They had hoped for a place in the top ten. But the fact that the builders of the Poteind hamlet won both the public prize and the jury prize at the Bloemencorso in Zundert with their design of a polar bear came as a total surprise. “I thought it was a joke at first.”
Builder Jessica Metz did not accompany her hamlet’s wagon at the flower parade, but stood to watch from the side. “Then I got an app from someone saying ‘congratulations’. I thought it was a joke because we never win. Last year we were 16th while we had hoped for a place in the top 10. But then I heard it from several people. We really won,” says Jessica with disbelief still on her face.
“We were busy with the car until half past five.”
“I immediately wanted to go to the award ceremony, but I still had my slippers on. I went home to change and cycled here immediately,” she says. She had a short night because she was still building until early in the morning. But that fatigue is gone in one fell swoop. “We spent all night with that car. I pinned the hair of the bear’s head on it with dahlias. I went home around 4:30 AM, but there were people who were still busy then.”
There are six hundred boxes of flowers on the wagon, with three hundred to four hundred dahlias per box. A mega job to bring the polar bear to life. But it was totally worth it now that the first prize has been won. In 1951, the hamlet took the last win. “I’ve been building at Poteind for 18 years,” says Jessica. “Twice we came in the top 10, but usually it’s a disappointment. The competition is also very strong, all hamlets have a high level.”
“We’re definitely going to celebrate this.”
The design for the winning car, a large polar bear, came from the young designer Dean Lahaije. “A few years ago I talked about this design with some neighbors. I then thought it out further and submitted it this year.” He is happy with how the car turned out. “The polar bear’s head also moved nicely and looked into the audience. But I didn’t expect to win,” says Dean.
Paper mache has been messed around in a warehouse for months, but the beer is now flowing freely with the neighbors. “We’re definitely going to celebrate,” says Daan. “Even crazier than at other parties.”
Meanwhile, builder Frank Timmermans holds the winner’s cup and won’t let go for the time being. “Unbelievable, this is great. This was so long ago. They won’t take this prize away from us anymore. We had hoped for a place in the top ten. Then, based on the enthusiasm of the public, for a place in the top five. And then we heard we had won.”
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