So what happens to all those floats and flowers after the Tournament of Roses? On Saturday, a group of volunteers got together to tear one award-winning float apart.
It took months to build the Burbank Tournament of Roses Association's "Deep Sea Adventures" float and just one day to tear it down.
"We were here a few days before the parade to help cut the roses, make the holes on the float and put the roses on. We did everything from decorating to washing buckets, to anything that need to be done," said April Slinsky of Valencia, "so now we're here to destroy it."
Deep Sea Adventures won the award for Most Outstanding Display of Fantasy and Imagination.
The Burbank Tournament of Roses Association said all good things must come to an end, but they don't have to go to waste. Almost everything on the float will be reused or recycled.
"The flowers are going to be used as compost, the vials are going to be used for next year," said Kelley Tillman of Glendale. "Most of this will probably not end up in a landfill."
More than 12,000 vials were used to hold each individual flower. They will be washed, disinfected and reused next year.
And to make it fun for the kids, there are little surprises hidden beneath the roses.
"Hidden in the foam is money," said Steven Edward of the Burbank Tournament of Roses Association. "This started out a few years ago as a good luck charm and it has morphed into more of a scavenger hunt."
It isn't much money, but it makes the process of destroying the beautiful float a bit more fun.
