Tiggelaar - Geppetto

Stick, string, everything becomes alive

Most people know the fairy tale of Pinoccio by the endearing Disney movie. “The original story of 1883 is hard to read and more horrible than is generally known”, says Johan. The designers of the hamlet of Tiggelaar: Erwin Braspenning, Gianni Ritchie, Johan van Trijp and Marc van Beek got back to the old book of the Italian author Carlo Collodi and chose ‘The story of a puppet’ as a starting point for the float. Woodcarver Geppetto is sitting at a huge crafting table and is busy carving the famous puppet out of a piece of wood.

“The world of puppet shows and puppets is an interesting one”, says Gianni. It took the designers to the international puppet museum Peruchet near Brussels, where besides puppet shows and  the history also the craftmanship with which the puppets were made is to be seen. There are few people left who can bring dead wood to life with a chisel and gouge.

That does not apply to Tiggelaar’s Geppetto. A lonely old man who is not aware of what is happening beneath his hands. “It is magic… and with magic anything is possible”, says Johan.

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Erwin Braspenning (46) is greenkeeper and entrepreneur in grass and is now designing for the 13th time. Gianni Ritchie (29) is digital designer and is designing for the 5th time, Johan van Trijp (65) is youth care worker and is designing for the 45th time. Marc van Beek (58) is creative entrepreneur and takes the cake with his 46th design.

Original Dutch Text: Eric Elich
Translation: Emile Wassenaar
Photo: Jeanne van Oosterhout 

Hamlet Tiggelaar
www.buurtschap-tiggelaar.nl

This article is brought to you by Corsief. An independent magazine about corsos in general and the Zundert flower parade in particular. The magazine is produced entirely by volunteers, who are all more or less active in the Zundert flower parade world. Corsief is entirely full-colour and appears four times a year.