A mop orchestra, folk singer, barbecue and fire barrels instead of the bonfire on New Year’s Day. After several incidents, the long-standing tradition in Opperdoes was canceled. Nevertheless, the initiators and the municipality of Medemblik look back on the party with satisfaction. “A big compliment to the village.”
Organizer Martin van Driel from Opperdoes stuck his neck out and came up with an alternative celebration on the Gouw. The party lasted until 6 p.m., because from 7 p.m gather together in the square prohibited to prevent nuisance, according to the municipality of Medemblik.
About 100 villagers attended the party and it went off without incident. He looks back on the first edition with satisfaction. “I would like to thank everyone who has been there, stood there, helped or accepted it in any way. A big compliment to the village,” he says. “The atmosphere was good, it was very pleasant.” If it were up to him, the party would continue this year.
Agreements kept
The municipality of Medemblik is also happy with how things turned out. According to Mayor Michiel Pijl, the agreements have been ‘properly’ complied with. “I think it is positive that a number of residents have done their best to organize a different New Year’s Eve celebration in the Gouw. Clear agreements were made in advance and it went well,” he says. Boas have also been deployed to enforce the square.
An evaluation will take place with the initiators in January to discuss the first edition, the municipality informed NH. “During this evaluation we can discuss what went well and what we can still improve.”
View images of the party below:
Traditional bonfire canceled due to incidents
It was a tradition in Opperdoes on New Year’s Day for a long time, but that is no longer possible: the bonfire. Last year things got out of hand again, despite the measures taken. A caravan went up in flames and the police were attacked with fireworks. The community had had enough and the funeral pyre was banned.
Documents in NH’s possession show that the municipality has invested a lot of money and time to prevent the problems. And where things seemed to go well at first, things eventually went wrong. NH wrote a reconstruction about how the bonfire got out of hand despite measures.