VOLUNTEERS DOING MORE ON LOCAL FLOATS FOR ROSE PARADE.

Byline: Naush Boghossian Staff Writer

BURBANK - Don Hames, 74, brings the concept of ``volunteering'' on a Rose Parade float to a whole new level.

First, when it wasn't good enough to simply decorate, the 23-year Rose Parade float veteran took welding classes with two friends in the early 1990s so they could build their own float - from the bottom up - for the city of Burbank.

Then, he got his family involved, and now three generations of Hameses come together every year to build and decorate the Glendale float - the real-life embodiment of the 2005 Rose Parade theme: ``Celebrate Family.''

Burbank is now one of a handful of floats - including South Pasadena and La Canada Flintridge - built entirely by volunteers. Hames wears that fact as a badge of honor.

``It's ours, and we feel so proud that what we built goes out on the parade route,'' said the Winnetka resident who helped erect the city's first self-built float in 1992. ``My head gets so big, I can't get through the doors. And it means more because my family gets involved.''

Hames was one of thousands of decorating volunteers, affectionately known as ``petal pushers,'' who spent Monday at the various float- decorating centers, getting the floats ready for the fresh flowers that will be attached just before Saturday's parade.

Hames' son, who's also been volunteering for 23 years, said there's a lot of pride involved in building your own float, and grudgingly admitted a competitive streak going up against the professional float-building companies like the Phoenix Decorating Co., used by the city of Glendale.

The 39-year-old is one of the people in charge of decorations this year on Burbank's float, ``Dinner's on Fire.''

The float, 36th in line on parade day, will use about 5,300 roses to depict a pesky bee wreaking havoc at a barbecue held by a family of bears.

``I get very protective of the float,'' he said. ``It's your baby. You want to make sure it's done right. And there's a lot of pride and joy when you win something - when you take it away from the big boys.''

Last year, Burbank's float won the coveted Queen's Trophy for best use of roses.

Glendale's volunteers take no less pride in their detailed float that includes thousands of pinto beans, lentils, seaweed, flax seed and redwood tree strips.

``It's a labor of love with all the little, tiny things,'' said volunteer Janice Hanada, 53.

Longtime volunteer Carol Sayles took a break from working on Glendale's float, ``Mother's Love'' - which features a mother owl keeping a watchful eye over her brood - to peel the yucky glue from her hands, but it was a losing battle.

The volunteers have figured out it's a Catch-22: Wear gloves and you can't do the detailed work; go without and get sticky glue on your hands.

``It's best to donate six layers of skin. You get cold feet and gluey fingers,'' said a laughing Sayles, 61, of Glendale. ``But, I enjoy it because I enjoy the people and the meditative relaxation of the repetitive work.''

Volunteers on the Antelope Valley's first Tournament of Roses float in decades will apply moss and fresh flowers the next few days on their float. ``Where Family Dreams Take Flight'' will depict three military jets flying above a desert landscape of Joshua trees, cactuses and poppies.

Burbank has had so many volunteers turn up at the doorstep that there were not enough jobs for everyone Monday, said float organizer Victor Picou.

People get excited about having a hand - even if it's putting on one flower - in a float that was built entirely by a community, Picou said.

``As an artist, I wouldn't want anybody else to do my artwork,'' the sculptor said. ``If I paid a company to do my float, then what did I do, just shell out the money? I think the objective here is community building.''

Naush Boghossian, [phone]

naush.boghossian(at)dailynews.com

IF YOU GO

-- Guided tours of Rose Parade float-building facilities will be held at 9 a.m. today through New Year's Eve, at Rosemont Pavilion, 700 Seco St., Pasadena; Brookside Pavilion, 1001 Rose Bowl Drive, Pasadena; Buena Vista Pavilion, 2144 Buena Vista St., Duarte; and Rose Palace, 835 S. Raymond Ave., Pasadena.

-- Visitors can also spend the day with Tournament of Roses participants at the Fanfest Expo Village through Friday in Parking Lot I at the Rose Bowl, 1001 Rose Bowl Drive, Pasadena

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Photo:

(1) Volunteers Karen McGee, left, and Carol Benedetti apply cracked peas to the figure of a bear Monday on the city of Burbank float ``Dinner's on Fire.''

(2) Joey Diel, 17, applies stripes to a bumblebee on the city of Burbank float entry in the Tournament of Roses parade.

John McCoy/Staff Photographer

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IF YOU GO (see text)