1/3 No drink floats in this parade: ‘A float is much cooler’
Drink floats are not welcome during the parade in Zijtaart. These are flat carts on which young people play loud music and drink a lot of beer. They would much rather see traditional floats and beautifully dressed running groups in the village. The young people from the Bende van Seitert carnival association take up the challenge and build a real carnival float for the first time.
When the barn doors open, an enormous head becomes visible. It is part of the Seitert Gang float. “This is the first time we are building a real float,” says Tygo proudly. “We have already put in many hours of work,” adds Alwin. “We are busy every evening and on Sundays too. The car is not finished yet, but we have already created quite a work of art, if I say so myself,” he laughs.
Alwin explains why they are building. “The parade in the village became less every year. There was still construction going on by the youth, but they were mainly drinking floats. The older people on the side did not like that. The music was too loud and many participants were fed up. We wanted also participate in the parade, but we thought that a float should be included. So we decided to give it a try.”
“A drink car is nice, but this is even cooler.”
The group of friends, whose members are all between sixteen and nineteen years old, have been working hard on the car since September. And the result is impressive. The theme is the shortage of homes for young people. “The housing market is bulging, so we’re crawling back into our hole. That’s why we built a huge cave with a moving caveman in front of it,” Tygo describes the car.
Although building sometimes involves trial and error, Alwin is now extremely enthusiastic. “A drink car is nice, but this is even cooler. Building with your friends is really wonderful.”
The organization of the parade is happy with the enthusiasm of the Bende van Seitert. “That’s fantastic,” says Gerard Hooijmans. “It is very nice that the youth are going to build a float again.” The nuisance caused by drinking floats became so great that it was decided last year that drinking floats are no longer welcome in the parade. “Those cars caused a lot of damage. There was far too much drinking and the loud music meant that running groups could no longer hear each other. We thought that was a shame.”
“Hopefully this will spread to other young people and they will also make a float next year.”
Hooijmans is pleasantly surprised when he sees the car of Seitert’s Gang. “We would much prefer that they build these types of floats. This group is really an example for the youth. Together they make something fun. Hopefully this will radiate to other young people and they will also make a float next year.”
If it were up to Tygo and Alwin, Zijtaart will have another big parade in a few years. “We are building a beautiful car. We hope that we will inspire many young people with this, and then everything will be fine.”
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