The term ‘reinventing the wheel’ is a fairly over used term. As a designer you hear it quite a bit and when that happens to any phrase it tends to lose a lot of it’s power. It’s a great thing, then, when something comes along that is so simple and done so well that it justifies the existence of such an adage. This parade almost seems to be the poster child for ‘reinventing the wheel’, giving new energy to what could be one of the safest, stock-standard events mankind has to offer: the humble flower show!

This parade takes place in Zundert in the Netherlands, a small town of only 20,000 people . Each float is made out of thousands of flowers, sculpted and twisted into amazing forms, each more impressive than the last. They take on political, social and historical messages and utilise animatronics, lighting and TV screens.

Now, I’ve been to my fair share of flower shows. The biggest event in my hometown of Ballarat, Vic, is the annual Begonia Festival. They grow some flowers, have a parade with a few street performers and the local fire brigade and that’s that. It hasn’t really changed or evolved since it began.

Good on you Zundert for taking something as mundane as a flower show and bringing it kicking and screaming into the 21st century! You should be commended for not just ‘taking things up a notch’ but for ‘going all out’. The next time you’re in a meeting and you feel like brandying about those buzz words and ineffectual catch phrases you could, instead of using the term ‘reinventing the wheel’, try something with a bit more ‘POP!’ such as ‘add some colour to the flower show’!

http://www.thisiscolossal.com/2012/11/towering-sculptures-made-of-flowers-on-parade-at-bloemencorso/