The traditional summer fair in the run-up to August 28 in the heart of Groningen is canceled due to work on the Grote Markt. The dismay is great.
“This is tough shit. It is a complete fair, a fair of renown! I can go home with two attractions”, says fairground operator Martin Speelman from Hoogezand. ,, And because we only hear it now, we can’t go to another city either. It’s just drama to me.”
On Friday, the fairground operators received a letter from the Koninklijke Vereeniging van Volksvermaken (KVvV), which has been organizing the festivities around the celebration of Groningens Ontzet (‘Bommen Berend’) on August 28 for almost 150 years. The letter states that this year there will be a line through the summer fair, which would last from 22 to 28 August.
,,There is no room on the Grote Markt,” says Harrie van Ham of Volksvermaken. According to him, the Vismarkt is also unavailable because the municipality has made strict agreements with the market vendors. They are already moving during the Meikermis and do not have to do that again in August.
Volksvermaken: ‘We did our best’
“This is municipal policy. There is room for the fair in May, which the municipality organizes itself, but not for our fair,” says Van Ham disappointed. He says that Volksvermaken has been in consultation with the municipality for months to allow the fair to continue. “We did our best, we suggested alternative locations, everything.”
According to spokesman Hans Coenraads of the municipality, Volksvermaken has come to the conclusion that the fair will not take place. “Because of the work, the space on the Grote Markt was not suitable for a full-fledged fair, they thought.” Coenraads says it is annoying that the fair is cancelled. “If you renovate the public living room of the city, it just causes a nuisance.”
‘Where there is a will there is a way’
Fairground operator Speelman says it could have been done. ,,We hadn’t planned a roller coaster, but in my opinion 80 percent of the normal summer fair would have fitted perfectly. Where there is a will there is a way.”
The fact that Bommen Berend has to do without a fair this year is a bitter pill for the folk festival. Earlier this year, Volksvermaken announced that it would no longer organize the concours hippique – one of the oldest horse competitions in the country and a tradition on August 28 for 165 years. It would be too expensive and at the same time there would be less and less interest in it.
Old-fashioned folk festival
The celebration of August 28 has threatened to collapse in recent years. Schoolchildren and civil servants are no longer automatically free on the Groningen holiday and many activities were perceived as old-fashioned. Last year, during the jubilee celebration of 350 years of Groningen Relief, Volksvermaken wanted to turn the tide.
“We opted for a broad program last year, with many activities. We wanted to continue and expand that line. The fact that the fair is now canceled is not conducive to the plans we rolled out last year,” says Van Ham.
Although the folk festival lasts three days this year, the activities around August 28 can be counted on the fingers of one hand: the horse inspection on the Ossenmarkt, the NNO concert on the Ossenmarkt, Dutch music on the Vismarkt, the Groote Mealtijd in the Akerk and the fireworks show in the Zuiderhaven.
The refurbishment of the Grote Markt is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
2023-07-04 04:15:00
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