Every New Year’s Day since 1989, Fiesta Parade Floats have wowed Rose Parade® viewers.

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Fiesta is the leading award-winning float builder in the history of Pasadena’s Rose Parade®.  In 2017, they set a Guinness World Record for the longest, heaviest float, “Lucy Pet”.  Their past creations have incorporated waterfalls, stages, and all kinds of automatio.

And, of course, those record-setting surfing dogs of 2017 Lucy Pet fame.

Every New Year’s Day,  Tournament of Roses® judges vote on the best floats in the parade.  For 2019, nine of Fiesta’s thirteen entries won awards.

That total includes the top prize: the Sweepstakes Award, for “Most beautiful entry: encompassing float design, floral presentation and entertainment”.

The 2019 winner: the UPS Store float, “Books Keep Us On Our Toes”, which Fiesta created.

 

Fiesta Project Manager Beverly Stansbury is a second-generation float builder.   We talked about the art, science and logistics of creating Rose Parade floats–as Fiesta prepares twelve of them for the 2020 Rose Parade on New Year’s Day!

 

On this edition of Over Coffee®, you will hear:

• What drew Beverly into choosing float building as her life’s work;

• A mini-preview of what Fiesta Parade Floats is currently creating, for the 131st Rose Parade®;

• Some of the engineering considerations involved in creating a larger float, like The UPS Store’s 2019 “Books Keep Us On Our Toes”;

• Ways in which the float building industry is changing, and how those changes present a challenge with float design and decoration;

• The cost of having a float built for the Rose Parade®–and why that figure really isn’t a lot of money for what’s provided!

• Perspectives on keeping the Rose Parade® going in a changing world;

• How Fiesta Parade Floats involves the community in decorating their floats;

• The magic element of float building which Beverly, despite her experience, still finds “amazing”;

• The work schedule involved for float builders like Fiesta, through the year;

• Where Fiesta currently is, with their projects for the 2020 Rose Parade®;

• What’s involved in “test driving” the floats, prior to the parade!;

• How Beverly and the team deal with “Murphy’s Law” on the way to the parade route;

• Where she finds creative inspiration, each year, for the new floats;

• What Fiesta’s work schedules are like, as the Rose Parade® gets closer (and afterwards);

• A common float builder’s nightmare!