Fontana council approves up to $500,000 for 75th-anniversary Rose Parade float and a liquor permit for a Colombian festival at Miller Park
Both items passed on the Oct. 13 consent calendar. The festival, set tentatively for July 10, 2027, may sell a distilled spirit along with beer and wine.
Fontana will put a float in the 2027 Rose Parade to mark the city's 75th anniversary, after the City Council on Oct. 13 authorized spending up to $500,000 on the project.
The council also approved, with conditions, a special event permit allowing the sale and service of a distilled spirit at a Colombian festival planned for the Miller Park Amphitheater next summer.
Both items were on the consent calendar, which passed 5-0. Council Member Phillip Cothran moved it and Council Member John Roberts seconded, according to minutes the council approved Nov. 10. The minutes record no opposing votes or abstentions on either item.
Rose Parade float
The action lets the city manager or a designee hire Phoenix Decorating Company to design and build the float, according to the Administrative Services staff report. The $500,000 limit also covers transportation, logistics and decorating.
The report says the project was developed after the 2026-27 budget was prepared, so the money was not in the adopted budget. The spending authority was to be folded into the first-quarter budget report, which the council approved 5-0 later in the same meeting.
The city is seeking private contributions, which would reduce what the general fund ends up paying, the report says.
Before the consent vote, City Manager Matt Ballantyne described the items on the calendar, including the anniversary float, the minutes say.
Colombian festival
The festival is planned for Saturday, July 10, 2027, from noon to 10 p.m., though the date is listed as tentative. It will be gated and ticketed, with Colombian music, dance and food, according to the City Manager's Office report.
The organizer, Tunjo Entertainment, asked to sell and serve what the report calls a cultural spirit, a distilled liquor it puts at 24% to 29% alcohol by volume. That would be in addition to beer and wine for guests 21 and older.
The permit comes with conditions. The organizer must hold a current state Alcohol Beverage Control license. At least 30 days before the event it must turn in insurance certificates, a city business license, county event, temporary food and fire permits, and a list of vendors.
The report says Tunjo Entertainment has staged the festival for the past two years at the county's Guasti Regional Park. The company will pay the city's rental and staffing fees, including the cost of police.
Sports park turf
On the same calendar, the council accepted as complete the installation of artificial turf on Fields 5 and 6 at Ralph M. Lewis Sports Park, work done by FieldTurf USA Inc., according to the minutes.
