Although autumn is already approaching, the municipality of Aa en Hunze organized a New Year’s reception tonight. “It was a successful evening, worth repeating,” says mayor Anno Wietze Hiemstra.
No oliebollen and hot chocolate, but summer snacks and drinks at the New Year’s reception on the Brink in Annen. According to the municipality, that suited the remarkably late date of the meeting better.
The weather just didn’t cooperate during the New Year’s reception; it rained almost incessantly tonight. “It looked like autumn. Outside it is a big mud puddle,” said the mayor. “But we still had a summer atmosphere inside.”
Normally a New Year’s reception falls in the first or second week of the year. The meeting in Annen was postponed to September for various reasons. “Due to corona measures, we have often seen and spoken to residents and organizations in our municipality digitally. The New Year’s reception was also canceled twice,” says Hiemstra. “In addition, we are not sure whether it can go ahead next January.”
It also plays a role that Aa en Hunze now has a new council and the new city council has been working for a few months. “They also want to get to know residents, associations and organizations even better,” says Hiemstra. “The emphasis tonight was on connection, especially at a time when there are a lot of contradictions.”
Despite the fact that 2022 only has three full months to go, the municipality decided to stick to the name New Year’s reception. “We thought it was a nice, playful name for a small-scale event that mainly revolves around getting to know each other and chatting,” Hiemstra explains.
The mayor does not rule out the possibility that the New Year’s reception of Aa and Hunze will also take place later in the year in 2023. “We had a full tent, it was very pleasant. It is something to repeat and then in another village. It will also be an anniversary year next year, because then our municipality will be 25 years old.”