7 & 8 september 2025
7 & 8 september 2025
A dream came true for Jarno van Rijen when his design – ‘Speelgoedleven’ – was chosen by Klein Zundert. While visiting a football tournament at Moerse Boys and after a couple of beers, he was persuaded by some of the players of Moerse Boys who are part of the construction crew of Klein Zundert to submit a design. Now, after a series of meetings with people from the hamlet, the experience feels like taking a warm bath.
Jarno wanted to make a float with plenty of different shapes and movement. He wanted it to be a lot of everything. This resulted in a pile of toys, the one you keep in your closet after playing. Just like in the movie Toy Story, the toys that appear to lie quietly in the closet somehow come to life. Their movements are achieved manually or mechanically. Ssssh!
In order to build the model, Jarno scoured thrift stores to gather colourful toys. In addition, his experience with building carnival floats came in handy while carving the bigger shapes of the toys from Styrofoam. On the float he wants to use as many of the original colours of the toys as possible. He still has to make some choices but that comes with the territory. Using alternative materials is one of the options.
A variety of special effects – e.g. smoke, water, light – should enhance the effect of bringing the toys in the closet to life. And if every aspect of the float works according to plan in September, Jarno’s dream will really come true.
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Jarno van Rijen (20) studies engineering in Breda. Apart from his work at the Corso he also helps with the construction of carnival floats in Hoeven. ‘Speelgoedleven’ is the first design of Jarno that is actually being built.
Original Dutch Text: Ton Biemans
Translation: Bas Booij
Photo: Charles van Campenhout
Hamlet Klein-Zundert
www.kleinzundert.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.