Corso Zundert - Dutch

Hello! I am Corso Zundert, and some people say I am the world’s biggest flower parade. I take place in my special hometown, Zundert, which is a town in the Netherlands. People can see me every year on the first Sunday of September. My main feature is my giant moving sculptures, which are called floats. These aren't just any sculptures—they are covered from top to bottom in thousands and thousands of beautiful, colorful flowers. Imagine giant animals, tall buildings, or amazing scenes all made of petals, rolling down the street. It is a sight that fills the entire town with color.

My story began a long time ago, in the year 1936. At that time, my purpose was to help celebrate the birthday of Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands. My very first parade was much smaller than the one people see today. Instead of huge floats, people decorated their bicycles with flowers. They also decorated small carts and pushed them through the streets. It was a simple start, but people loved it. Over the years, my parade grew bigger and bigger as more people wanted to join in the fun. The carts became larger, the designs became more amazing, and I slowly turned into the giant parade I am today.

There is one very special rule that makes me unique. All of my giant floats must be covered only in one kind of flower: the dahlia. Dahlias come in almost every color you can imagine, from bright red and sunny yellow to deep purple and pure white. Because so many flowers are needed, the people of Zundert have to plan ahead. Every summer, they plant millions of dahlia flowers in special fields all around the town. They care for these flowers all season long, just so they will be ready and blooming in time to decorate my floats for the big day.

Creating my floats is a huge project that takes many months and many people. The work is done by teams from twenty different neighborhoods in Zundert. These teams are called 'buurtschappen.' Long before the parade, each team comes up with a design for an amazing sculpture. Then, the hard work of building begins. They start by welding strong steel frames to create the shape of the float. Next, they cover these frames in layers of paper-mâché to create a smooth surface. This whole process is done by volunteers from the neighborhoods who work together for months.

The last few days before the parade are the busiest of all. This is when the flowers are added. Hundreds of volunteers from each neighborhood gather to help. They work day and night, carefully pinning every single dahlia onto the floats by hand. It takes a lot of teamwork to cover such huge sculptures with millions of tiny flowers. Everyone, from young children to grandparents, helps out. This time is very important, as it brings the whole community together to finish their incredible creations just in time for the parade.

Finally, parade day arrives! When my huge, colorful floats roll through the town, it is a very exciting moment for everyone. The streets are filled with people who have come from all over to see the builders' amazing creations. There is lively music from marching bands that walk along with the floats. The crowds cheer loudly as each incredible sculpture passes by. To make things even more exciting, a jury watches the parade very carefully. At the end of the day, the jury chooses the most beautiful float of the year and announces the winner. This is a proud moment for the winning 'buurtschap' that worked so hard.