Parade float is just magic

La Cañada Flintridge’s “The Great Howldini” float will feature actual magic tricks during its run down Colorado Boulevard.As if by magic, La Cañada Flintridge’s “The Great Howldini” Rose Parade float has begun to take shape in the maintenance yard of the Valley Water Company.

Since June, about 30 volunteers have been hard at work on the float, the 28th Rose Parade entry for the La Cañada Flintridge Tournament of Roses Assn.

On Sunday, workers busily painted the 50-foot-long float’s platform, welded together parts of the steel skeleton and glued wire mesh over the entire structure, creating the “skin” upon which tens of thousands of flowers, leaves and other plant materials will be laid beginning on Dec. 26.

The animation planned for the float by its creators be enchanting -- in keeping with this year’s Rose Parade theme, “It’s Magical.”

The mechanical dog that is the float’s namesake will live up to his name, pulling a rabbit out of a black top hat in a puff of smoke. A working shell game will be located at the front of the float, with a ball jumping from shell to shell, said Dustin Crumb, vice president of float development.

The La Cañada Flintridge team has become known in the parade circuit for its state-of-the-art animation, Crumb said.

It is using a custom-integrated industrial computer for the system’s closed-loop animation, which he said provides smoother movements than other, digital-based systems.

The software used to design the float, provided by UGS, is the same that is used to design Jet Propulsion Laboratory spacecraft, Crumb added.

There are three engines on the float -- two V-8 motors powering the drive and animation systems, and a V-twin used as a generator for the smoke machine and sound system -- all three running on propane.

“I believe we have the highest-tech computer of all the floats in the parade,” said Crumb, a Pasadena mechanical engineer and contractor for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory who has been involved in the construction and design of the all-volunteer La Cañada Flintridge float for the past eight years.

“The tournament has invited us to show our animation at the post-parade displays. There, people will have a chance to take a good long look at the animation, and that is when they will say, ‘Wow, how did they do that?’ Of course, we’ll say, “Well, it’s magic.’”

The experience of helping to build the float was magical for 12-year-old Buddy Imbriale of Encino.

“The funniest part has been learning to weld,” said Imbriale, who got so into the craft that he asked for a welding jacket, mask and gloves for his birthday.

“It’s a lot of fun. You get to melt metal, create stuff and then destroy it when you are all done.”

Seeing the $100,000 float come together was especially sweet for Jacob Maitless of Pasadena, who came up with the “Great Howldini” concept.

“It is great to take something from an idea to paper to seeing it grow into a three-dimensional, living sculpture, something tangible and real,” said Maitless, a concept designer for theme parks, museums and entertainment complexes. He also conceptualized La Cañada Flintridge’s 2001 float, along with some friends from the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, and the 2002 float.

The next big step for the float is the rollout to the traditional “Under the Bridge” decorating spot at Hampton Road and Foothill Boulevard, beneath the Foothill (210) Freeway, on Dec. 26. There, hundreds of volunteers will apply the final, floral touches to the float, including 10,000 red roses for the main platform and 8,000 red carnations for the Great Howldini’s tuxedo.

Guests will have a chance to see the animation tested during a happy-hour event at 5:30 p.m. on Dec. 26.

At 8:30 p.m. on Jan. 1, the completed float will head out for its big date in Pasadena. This year’s parade will take place on Jan. 2.