Fiesta 2015 to include new royalty float after theft

Thieves stole 2014 float in October

SAN ANTONIO – Fiesta organizers are hard at work designing a new royalty float to transport the queens of the city's biggest party during the Fiesta Flambeau and Battle of Flowers parades.

The previous float was stolen last October when thieves broke into Southwest Parades Inc., where the float was being stored, and took off with the nearly $15,000, ornately decorated Fiesta treasure.

"We have not been able to find the float, we're very disappointed that it got taken. We've tried to look for it and we've had people looking for it, but I don't know if we'll ever retrieve it," said Fernando Reyes, president of the Fiesta Commission.

With Fiesta 2015 a little more than two months away Southwest Parades has stepped up and is designing a new royalty float. The commission could not share any pictures or conceptual drawings, but Reyes said it will be a worthy successor to last year's float.

"I think this float will be just as beautiful as the ones we've had before," he said.

Sophia Campos, Miss Fiesta San Antonio 2014, never thought she'd be the last Fiesta queen to show her shoes on the float.

"It was amazing to be up there with all the other queens, and just to see all the kids waving and all the adults, it's just such a great experience," Campos said.

Campos said it's unfortunate that her successor won't get to follow in her footsteps and ride on last year's float, but she said if it's any consolation, Miss San Antonio 2015 will be the first to ride on the new royalty float, and she offered a few words of advice for the young woman who will wear the crown come April.

"Wear some really cool shoes and just embrace it because it's over in a second," she said.

Fiesta 2015 runs from April 16-26.