The Battle of Flowers

Every August the entire island of Jersey goes crazy for the Battle of Flowers.  The Battle began in 1902 to celebrate the coronation of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra.  All floats, from large with animated parts to smaller children's club floats, must be covered in 100% flowers.

I've worked on floats and been in parades, but I have never seen anything like the time, commitment, teamwork and excitement that goes on for the Battle.  Enjoy looking at a small selection of my photos; if you want to learn more, please follow the link below to the official Battle of Flowers site.

http://www.battleofflowers.com/

The winning float (grand prix d'honneur).  Exquisite, classy and very detailed.

This was the "runner up" of sorts, an awesome tribute to Olympus complete with spinning vases and intricately designed pillars with serious topography.

This amazing float was, in my opinion, the best all-around.  Not only was it impressively designed and put together, but the spinning candlesticks, choreographed song and dance performance and creative costumes were a winning combination.  

An optimistic take on Global Warming...

St. Brelade's salute not to the "Wizard of Oz," but to the Broadway hit "Wicked."  Nicely done with dancers and great costumes.  And Toto, too.

Durrell, otherwise known as Jersey Zoo, is a world-famous wildlife refuge and research center for endangered animals.  Its founder, Gerald Durrell, is well-known and highly respected in the animal conservation world.    

The dodo, long since extinct, forms the logo of Durrel in a sort of tribute, striving so that other animals do not meet the same sad fate.  This year celebrates the 50th anniversary of the founding of Durrell.

  

  

The "Madagascar" showcases such wonderful characters! (Yes, they had dancing lemurs!)

"St Trillion's" (anyone seen the movie?  I haven't...)

Some really detailed work with this one.

This float's creative theme was "The Night Before," meaning the final rush to finish the float.  They left the back part "unfinished" with white flowers.  They rigged it so that the ladders "fell" down every couple of minutes.  Very clever.

And my personal favorite...

Winner of the Creepiest Float Award??

Obviously there were dozens of floats that I haven't put up here, but in any case I hope you enjoyed the 2009 Battle of Flowers as much as I did.  Maybe you'll see it for yourself next year...