Volunteers Sought for Burbank Float

Burbank Tournament of Roses Assn. officials are searching for volunteers to put the finishing touches on the city’s 1995 Tournament of Roses Parade float.

Construction and painting on the frame of the float, “Reach for the Wind,” is complete. The structure awaits myriad flower designs that are the trademark of Rose Parade floats, said Jennifer Edwards, float designer.

The float, measuring 35 feet tall and 18 feet wide, depicts a family sailing trip that includes a boat skimming through ocean waves accompanied by dolphins, a turtle, sea gulls and a pelican.

The structure is designed to fit in with the sports theme of the 1995 Rose Parade, “Quest for Excellence.” Burbank is one of only six organizations or cities that continue to build their Rose Parade floats without outside help.

Burbank’s float is designed to illustrate that people of all ages can get involved in sporting events, and that these outings do not depend on competition to be fun, Edwards said.

Volunteers--who must come with an adult if they are under 14--will begin work Monday, gluing dry straw flowers, parsley and bougainvillea to the sailboat’s sails.

They will continue to attach blue and white irises, purple and white mums and white roses and orchids to the ocean and the animals through Jan. 1, officials said. The parade is scheduled Jan. 2.

Officials encourage volunteers to come early in the week to work on the float--situated at the Public Service Department barn under the Olive Avenue overpass.

Volunteers traditionally work around the clock from the morning before the parade to the parade kickoff. Decorating hours earlier in the week are from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Officials encourage volunteers to wear grubby clothes.

While it involves detailed, hands-on work, float decorating is simple, does not require experience and is “a lot like kindergarten, where you get to play with white glue and dry materials,” Edwards said.

For more information, call the Burbank Tournament of Roses Assn. at (818) 848-0472.