Joop Mulder (67), founder of the Oerol festival on Terschelling, has passed away in Leeuwarden. He probably died of cardiac arrest. According to Oerol’s organization, he had been struggling with health problems for some time, but his death was unexpected.
In the 1970s Mulder had moved from Bolsward to Terschelling at the age of 27 to become the manager of Café De Stoep in Midsland. In 1982 he started Oerol, which for the first years was organized from the living room above his cafe.
The Oerol festival started small with theater performances on the sidewalk in front of his cafe and in small sheds and grew into one of the largest on-site outdoor theater festivals in Europe. Artists and theater groups from all over the world flock to it, and performances are held all over the island during the summer festival. In keeping with the name of the festival, because oerol means everywhere.
Click here for an impression of the 2016 Oerol Festival.
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