In Nieuw-Weerdinge this summer the flag can go out. The village is celebrating its 150th anniversary, and the Zuidenveld party is also celebrated there. But which flag should be high in the top? As for Local Interest, a brand new village flag.
Two primary schools, two football clubs, an outdoor swimming pool and a village hall where a lot of activities are held. Nieuw-Weerdinge, which has approximately 3500 inhabitants, has quite a lot. But there is no own village flag. Why not? There are quite a few villages in Drenthe with their own flag. Wim Katoen, chairman of Local Interest, shrugs. “That’s a question I don’t have an answer to. In all these years it apparently never happened.”
Lack of time could not have been the argument, the village has existed for 151 years. The 150th anniversary was supposed to be celebrated last year, but this has been moved up a year due to corona. This summer, therefore, there is plenty of partying in the elongated village between Emmen and Ter Apel. According to Local Interest, a wonderful opportunity to put out your own village flag in Nieuw-Weerdinge. She therefore calls on villagers to come up with a suitable design.
Not round or a triangle
The village association does not have a list of guidelines that the design must meet. ,,Except that it must have something to do with Nieuw-Weerdinge and its history. But that seems obvious to me. And we assume a flag with regular dimensions. So no round flag or a flag in the shape of a triangle.”
Nieuw-Buinen celebrates its 200th anniversary in the middle of this year and unveiled its own flag at the end of last year, designed by primary school children. A few months earlier, Hijken presented its village flag. Was Local Interest Nieuw-Weerdinge inspired by these initiatives? “No,” said Cotton. ,, That was because a flag of Nieuw-Weerdinge was recently made in a certain street in the village. Then we thought: a great initiative, but also something that we should involve the whole village in.”
Jury
The Nieuw-Weerdinge flag that has already been made can of course also be submitted as a design. “We are going to form a jury with five people and we hope that villagers will make it quite difficult for these jury members. In other words: that many beautiful designs are coming in.”
Entries must be in by March 31. Local Interest wants to announce the winning design during the annual meeting on 25 April. “The idea is that people who would like to have such a flag, then report to Local Interest. We can then have a certain quantity made and offer it at a relatively low rate.”