Mega movie floats, pub pit stops and good vibes - I can understand the Spalding Flower Parade hype

As the sun shone and crowds gathered, I began to understand the hype for the popular parade which was about to start.

When my family and I left the house at 10am to go and watch the Spalding Flower Parade, I was expecting there to only be a few other people walking about – how wrong I was.

There were queues of traffic and hordes of people heading towards the town, some of which, were enjoying a pit stop drink at a pub on the way, which I admired.

I went to the parade with my mum Brig Dobson-Toal, boyfriend Jacob Bryan, sister and her partner and my stepmum Tracey Dobson-Toal, who was very excited, and every few minutes would tell the rest of us how much she was looking forward to it.

Once we picked a good spot for us to watch it along West Elloe Avenue, the waiting game commenced and we all waited in anticipation, asking each other which floats we were most looking forward to seeing.

Something that really stood out for me before the parade had even started, was the community atmosphere and how happy everyone was to be there.

My boyfriend (who is 6ft 4 and able to see over the crowds) exclaimed ‘I can see something’ and with that the parade had started.

I’m not sure if it was because the sun was shining or if there was something in the air, but there were good vibes all round.

All of the floats ran smoothly, apart from a few stop–start moments and all in all it was a pleasant experience.

Upon later reflection, I can’t choose one particular favourite part of the parade, but the floats I enjoyed most were Doctor Who’s Tardis, the Dragon and the Bee Movie.

I also thought the people dancing from the Filipino community created a fun and happy atmosphere and got us bopping along to their music.

My mum said: “I thought it went very well and I think a lot of hard work has gone into making the floats. It provided a really good community atmosphere and I think it is really good for the town.

“Everyone has made a really good effort to contribute together with the theme and each float complimented each other.”

Tracey added: “I was very excited before it started because last year was the first time I had ever been before. Overall I thought it was very good and I thoroughly enjoyed it – I think a lot of hard work has been put into it.”

My boyfriend Jacob said his favourite part of the parade was seeing all of the Star Wars people, he added: “I thought it was very entertaining and the designs of the floats were good. There were lots of people there and in the pubs and the town was busy, so it’s good for everyone really.”

My sister and her partner both agreed that they thought it was good and some of their favourite parts included the Shrek float, the Harry Potter-inspired designs and all of the food and music at the Castle Sports Complex after the parade had finished.

Overall it was a very fun and happy experience. I think it is a really good way to get people into the town and helps boost customers for all of our pubs and businesses.