After winning 17 awards for 18 Rose Parade floats he’s designed, Tim Estes, the resolute founder of Fiesta Parade Floats is no longer an authorized Tournament of Roses builder.
The Tournament of Roses Association dropped the 36-year-old company as an authorized Rose Parade float builder because it did not meet established criteria, according to a letter obtained by the Southern California News Group.
But Estes, who has helmed the Rose Parade’s oldest, albeit smallest, float company, says Fiesta is in financial trouble.
In the letter from the Tournament’s CEO David Eads to one of Fiesta’s clients, Eads writes the association did not arrive at the decision to drop Fiesta “quickly or easily.”
“…The Association has determined that Fiesta is no longer in compliance with our established criteria and will not be allowed to build floats for the 2025 Rose Parade,” states Eads in the letter.
The Tournament of Roses provided Southern California News Group with a list of six float-builder criteria, which includes technical experience, financial capacity, adequate insurance and a physical location within a proximity acceptable to the association.
When asked exactly which criteria Fiesta failed to comply with, the Tournament of Roses said, in an email, it would not provide additional details providing its decision.
Estes said he was officially informed of the Tournament’s decision last month, but the demise of his beloved company was primarily financial and has been a long time coming — since before the pandemic.
“I was informed (last month),” Estes said, “using the Tournament’s language that I’m no longer recognized as being a builder in good standing.”
He was told, said Estes, to vacate the large Irwindale warehouse Fiesta has occupied for the past 12 years.
“That was pretty crushing,” said Estes, “a week ago Monday when I gathered my employees and told them what was happening.”
At its height, Fiesta employed as many as 30. The company was known for its adherence to using a lot of flowers in its designs, said Estes, and that’s what won them so many awards over the decades.
The warehouse also traditionally opened its doors in the days just before the parade, allowing thousands of volunteers to help decorate the floats as well as simply see them before their overnight trek to Pasadena.
The full-time staffers losing their jobs now numbers 18, he said.
Estes admitted he owed back rent for the Irwindale warehouse space, which he leases from the Tournament. The association, confirmed a spokesperson in an email, owns two Irwindale warehouses and one in Azusa where floats are built.
Back rent, said Estes, was likely a main factor in the Tournament’s decision. Though, he said, he prioritized paying staffers over meeting his lease obligations.
“That was pretty crushing. A week ago Monday when I gathered my employees and told them what was happening.” – Tim Estes, founder of Fiesta Parade Floats
The Tournament, in an email, declined to answer whether back rent was the problem.
“The Tournament of Roses will not provide additional details regarding its decision,” according to a spokesperson.
And, neither Estes nor the Tournament would say how much the monthly lease cost.
“I thought that perhaps we would be able to work things out,” said Estes about how he started making rent payments to the Tournament.
And, said Estes, he holds no ill-will toward the association and staffers, who have been communicating with him about the issues for months.
“It wasn’t that they just dropped the hammer,” Estes said. “I understand their point of view. They have a building to pay for.”
The 68-year-old dedicated float designer and builder, who has been involved in Pasadena’s New Year’s tradition since he was 8, said the coronavirus pandemic really wrecked havoc on his business.
In 2021 — the year the Rose Parade was cancelled due to COVID-19 — Estes said he was able to pay about 50% of the rent due. Then last year, he was unable to pay at all. In general, though, he’s lost track, he said, given the COVID pause in rent obligations exactly how much rent was due, but he estimates he’s repaid about 45% of what he owes.
Plus, because of the COVID-parade-pause, he lost many skilled workers. In 2022, he was finally able to ramp back up, but could only bring back about half of his staff.
“This is a specialized industry,” Estes said. “I can’t just go to Home Depot and say, ‘hey, have you ever built a parade float before?’”
The number of floats Fiesta designed also declined — from about a dozen to just five this year. But still, said Estes, he was understaffed.
Then, there’s the price of flowers. Doubled, said Estes. Lumber and steel needed for float infrastructure — also dramatically increased.
Estes had hoped to have five float entries in the 2025 Rose Parade this year. But now, Fiesta clients such as UPS, Kaiser Permanente, Louisiana Department of Tourism and the City of Torrance will be sent over to sign on with one of only two other approved float builders: Either Phoenix Decorating or Atristic Entertainment Services.
The founder and president took full responsibility for the demise of Fiesta.
“If something goes wrong being the president here, it falls on me,” said Estes. “There’s been a bad unfortunate hiccup and that’s on me.”
Once Fiesta vacates, the fate of the Irwindale warehouse, said a Tournament spokesperson, will likely be used for the construction of floats.
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Estes continues to be an unwavering supporter of the Tournament and of the Rose Parade, he said.
“It’s the people who made Fiesta what it is,” said Estes. “And I feel lucky that I had great crew and a great community who enjoyed our workmanship.”
The Tournament, in an email, also echoed a grateful sentiment toward Fiesta for its decades of service.
“We celebrate the amazing legacy of Fiesta Parade Floats, a legacy that we will never forget,” wrote a spokesperson.
But Estes will miss the way the Rose Parade just “made people happy.”
“This hurts a lot,” Estes said, adding he was hoping for another four or five years.
“I guess I’m retired,” he said.