They could also point to a new philosophy for the annual spring festival, reminding of how previous floats could help future festivals, organiser Martin McPherson says.
Mr McPherson is calling for any school, club or group of individuals to come forward and "adopt" an old "duck and ducklings" float, which appeared in the festival’s 2012 procession.
Built by former Alexandra resident Peter Roberts for the Stadium Tavern Social Club, the duck and two ducklings had been engineered to waddle to either side as they were towed along, Mr McPherson said.
The float had been moved around "a variety of sheds" since its 2012 showing, and Mr McPherson hoped someone would be willing to repurpose the float for this year.
With its solid wire frame still in place, all the float would need "is a new coat of papier mache and some flowers — and some love, it needs some love. And a tail — the ducks need new tails".
Mr McPherson said he would like festival organisers to have a shed in Alexandra where floats from previous festivals could be stored and then "given new leases of life" by other groups for future festivals.
A former Postman Pat float had been reconfigured twice since its original appearance, taking part in three parades, Mr McPherson said.
The "recycling" made sense in both a practical and financial sense, and might help some groups with limited resources enter the festival procession, he said.
This year’s festival parade is on September 22 and features eight competitive floats plus florreys and non-competitive floats.
