For many residents of Obdam, it remains indigestible that the fairground attractions are not on the Dorpsstraat this weekend, but on a vacant lot along the Braken. The free oliebol for children and the elderly and the presence of a train that transports fairgoers does little to change that sentiment. “The soul is out of the fair.”
Due to corona, the fair was forced to move to a site with more space since 2020. This became the site along the Braken, a small kilometer from the center. Because the preparations had already been made, that was also the case last year. A petition was started to get the fair back into the village. This was signed about 800 times in a short time.
A survey conducted by the municipality in April showed that the preference of many Obdammers (87 percent) is a fair on the Dorpsstraat. The outcome was however no effect at the location of this year’s fair. Agreements had already been made with the operators and the attractions already reserved, the municipality had to admit. As a compensation, children and the elderly are treated to an oliebol and a train runs from the center to the fairground during the fair days.
But that gesture does not remove the dissatisfaction. “We were simply misled by the mayor,” says Yvonne Boots, who is walking around the fair with her husband and children on Saturday. “Why are you letting people take a survey fill in if nothing can be changed? Just tell me how it is.”
Peter Feld just parks his bike on the fairgrounds. Ready for a round with the family. “The soul is out of the fair,” he says. “Church, pub and fair belong together. The holy 3 K’s. I now only come here on Saturdays, just with our grandchild. Other years you drank a beer in De Brink village hall, then went to gamble and shoot at the fair and ate another one in between palinkie. That is no longer possible.”
Confidence in local politics
A joke, he calls the survey. “You ask people what they want, but in fact everything has already been decided. Then say: agreements have already been made, so for this year we will do it this way. I don’t like to be fooled. This is at the expense of confidence in local politics.”
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Jaylee (12) and her ‘bestie’ Sara pick up a fresh donut from the cake stand of Bob and Joke Verwijk from Purmerend with the ticket obtained. They have been at the fair in Obdam for many years. The fairground operators have a strong preference for the current location, Joke confirms. “It’s all quite tight on the Dorpsstraat, here we have much more space. And in the village, close to the catering industry, you also have to deal with destruction more quickly. And the traffic situation there is not always safe. But at which location do we next year, I don’t know either. We’ll hear what it will be. If we do go back to the village, maybe we can look at the layout of the fair. So that it will be a bit more spacious.”
No rollator
For the time being, the fairground train that runs back and forth is mainly used by young people. Feld: “It can’t even take a walker, so how are the elderly supposed to get here? It’s a cloth for bleeding, nothing more.”
His preference for next year can be guessed. “Just back in the village. So that the sacred 3 K’s belong together again.”