What a small village is
great at!
Being declared the image-defining event of the province of Overijssel and a cultural intangible Unesco heritage site already made the people of Sint Janskooster feel triumphant. But the feeling after being voted the best public event in the Netherlands in 2023 was completely indescribable!
It was the ultimate crowning achievement for all 2,500 residents of our corso village. All of them volunteers, showing what a small village is great at. By putting blood, sweat and tears into the event that grips and connects their society all year round.
Our passion Feeling the corso fever together!
Anyone who grows up as a child in Sint Jansklooster has one dream. To one day build the most beautiful dahlia loop in the parade! Evenings, days and weekends throughout the year everything gives way to the prize of honour. Because once the Kloosterner chooses one of the corso groups at a young age, the construction tent becomes a second home.
There, young and old are at the service of the designer of their dahlia. The latter creates a visual concept, worked out in a scale model. All 12 groups perfectly recreate their model at house-high and truck-length sizes. A month-long job, in which the corso fever keeps rising!
Our pride Together spreading the corsovirus
Rigging frames, welding steel structures, bending shapes with rebar, sculpting with wood or tempex, creating movement techniques, making costumes, mixing music, practising figuration, applying layers of papier-mâché, foam, lighting and alternative materials and tapping millions of dahlias.
In all this work, corso builders get a lot of help. Family, friends, acquaintances, colleagues; all are infected with the corso virus. And those who are not helping in the construction tent cook soup at home, look after the children or are part of the parade organisation. So everyone in Sint Jansklooster is proud of and involved in the parade!
Our prices Competing together for the parade honour!
Winning the prize of honour is an unforgettable memory for corso builders. Even more historic is winning all six prizes, a grand slam!
Honorary award
The most important and coveted corso prize. Anyone who grows up as a child in Sint Jansklooster has one dream: one day, according to the expert jury, to build the most beautiful dahlia loop in the village.
Figure award
A thrilling story, appealing actors, beautiful costumes and entertainment. These are the ingredients to qualify for the figuration award with the theatre jury.
Exposure award
During the evening parade, all the dahlia giants do their rounds atmospherically illuminated. This creates fairytale scenes! Whoever has the most spectacular lighting according to the lighting jury wins.
International award
We collaborate with the Corsos in US Pasadena (Rose Parade) and Portland (Rose Festival) and Spanish Lareda (Batella de Flores). Their organisations determine the winner.
Audience Award
500 visitors will receive a unique code. They vote for their favourite, which randomly produces the winner of this public award, highly valued by corso builders.
Golden Dahlia
Among corso groups, there are healthy struggles, but also solidarity. This is proven by the Golden Dahlia. Each group votes for its favourite creaction. The giant with the most votes takes this prize.
Our history Continuing the corsotradition together!
Today, Corso Sint Jansklooster can call itself the largest illuminated flower parade in the world. A status that ensures international media attention and an international visitor profile. That tens of thousands of visitors flood the village during the corso weekend is the ultimate appreciation.
Not only for today's builders, but also for those of yesteryear. Because a parade of peasant wagons in honour of Queen Wilhelmina's birthday formed the basis for a corso tradition, which was continued generation after generation. Ever more beautiful, bigger and better. The development of our parade is now captured in images!
