Fiesta de las Rosas Collection

This collection consists of correspondence, fiesta guidelines, entry forms, tickets, pamphlets, and more.

About the Collection

This collection was compiled by the Fiesta de las Rosas Committee, and consists of correspondence, fiesta guidelines, entry forms, tickets, pamphlets, and more. The Fiesta de las Rosas was an annual festival and parade designed to highlight San Jose as a “garden city” and attract tourists.

Fiesta de las Rosas began in 1896 as the Rose Carnival. In 1895, thirty acres of flowers were donated and $10,000 in subscriptions collected in preparation for the carnival. The name was changed to Fiesta de las Rosas in 1920. Noteworthy items in this collection include photographs of floats, the grand parade, and the fiesta princess and her court, as well as entries for the cutest baby contest, and material from the unsuccessful attempt to revive the Fiesta in 1969.

The Digital Collection

The King Library Digital Collection currently includes a representative selection of photographs and ephemera from the Fiesta de las Rosas Collection. New images are added to the collection as they are digitized.

For information about using images from this collection, contact the California Room.