Black Ships
Estes served as the President of the Japan-America Society, which oversaw the Black Ships Festival, which celebrates Commodore Perry's first arrival, in black ships, in Shimoda, Japan in 1854 that opened western trade after years of self-imposed isolation. Newport's sister city in Japan is Shimoda and in 1984 Estes was instrumental in getting the very first Black Ships Festival in Newport off the ground. The festival has been an annual event in Newport ever since.