It is more difficult than expected, the Bloemencorso Bollenstreek that will run from Noordwijk to Haarlem next Saturday. There are too few (good) flowers for the floats in the bulb region. The growers are forced to move to the Kop van Noord-Holland.
The Flower Parade Bollenstreek is good for one million visitors every year. It will take place next Saturday for the first time in two years. But it is not without problems. Due to the relatively warm spring weather in March and the hail and snow showers that followed, many hyacinths in particular cannot be used. “It is said in Dutch ‘to the point’, it ‘just know’,” says Ted Kortekaas, responsible for the parade at NH News.
Kortekaas, together with a group of twenty people, has been preparing flowers full-time between Vogelenzang and Noordwijk for a week now. 1.3 million flowers are needed. Heading is going well, partly due to the beautiful dry weather. But to get enough good flowers for the floats, the organization has to divert. “I think we get about 15 percent of all flowers from the Kop van Noord-Holland and that is quite exceptional,” says Kortekaas.
Flowers from France
That’s a shame, but not a bummer, the flower man puts into perspective. A few years ago, the quality of the flowers was much worse, when flowers were even brought from France.
The organization is committed to making the Flower Parade a success next Saturday. It is the 75th edition postponed by corona and the first corso since the Dutch corso culture last year was included on the UNESCO list of intangible heritage.
Downtown
The floats of the Flower parade Bollenstreek depart on Saturday 23 April in Noordwijk for a route of 42 kilometers straight through the bulb region to Haarlem, where they can be viewed in the city center for a whole day on Sunday.
Kortekaas can’t wait: “Friday, when the cars leave the hall, I am satisfied and ready. And during the parade on Saturday I have the most beautiful place. Then I cycle between the cars and when you see all the people along the road see and enjoy: yes, that’s what we do it for.”
The tradition of parades goes back years, as can be seen in these images from 1948:
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