Valthermond will not be in existence for exactly 175 years until 2028, but behind the scenes the party has already started. Or better said: the preparations. Because you don’t organize an anniversary like this on the fly. Gunhar Koops, chairman of the anniversary organization, knows this better than anyone. “You can’t do this in a month,” he says, laughing. “This will take years.”
The anniversary celebration is organized on a grand scale once every 25 years. “We are not a club that does this every year,” Koops explains. “That’s what makes it special.” At the start they were given the script from 25 years ago, including floppy disks. “That was the time then, but now we have come a little further,” he says.
But it has not been easy, on the contrary. “Nowadays you have to deal with many more rules. Permits, subsidies, nitrogen, you name it. That’s why we want to be there early. Grow enthusiasm and let it slowly seep out.”
The plan is ambitious: ten days of celebration, with activities every day and evening. “We want to bring back that real village atmosphere,” says Koops. “That feeling that Valthermond is one.”
That is no small task in an elongated village. “You can’t get everyone on board automatically, so we really have to get to work.”
The program takes on all kinds of flavors. Think of party evenings, a Dutch evening, a pub quiz, sports activities and a reunion for former Valthermonders. There will also be another major review. “That was very popular 25 years ago,” says Koops. “Now we bring it to this time, and the script was also written ourselves.” His father wrote the review 25 years ago, and now his sister does so.
Koops: “We have found an enthusiastic group and the meetings are going well. We even already have a draft program.”
Everyone who experienced the previous anniversary remembers that one feeling above all. “Afterwards everyone said: Valthermond was one again,” says Koops. “That is again the aim.”
