Every year, on the first Sunday of September, the Dutch village of Zundert holds its “Bloemencorso Zundert”, or “Zundert Flower Parade”, featuring larger-than-life floats and an “explosion” of flowers. The giant structures, reaching up to 30 feet tall, are built by volunteers in neighboring village districts and church villages – each one competing for the title of best design.
Image by Corso Zundert
Image by Corso Zundert
Image by Corso Zundert
Preparation for the event is year-round, with construction of the floats taking place during the summer. Only in the final few days leading up to the event is the most important element – the flowers – added, with many volunteers working long into the night to get their floats ready for the big show. Organizers estimate that each float will consist of around 400,000 dahlias, all which are grown for the event.
Image by John DG Photography
Image by John DG Photoraphy
This year, the event was held on September 4 & 5 and featured 20 floats, among them a frog prince named “False Hope”, a lion named “Sleeping Giant”, and a swarm of bees named “Busy!” The winning title went to “Dangerous Transportation”, a dragon from the hamlet of Tiggelaar. Find more photos and videos on Facebook and YouTube.
Image by Corso Zundert
Image by John DG Photography
Zundert held its inaugural parade in 1936, then in honor of Queen Wilhelmina’s birthday. Initially, the parades were modest in size, consisting of decorated bicycles and a single farmer’s cart. Following World War II, the parade gradually grew larger and the displays more extravagant, to the modern day, international celebration it is known as.
Image by John DG Photography
Image by John DG Photography
Historically, the structures were built of wood, but now they consist of iron and Styrofoam, with papier-mâché glued on, to which the dahlias are affixed. The parade never has a set theme, allowing freedom for the designers – their main requirement being that the floats must be completely covered in flowers. Only twice has a themed parade occurred, in 1990 and 2003, when the event honored Vincent van Gogh, who was born in Zundert. “For its most famous inhabitant, Zundert’s flower parade is prepared to make an exception,” the event’s website reads.
View photos from previous parades:
Image by: Corso Zundert
Image by: Corso Zundert
Image by: Erwin Martens
Image by: Joyce van Belkom
Image by: Niels Braspenning