Bloemencorso Zundert

Bloemencorso Zundert is the largest flower parade in the world entirely made by volunteers. The parade takes place on the first Sunday of September. The floats are large artworks made of steel wire, cardboard, papier-mâché and flowers...lots and LOTS of flowers.

 In the Bloemencorso Zundert, only dahlias are used to decorate the objects and it takes thousands of them just to cover one float.

 The huge floats are made by twenty different hamlets and each of them consists of hundreds of builders, aged 1 to 100, who are all equally crazy about the bloemencorso. The older members of the hamlet are often responsible for planting and growing the dahlias, while the younger ones build the float in large temporary tents that are built exclusively for the event.

 The bloemencorso is also a competition. A professional and independent jury decides which float is the most beautiful and which hamlet will be crowned the winner of that year.

Building a float for the corso is mainly a social event. Builders of all ages work side by side for over three months to get the float of their hamlet ready on time. It has to be as perfect as possible in order to win the competition.

The parade itself takes place on the first Sunday of September, but the members of the hamlets work on their floats all summer. The tents are put up in May or June and from then on the volunteers put all their effort in creating the giant artworks. The last three days before the actual parade are the most stressful. Because the flowers have to be fresh, the hamlets can only start applying the dahlias on the floats on the Thursday before the parade. If necessary, the builders will work day and night to have their float ready on Sunday.

Most people in Zundert will happily give up their days off to work on the float. The social cohesion that comes from building it is very important. A hamlet is like a family where everyone knows each other and everyone is welcome. After a long evening working on the float people drink a beer together and most hamlets organize all kinds of other activities like song contests and barbecues.

 Let's hope the wind doesn't blow too hard! The flowers have been meticulously placed to create the giraffes,

even down to their eyelids and hair that lines their necks!

For years, seventeen hamlets participated in the corso. In recent years, three more decided to enter the
competition. Building a float costs a lot of money and hundreds of people are needed. Now there are twenty hamlets competing in Bloemencorso Zundert.

 A roaring good show! The blooms have been manipulated to create this gravity-defying impressive model

of a tiger and her cubs.

 Every float is made of dahlias. This apartment building, which is as high as other apartments,

weaves its way through the narrow streets.

 Just by using dahlias, volunteers created this startling scene of an antelope

escaping the clutches of a hungry leopard.

 Udderly brilliant! The competitors left no detail out - even the numbers of the tags o the ears - and what

appears to be a fully functioning milk processing plant within the cow's body!

 This mind-boggling shoal of fish swirl around each other. Notice the light colored dahlias 

to shade in the light bouncing off the eyes!

 Bloemencorso began in 1936, and since then has spiraled in popularity, as the small population

makes huge efforts to outdo one another so they can create sculpture like this huge pipe organ. 

 

Even the meerkats get a mention! The curious animals are brought to life, as creators

perfected every inch of the models, even down to their nails and shading on their tails. 

This has to be one of my favorites! Out of this world! Every float here is made from petals and, despite

being made from such a delicate tiny structure, take on gigantic proportions which people clamor to see.

  Bloemencorso has grown in popularity and in the sheer size of the creations, with thousands flocking

to the home of Vincent Van Gogh to gasp at the displays.

  Held on the first Sunday of every September, the quain town becomes packed with visitors

and, on this occasion, a huge rhinoceros made of delicate flowers.

 Thousands turn out to Bloemencorso, as the hamlets compete with each other to create the most beautiful

display - including this sinister-looking fishy creature.

Each of the competing districts of Zundert constructs its own entry and competes in the parade.

 According to those behind Bloemencorso, the parade is all the work of dedicated volunteers, who

do not profit from the colorful display.

A staggering six to eight million dahlia flowers are used to produce the floats.

Thanks for stopping by for a visit today - hope the beauty and craftsmanship of the floral displays of Bloemencorso have inspired you! Now ...

Go make something beautiful!

¸.•´¸.•*´¨) ¸.•*´¨)

(¸.•´ (¸.•´♥ Tristan ♥