BunnyMuseumDonation

Bunny Museum Donation

On Sunday, February 24, 2019 the Burbank Tournament of Roses Association donated "Armen" the Bass Fiddle playing rabbit off its Animation Award-Winning 2019 Float "Stompin' Good Time" to the the Bunny Museum in Altadena, California.

Rabbit Facts

Float:
Float Title: “Stompin’ Good Time”

Float Designers: Brian Cozakos and Adam Ostegard

Parade Theme: “The Melody of Life” January 1, 2019

Construction:

The Rabbit was designed and built by the 2019 Construction Chairman, Robert Hutt. The head, ears and hands were made from Trymer 2000 foam which was hand-carved by Dr. Suresh Iyengar.

The body, arms and legs consist of an outer shell which was made from 3/16" steel rods that were shaped and welded together. Inside the Rabbit is a framework made from 1-1/2" square steel tubing. The framework provides an anchor point for the external shell, leg extensions which mate with receivers on the float and an anchor point for the hydraulic cylinder that caused the rabbit's plucking arm to move as though playing the giant stand-up bass fiddle. Also welded to the framework is a 1" square steel tube with a threaded connection at the top end. The foam head is secured by this steel tube which runs entirely through his head. During construction and decoration, we used a forklift to lift the Rabbit by a ring that could be screwed into this connection point.

During the parade the Rabbit's plucking arm was moved by hydraulic pressure at 1,500 psi! The two hydraulic hoses were routed down each of his legs and connected inside the float. The valves that controlled the hydraulic pressure were, in turn, controlled by an animation controller which was overseen by crew members inside the Shack (on the float), Steven Edward and Nick Hall.

Decorations:

The Rabbit is made up from the following materials, selected by the Decorations Committee, chaired by Linda Cozakos:

The body of the Rabbit is covered with Carded Raw Cotton
The inside of the ears and the nose are covered with 150 dried and blended Pink Carnation petals
The eyelashes are Sago Palm Pieces
The Whites of the eyes are Ground Sweet White Rice
The Pupil of the eyes is Seaweed (Shiny Side Out)
The Whiskers are natural Ting-Ting covered with Ground Onion Seed
The Teeth are covered with Ground Regular Rice

The Person that decorated the Rabbit is Robin Hanna and her very dedicated crew of volunteer workers.

Rabbit’s Name:

The Rabbit’s name is Armen. He was named after a Glendale College Police Officer that passed away on 12/31/2017 from Natural Causes. Armen was a mentor to co-float designer Brian Cozakos when he was a police cadet at Glendale College.

Burbank Tournament of Roses Association:

The Burbank Tournament of Roses Association is an all-volunteer, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that designs, builds and decorates the City of Burbank's entry into the annual Rose Parade® held on New Year’s morning in Pasadena, California.

Steven Edward

Vice President - Float

Burbank Tournament of Roses Association

Photos