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Burbank to hold Rose Parade float ‘deconstruction’ party

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All good things must come to an end -- or in this case, be destroyed.

Burbank is one a few cities that rely almost entirely on volunteers to build its Rose Parade float. The less glamorous job of dismantling the float after the New Year’s Day parade is also done by volunteers, so organizers over the years have come up with incentives to attract volunteers to help tear it apart: a party and little bit of money.

Burbank Rose Float Assn. Vice President Steven Edward said he sprinkled a ‘large handful’ of coins along the bed of the 45-foot-long float as extra motivation for those who volunteer to help break apart the float on Saturday.

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FULL COVERAGE: 2013 Rose Parade

‘It just makes the day a little more interesting in a kind of unique and creative way,’ Edward said. ‘I had been saving coins for several weeks.’

The deconstruction party tradition spans back two decades, when float organizers found themselves -- in small numbers -- still taking apart the float well into March.

‘We said, ‘Why don’t we throw a party? Maybe we can do this in a day,’ ‘ Edward recalled.

PHOTOS: 2013 Rose Parade

Between 80 and 100 people are expected to participate in breaking down ‘Deep Sea Adventures,’ which won the award for best display of fantasy and imagination. And Edward has a task for every last volunteer — flower buckets need washing, 12,000 roses need to be pulled out with each individual vial needing disinfecting, and the float’s foam base needs to be broken down and trashed.

‘It’s a great family event,’ Edward said.

To volunteer, put on some old clothes and working gloves and head to the Burbank Water and Power yard at 123 West Olive Ave. on Saturday between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. Lunch will be served.

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-- Alene Tchekmedyian, Times Community News

Photo: The Deep Sea Adventures float from the city of Burbank makes it’s way down Colorado Boulevard during the the 2013 Rose Parade. Credit: Christina House / For the Times

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