Madeira Flower Festivities

Funchal is a city that lives and breathes summer. The winters, although aren't very cold, tend to be rainy and gray. When the spring comes the whole island feels better, seems more colorful and much more fun. The people from Funchal have found a way to celebrate this. As we all know spring time is the season that all the flowers come alive again and paint the city with hundreds of different colors. For a whole week the city immerses itself in flowers and color, culture and class. The Flower Party takes over Funchal. The Flower Party is celebrated always during the spring month of April, when most of the flowers in Funchal are blooming. The party itself only goes on for about two days, but all across the city are various celebrations, as clowns in the street, various folklore groups performing at sporadic times around the town center and motivating tourists and residents alike. There concerts during the whole time, being it classical orchestras or normal bands just celebrating the arrival of spring. All around the streets and sidewalks there are competitions going on. All the parishes of the island compete among themselves to see the one that can put together the most elaborate and beautiful flower bed. These flower beds many times reach several meters long and involve dozens of different species and thousands of plants, making it very creative and it's truly and artistic accomplishment. Allied to this of course is the smell that is left in the air. Roses, daisies, the whole city exhales a natural perfume. On the two official days that celebrate the occasion, there are 2 different events. On the first day all the schoolchildren parade through the city with their flower themed outfits with every class and school having their particular one, so you can see what grade and what school any particular child is frequenting. All through the parade the children are releasing and giving away different floral arrangements to spread the joy and the flowers. A new addition to recent years has been the Wall of Hope, something that only these schoolchildren participate. A green wall covered with foliage is covered with flowers that have a message written on a note. The message is a wish that every child thinks can improve the world, being it world peace, no famine, whatever these children see as the main problem of the world. On the second day of the Flower Party, there are stands put on the main road, the Avenida do Mar, just by the coast. On this main road several floaters and dancers are skipping through in their synchronized routines. Almost as a carnival, there are different groups with different routines and different themes, all representing different flowers. The importance of the Flower Party is so big to the people of Funchal that every participant has to pay for their uniform. Thousands volunteer because everybody feels special during the Flower Party, even if you are only watching, it's sheer joy all around.