just people, people, people. That's not for me. I'm not a patient person.''

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, box, map

Photo:

(1 -- color) Roy Walker, 17, of South Pasadena stands beside the figure of Huck Finn on Sunday as he applies texture to Tom Sawyer's pocket. Designed for today's Rose Parade, the Rotary Club float is themed ``Recognizing Tomorrow's Leaders.''

(2) Float-decoration volunteer Jasmine Rosas waters roses Sunday on the Queen and Court float. The roses need to be watered every 20 minutes until the Rose Parade starts today.

Charlotte Schmid-Maybach/Staff Photographer

Box: EVERYONE LOVES A PARADE

Map: ROSE PARADE ROUTE