Flower parades are a typical Dutch tradition. These parades consist of floats decorated with thousands of flowers. The parades of these moving works of art made of dahlias, for example, belong to the national heritage. There are three annual flower parades and sailing light parades in The other Holland.
Due to COVID-19 measures, the 2020 parades have been cancelled. It is uncertain whether the parades will take place in 2021.
Some of the towering floats of the Sint Jansklooster parade are made up of more than 350,000 dahlias, which have all been manually pricked onto the float just days before the parade. There are 12 large floats in this parade with marching bands in between. The event starts at 14:00 and lasts 2 to 3 hours.
In the evening parade, which starts at 20:30, the floats are all lit up for the largest lit flower parade in the world.
The parade festival is between 12:00 and 16:00 on Saturday. The floats are all parked and can be admired from up close. There is also an extensive programme with street theatre and activities for children.
The Sint Jansklooster parade takes place annually on the third Friday of August. In 2021 this is on 20 and 21 August. The parades are at 14:00 and 20:30.
Sint Jansklooster flower parade | cc@corsoklooster.nl | +31 (0) 646 104 858
Unique to the Vollenhove flower parade is the location. The floats drive through a charming old town. Vollenhove was a suburb of the Hanseatic League. The parade consists of 11 floats of up to 12 metres high, with marching bands in between.
The Vollenhove flower parade takes place annually on the last Saturday in August. The 2021 edition will be on 28 August.
The event starts at 14:00 and takes 2 hours. The floats are paraded twice, once at 14:00 and once at 20:30.
Vollenhove flower parade | info@corsovollenhove.nl