Everyone who goes to Dirkendag in café Tante Pietje in Den Oever today has one thing in common: the name. People named Dirk or a variant of it are admitted. It’s a party you won’t find anywhere else. “It’s the fun. You don’t have to remember difficult names,” one of the Dirks tells NH Nieuws.
Dirken have been meeting once a year in the Kop van Noord-Holland for almost 40 years, traditionally a week before the Flora and Fisheries Days. The first Dirkendag was in 1984. Five men sat next to each other in the cafe, all of whom were called Dirk. The idea then came to gather as many Dirks from the Netherlands as possible the following year.
An appeal was placed in the Wieringer Courant and that led to a turnout of nineteen Dirks.
Annual event
The event has now become an integral part of Den Oever. About 50 Dirks come together every year. Of these, 40% is usually new, the others are loyal regulars. Everyone then throws a tenner in the pot at the beginning of the afternoon and then snacks and drinks are handed out. “It is not an association or club. You are not tied to anything and that makes it so much fun”, says one of the Dirks.
To enter the cafe you must show an ID. Dirk-Jannen, Dikken and Dicken are also welcome, but ‘there are limits’. Because anyone who is not called Dirk-Jan, but Jan-Dirk, is not allowed in. Not only men with the name Dirk are allowed to come: Dik/Dick, Dirkje for women and Dirk-Jan are also allowed. But then again not Jan-Dirk. The name really should start with Dirk.
Because it can be quite difficult to find the right Dirk in such a company, many Dirks have added a prefix to their name: Super-Dirk, Lange Dirk, Nieuwe Dirk, they were all present today.