Spalding Tulip Parade - 50 years
Spalding in Lincolnshire celebrated its 50th Annual Tulip Parade on 3 May 2008. The theme was "Thanks for the Memories". The first Spalding Tulip Parade was in 1959. The Spalding Tulip Parade was originally started as a way of making use of the tulip flowers from plants grown to harvest the bulbs. As an annual event, it attracts visitors from all around the country. In the 60s, it was a popular event with people from the Midlands and further a field, as well as from the Spalding area.
The parade of floats, decorated with tulips, is a unique carnival experience. The Parade follows a circular route around Spalding. As with all carnivals, there is a Queen of the Parade.
The theme of this year's event, marking 50 years of the festival, is "Thanks for the Memories". These pictures might bring back some memories. All these photographs were taken at Spalding Tulip Parades in the Swinging Sixties. Pull up a deck chair, open a flask of coffee and enjoy...
Flower Power was in the air in the 60s and what better way to celebrate the Tulip Parade than to have a pop group on one of the floats. This tradition probably started in the 60s. These guys have electric guitars and psychedelic jackets.
This chap, right, riding a scooter, has entered into the spirit of the event.
The scooter was a cheap and economical form of transport, as well as being very fashionable in the 60s.
Guinness is good for you
These two ladies, left, are on the Guinness Float, see also the photo at the top of the page. They appear to be wearing Mexican Sombreros. I wonder if the sun came out! The float looks like a Gondola and there were symbols from around the World on it, including Big Ben, the Eiffel Tower and New York's sky scrapers. Guinness was a popular drink in the 60s and many pubs had it on draught.
Go to work on an egg
This is the back of the float, showing three egg cups picked out in tulips.
The Egg Marketing Board's advertising campaign from the 60s used the slogan "Go to work on an egg". The advertisements starred Tony Hancock. Hancock was as miserable as ever making the adverts. The advertisers used this to their advantage and made his gripes a feature of the campaign. A recent attempt to resurrect these adverts was blocked, because of political correctness. Eating an egg every day is now not considered a healthy, balanced diet.
The Potato Marketing Board's float, left, features the popular children's toy, Mr Potato Head. Mr Potato Head was first sold in 1952 by Hasbro in the USA. It was the first toy marketed on television in the USA. We had to wait until 1955, before commercial television arrived in the UK.
It was a cold day in May for this Tulip Parade in the 60s. People are wearing coats, hats and scarves. The lady in the pink coat has her box brownie at the ready.
Vauxhall Victor
The car, left, is a FB Vauxhall Victor. This model, introduced in 1961, was a complete change from the original Vauxhall Victor from 1957. The original car had adapted the American fins and chrome look to the British market. Unfortunately, the original Victor rusted badly, gaining Vauxhall an unwanted reputation for making rust buckets. The new car was clean and simple in design and in addition had extensive rust proofing as standard.
Decorating a car in this way was another tradition that still lives on in the modern day Tulip Parades in Spalding.
Porsche Diesel
Two views of the Porsche Diesel float: "Does not freeze" and "Does not boil". It looks like a bobsleigh at the front driven by an Eskimo and a tropical island on the back. Porsche made diesel tractors up to 1963. They were water cooled, like the VW Beetle, hence the slogan. Underneath all the tulips, there is a Porsche tractor. See www.porsche-diesel.com for more information.
More crowds scenes:
People are wearing hats and coats for a cold early May day in the 60s at Spalding. The men are smartly dressed in jackets, ties, macs and overcoats. Some men are wearing flat caps, others are sporting Trilbies. Men's haircuts are still short. The ladies are also wearing coats. A few have bouffant hair. These are scenes from the first half of the sixties.
For more see sixties fashion.
Three elegant ladies, above. The float is called "Margaret". A giant rabbit, left, on the Geest float.
Houses along the parade route were also decorated. I wonder if those flags were saved from the Coronation in 1953?
Traditionally the Tulip Parade includes the Queen of the Parade's float, left. This is the Queen from 1963.
And if you have ever wondered what the floats looked like without the tulips...