Since this weekend, thousands of visitors can once again marvel at all the floral splendor during the Bloemendagen in Limmen. In the village, dozens of mosaics are traditionally displayed in the gardens. In addition to funny and topical flower mosaics, the death of Loek Rijs, board member of the Bloemendagen foundation, is also commemorated.
Alex Stuifbergen from Limmen was on the prick team for years together with Loek Rijs. In the shed of Rijs’s mother, hard work has been done on a floral mosaic with a sad Loeki de Leeuw in the lead role.
“Loek was the great animator of our sampling team. He really wanted us to make a mosaic after all. His daughter and his wife are also on our sampling team, so we decided not to make a portrait, but to in a different way.”
Forever Loek
Prik crew De Zilveren Gulp has also decided to give Loek a flower tribute. On the Hogeweg is a large portrait of him with the text ‘Forever Loek’ underneath. Both mosaics were also awarded prizes.
“We worked hard, laughed and cried for a week. I think he would have loved it. A few years ago the Flower Days were on the line and he really started pulling the cart. He was also my sounding board, a whole passionate man and you miss that.”
The pricking teams worked hard on all the flower mosaics, who had to pin all the hyacinth nails in the right place:
Flower days
The Limmen Flower Days last until Wednesday. About thirty flower mosaics are displayed in the streets along a route, and can be visited free of charge. “This year the route is shorter, more efficient, but with the same number of artworks”, according to the organizing foundation. More information can be found on their website.