KEEPING AFLOAT BUILDERS PETALING HARD IN HOURS BEFORE PARADE.

Byline: Lisa M. Sodders Staff Writer

PASADENA - Marge Schmidt was busy Tuesday, putting gobs of glue on tiny green brussels sprouts, intent on giving her dragon float the most authentic-looking scales possible.

``Most people like them that way - with glue on them,'' joked Schmidt, 80, of Manida, N.D., as she glazed another raw sprout.

Schmidt came to La Mesa to visit her daughter, Yvonne Board, 56, over the holidays and wound up at the Rose Palace in Pasadena, helping decorate the Farmers Insurance float.

It will be one of 49 floats rolling by an estimated 1 million spectators at the 115th annual Tournament of Roses parade, which will begin at 8 a.m. Thursday in downtown Pasadena.

Last year, an estimated 50 million people in the United States watched the parade on television, and it was broadcast to 28 other countries.

Bill Lofthouse, president of Phoenix Decorating Co., which has built about half of this year's floats, said the recent rain and cool weather was great for preserving the vitality of the roses and other flowers that adorn the floats.

Volunteers of all ages are working feverishly to complete the floats, using a variety of food, flowers and other flora to create different effects. Only organic material can be used to decorate the floats.

``You watch the parade and you really get a sense of pride when your float goes past,'' said Sophia Aron, 21, of Thousand Oaks. ``Three of us spent five hours applying leaves to the underside of a bird's wing.''

Sharon Maupin, 60, her daughter, Holli Leonard, 42, and granddaughter, Jordan Eboreime, 16, all of Sierra Madre, worked on the ``Symphony of Life'' float, which promotes organ donation. Maupin underwent a liver transplant about 18 months ago.

``This, for us, is giving back,'' Leonard said.

In Burbank, the dozen members of the Calendar Cowgirls of Phoenix, Ariz., practiced their routine for their first-ever Rose Parade appearance. The group, which will wear vintage costumes from the 1950s, celebrates the heritage of the American West.

``I think it will be so exciting,'' said Kim Dillon, 36, of Scottsdale, a television news anchor and meteorologist in Phoenix. ``I'm representing a way of life that I love to live.''

Authorities have made unprecedented security plans for both the Rose Parade and the Rose Bowl.

``I want to emphasize that there have been no specific threats against the city of Pasadena, the Tournament of Roses parade or the Rose Bowl game,'' said Pasadena police Chief Bernard Melekian.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca will send about 100 deputies to Pasadena. More than 1,000 local and federal law enforcement officers - many in plain clothes - will be deployed on Pasadena streets. Agents will also be using electronic sensors to monitor the air for biological agents, and video surveillance cameras will monitor the crowds.

Strict flight restrictions will limit air traffic over the event to police and military aircraft.

And bad weather should not rain on the parade. Although it will be partly cloudy, high temperatures in the 60s are expected, according to the National Weather Service.

For the first time in more than 50 years - since old Pacific Electric Red Cars stopped running in 1951 - Rose Parade fans can take a train to the event with the MTA's new Gold Line light rail between downtown and Pasadena.

The Gold Line, along with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's Red, Green and Blue lines, will run all night on New Year's Eve - with free fares between 9 p.m. and 2 a.m. Various shuttles will take visitors to the Rose Bowl on game day and to Victory Park for float viewing Thursday.

However, riders won't be allowed to bring tents, coolers, chairs or other large items on the trains on New Year's Day. For more information, call (800) COMMUTE or go to www.metro.net.

Staff Writers Phillip W. Browne and Lisa Mascaro and City News Service contributed to this story.

Lisa M. Sodders, [phone]

lisa.sodders(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

3 photos, map

Photo:

(1 -- color) Chelsea Bollinger, 14, of Claremont works on an angel wing Tuesday for a Rose Parade float.

(2 -- color) Holli Leonard, left, and her mother, Sharon Maupin, who received a liver transplant about 18 months ago, paste down corn husks on the float for the Coalition on Donation on Tuesday.

Tom Mendoza/Staff Photographer

(3 -- color) David Jay of Los Angeles rides Arce on Tuesday at the Equestfest in Burbank. Two hundred of the horses and riders from the event will appear in the Rose Parade on Thursday.

Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer

Map:

The 115th Tournament of Roses parade will start at 8 a.m. Thursday. It takes 2 1/2 hours to complete the 5 1/2-mile route

Staff graphic by MANUEL AMAYA