''Florreys'' will outnumber floats four to one in this year's Alexandra Blossom Festival procession.
Five floats have been entered in the parade this year, while a new class of entry, ''Florreys'', or decorated supermarket trolleys, has attracted 21 entries.
Event manager Martin McPherson said while the lack of competitive float entries was disappointing, it was because of a combination of factors.
''There's a whole bunch of different things that are happening, that have affected the number of entries this year.
"For example, the Alexandra fire brigade, always strong supporters of the event, will not be entering a float because members' spare time and resources are taken up with their [fire station] building upgrade.''
Reversing the decline in the number of competitive floats was a challenge the committee would have to address, looking towards the 2015 event, Mr McPherson said.
Always a festival highlight, the parade and the activities in Pioneer Park afterwards will be staged on Saturday, September 27 this year.
This will be the 58th event and it is believed to be the longest-running community festival in the country.
Every year the organisers tried to come up with a new element to add to the parade or festival events, and that was how ''Florreys'' had been added to the mix, festival chairwoman Clair Higginson said.
''Over the last two or three years, we're mindful that people have found it tough to find enough time to make the big competitive floats.
"The parade is still an important element of the festival but we needed to find a way of making sure people could involve themselves,'' she said.
Constructing ''Florreys'' was one way they could do so.
All the supporting events in the week leading up to the festival and the fortnight after were also an important part of the event, Ms Higginson said.
''It's important not to underestimate the value of all those supporting activities, run by volunteers.''
The festival was in good heart, she said. Mr McPherson said exhibitors could decorate their ''Florrey'' according to whatever theme they wanted. Prize money of $2000 and supermarket vouchers were at stake.
''As a scaled-back version of the float, the Florrey is certainly proving popular with entrants.
"We've got entries from individuals and groups and even multiple entries from some organisations.''
