Brother and sister Johan and Jolanda Teekamp have won the public award of Bloemendagen Anna Paulowna this year. Their work was dominated by 30 years of Disneyland Paris and managed to win the hearts of the public. A constant stream of visitors wanted to have their picture taken with the scene, but also with Johan, who had donned a Mickey suit for the occasion.
“About 600 votes were cast for the NH Nieuws Audience Award. And it was sometimes neck and neck,” says Linda van den Berg of the board of Bloemendagen Anna Paulowna. “People could vote from 9 a.m. Saturday morning, and every now and then I went to have a look. It was exciting, but they won.”
“We are really happy with it,” said brother and sister Teekamp. Last Saturday morning, when the work had just been parked at the side of the road for the jury’s assessment, they had barely slept. It wasn’t until around 5:00 that morning that everything was ready. “Yes, then we spoke, with my sleepy head that was”, Jolanda laughs. “But we have recovered. All the positive reactions from people also give so much energy”
Mickey
Their work was also on display at Hart van Nederland’s colleagues on Sunday evening. Today people from all over the country came to have a look. “I had just taken off my suit yesterday and then people from a place past Alkmaar came by, especially for Mickey. And today even people from Harderwijk,” says Johan Teekamp.
Their work, which features well-known figures such as Beauty and the Beast, Goofy and Pluto, is meticulously crafted. Many, many hours of work went into it. “I think we’ve used 80,000 pins in all to secure the flowers. It’s great that you’re getting such a reward for your hard work.”
Expert jury
“The public has spoken, it is really a beautiful mosaic,” says Linda van den Berg. Last Saturday evening, the prize of the professional jury was handed out, which went to one of the two mosaics about Peter R. de Vries”. The Flower Days in Anna Paulowna and Breezand will last until Wednesday.