6 & 7 september 2026
6 & 7 september 2026
Why does the Corso Zundert often focus so much on the float designers? They receive a lot of attention, making it seem like they built the entire float alone. In a way, designers are like a “pope” for their hamlet, even though the Corso “faith” is carried by the entire community.
Laarheide took a different approach this year, choosing not to have one pope but thirteen. They are building a Catholic procession titled Out of control (Van God los) and, in doing so, are moving away from the concept of a single designer. Instead of a “holy designer,” they’re a collective of “apostates”! Jack Nouws and Dirk Govaerts, speaking on behalf of the collective, explained how it started: “All former Laarheide designers who had ever submitted or were working on a design got together on their own and shared their ideas”. Jeremy van Nijnatten added, “We ultimately went from three or four separate ideas to one design. Since it wasn’t really one person’s, we felt we should just do it together”. The collective represents the broad expertise that the designers bring with them.
And no, that expertise has little to do with strict Catholic faith; ‘Out of control’ is meant to show the opposite. Jeremy explained, “The concept was created to show contrast. When you think of the Catholic regime, you think of rigid and strict. We want to move away from that”. Dirk added that there will be no traditional relic behind the doors of their shrine.
They’re bringing this contrast to life with performers, something the collective is already proud of, with over a hundred sign-ups in a short time. The Laarheide hamlet seems to be expressing its faith in the float, and many want to be a part of it. “That actually fits very well with the Corso in Zundert,” says Jeremy, “You show something to the public, just like in a procession. You also express your faith in it”. Janneke van Veltom believes this float is a good fit for Laarheide because “we literally carry this float all together”.
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Laarheide Design Collective
Original Dutch Text: Kris Verdonk
Translation: Saskia Molema
Photo: Jeanne van Oosterhout
Hamlet Laarheide
www.laarheide.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.