Flowers, Tech and Magic

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