Family’s Battle to stay together for this year’s parade

Friday 26 February 2016

A young group of Battle of Flowers stalwarts are on the hunt for a new home for their floats so that they can take part in this year’s parade.

Ollivro Family & Friends have had to move out of the shed they were temporarily using at Peacock Farm and they are worried they'll have to miss the Battle altogether this year if they can't find somewhere to build and flower this year's exhibits.

The group of 38 children, some as young as five, plus a few adults design, build and flower a 26ft long 8ft wide float for the main competition and a smaller 11ft by 7ft float for the Junior competition.

Michelle Ollivro says ideally they are looking for somewhere undercover to work on the float on a Sunday afternoon and get it ready for both the summer and Christmas parades but she says a small garage or shed with space outside to put up a marquee would be great too.

She said: “Battle to us is more than just producing a float for the parade it's about commitment, social interaction, making new friends, being the best we can be, it's about being a family and it's really important to us individually for different reasons.

“We fight, we argue, we make up just like a big family, we look out for each other and are always there for one another whether it’s lending a hand or a shoulder to cry on.

“Now we are desperate for someone to help us stay together.”

If you can offer this big family a roof over their heads so that they can get cracking on this year's floats Michelle would love to hear from you. You can get in touch via the Ollivro family & Friends fundraising page on Facebook.