“SIVO Dance Festival Hangs by a Thread: Shortage of Volunteers and Accommodation”

BORGER – The international SIVO dance festival planned for this year in Borger is hanging by a thread. The organization is struggling with a shortage of volunteers and accommodation for the dance groups. Add to that the increasingly strict rules.

,,The bullet is not yet through the church, but I am not very positive for the time being. We run into so many things”, says board member Sjoerd Looijenga. “We will decide within fourteen days whether it will go ahead or not.”

The folkloric dance festival, which was last held in 2019, is on the calendar from 28 to 30 July. In principle, about ten dance groups from the Netherlands and abroad give performances on the lawn at Esdal College.

For the first time in Borger

It is the first time that the dance festival is held in Borger. One of the biggest problems the organization faces is the lack of host families. About forty have registered, but that is not nearly enough to accommodate all dancers. And alternative accommodations such as group accommodations are largely full. “There are Ukrainians or asylum seekers. Or the space is reserved for those groups and must be available immediately”, says Looijenga.

There are also not enough volunteers yet and the SIVO, like other events, has to deal with more and more arrangements. “We suddenly have to have a nature permit, carry out nitrogen calculations and things like that. All in all, we have a lot of problems with everything and anything.”

Outside the summer holidays

The board is now looking into whether a smaller version can be set up this year. A modified SIVO is also being considered in the future. “We will have to look at a different form. Maybe we should sit outside the summer holidays when more accommodations are available. We are also looking at the option of involving foreign dance groups that are located in the Northern Netherlands. Those dancers can then just sleep at home.”

Tradition

SIVO has a long tradition. It originated in the eighties in Odoorn, where at its peak there were six hundred dancers and more than 30,000 visitors. The festival came to an end in 2016, due to the declining number of volunteers and host families for the dancers, especially in the SIVO village of Odoorn.

In 2019 there was a restart in Orvelte. The festival there attracted almost 9,000 paying visitors, according to Looijenga a good basis to build on. The board was therefore enthusiastic when the municipality of Borger-Odoorn came forward. They wanted the festival back within their own municipal boundaries. The choice fell on Borger and both the municipality and the province of Drenthe promised financial support.

War

And then came corona, the virus that has now thrown a spanner in the works for three years in a row. ,,Last year too, foreign dance groups did not dare to come here and host families were hesitant”, says Looijenga. “We are not allowed to ask for a vaccination certificate or anything like that.”

According to him, an additional complicating factor is the war between Ukraine and Russia. “The world has changed. He doesn’t want to do that and he doesn’t want to do that. But it would be a shame if it didn’t happen this year. After all, what is left for the future?”

To register

The organization is urgently looking for host families in Borger, Westdorp, Ees, Drouwen, Gasselte, Nieuw-Buinen, Buinen, Schoonloo, Schoonoord and the organization is also looking for volunteers for the SIVO festival 2023. From Friday 28 to/ on Sunday 30 July in Borger. You can register via info@sivofestival.nl.