. . . Here, where the valleys are ever abloom, where the soft air bears always the breath of orange blossoms and the rose, where all the earth resounds to the tender kisses of the sun, the sentiment of every heart finds expression in the beauty of this springtime festival. It has come to be so much a part of the annual round that no year is complete without it . . . .
Yet there were years when La Fiesta was not. . . . This is the seventh Fiesta in ten years. In other years a queen was wont to reign supreme, and there were queens as fair as any who ever graced a throne. . . .
It was early in 1894 that Mr. [Max] Meyberg first called together a number of kindred spirits and suggested the holding of a celebration which, while somewhat similar to the Mardi Gras of New Orleans and the Veiled Prophets of St. Louis, should be characteristic of Southern California. . . .
The name came later, and was a happy suggestion; while the colors, which have become so closely associated with Fiesta in the minds of all — red, green and yellow — were adopted as symbolical of the three principal products of Southern California, the wine, the olive and the orange. . . .
The original idea was that a queen should be chosen to preside, the fiction being that La Fiesta was being held in honor of her visit to Los Angeles. The Fiesta was to last five days and be a feast of many courses. The arrival and proclamation of the queen was followed by an historical presentation by floats of the early days of Southern California, followed by contrasting features of modern times, supplied by various societies and nearby towns.
On the following night there was a night parade, and the next day was given over to a celebration by the school children. For the last day was reserved the daintiest morsel, the floral military show, the truly typical feature of the entire celebration, and after this, the ball. . . .
[Mr. Rule recalls the first Fiesta.] . . . after the first parade had passed the reviewing stand, upon which were seated the queen and her court, the members of the several committees, including the director general and the writer of this article, were suddenly called to attend a meeting at headquarters in order to meet a difficulty which had been brought about by the banks taking a half holiday.
A large number of men had been employed to lead the horses of the various floats and were to be paid $1 each for the services rendered. These individuals, several hundred in number, as soon as the parade disbanded, collected in front of Mr. Meyberg’s store, demanding that the dollar be paid forthwith. They had no knowledge of who was responsible to them for that dollar, but they did know that Mr. Meyberg was identified with the undertaking, and they went to his store.
No one had contemplated this sudden demand, and as Mr. Meyberg very pathetically remarked that he did not want his store wrecked, the committee had to scramble to get sufficient funds to pay the men.
In this excitement, the queen, with her court of fifteen or twenty ladies, was entirely forgotten. They were left on the reviewing stand, dressed in their regalia, which was slightly inappropriate for the street, and it was only after an hour or so that some of the members of the committee suddenly remembered that the queen and her court had been left high and dry, and some one should go to the rescue. . . .
In view of the prominent part which the Chinese have annually taken in the celebration, a discussion which took place at one of the first meetings is not without interest. One of the gentlemen present suggested inviting the Chinese to participate in the Fiesta, and so far as I know this as the first occasion in the history of the state of California where the Chinese had been invited to take part in a public celebration.
That suggestion met with anything but enthusiasm on the part of many, some of the gentlemen going as far as to suggest that the mere idea of having the Chinese in the parade indicated failure, that their presence would lend nothing to the celebration and might result in a serious disturbance.
Finally, after a lengthy debate, the majority decided that an invitation be sent to the Chinese, coupling, however, an amendment thereby that a similar invitation be sent to all . . . other nations within the city. There was a little dissatisfaction expressed by a small portion of the public upon hearing of the intention of the committee, but in a short time even this disappeared and by the result they have been justified.
At 7 o’clock the president was tendered an informal dinner . . . the small dining room had been transformed into a dream of loveliness. From the chandeliers in all corners of the room were strung streamers of asparagus ferns, which were also used as a background for the frosted electric bulbs, whose soft rays cast a mellow glow over the festive board. . . .
