Camping festival goers in Grolloo have a day ahead of those in Emmen. In Grolloo it is Friday morning for some people to have breakfast with an aspirin, in Emmen the first bottles of beer open at that time.
The front field of camping Boerhaarshoeve is packed with campers, tents, caravans and folding trailers from visitors of the Holland International Blues Festival, which takes over Grolloo on Friday and Saturday. The mood is immediately good during breakfast.
The sun is shining, the egg is perfectly soft-boiled, the birds are chirping. The blues seem far away on Friday morning at festival campsite Boerhaarshoeve in Grolloo. Although… Herma Meisen and Joop Kuiper from Deventer went to Oerol on Terschelling for years at the beginning of June. Herma even thirty years. Not this year for the first time. Still swallowing.
Oerol blues
But their Oerol blues disappeared like snow in the sun on Thursday evening at the first sounds of the Hammond organ of the Nick Bult Boogie Blues Band. On Thursday evening they danced the soles of their shoes to the howling of the roaring warbling keyboard. And then wonderfully under sail. “We are here with the folding carriage,” says Joop.
A table away, Bloem and Remco Barends are preparing for two days of music. They are hard at it. They enjoy life in Portugal and are back in the Netherlands for a while. “With the camper”, says Bloem.
I leave
“For a renovation”, Remco adds. The Ik Departure vibes sizzle over the breakfast table, Remco readily admits, ,,but we rejected that program. Our son has bought a house and we are helping him.” Nice and kind, the love for the family, but now the couple desperately need a break from the construction debris and the roar of the jackhammer. “Wonderful, two days of music,” says Bloem. “And people watch.” It is noticeable that there are many men walking around in black T-shirts. “And a beer belly”, Bloem noticed.
Indeed, half a dozen burly fellows slurp down the eggs at one of the breakfast tables. Black shirt with print: Grolloo Blues Team. Peter Verschoor reveals that they come from Zeeland where they all do something together in the assembly of holiday chalets. The bow can’t always be tense and that’s why they’ve been coming to Grolloo for years for the blues festival. The younger colleagues let themselves be carried away without a complaint. “We will teach them what the blues is,” Verschoor assures.
Aspirin
Ronald and Stuart Hummel are sitting in front of their caravan. They come from Zevenhuizen. Province of Groningen, that is. They could easily sleep at home without missing a gig, but they opt for the campsite. “Because of the festival feeling,” says Ronald. That feeling hits both brothers quite well, given the aspirin on the camping table. “We are now four men. Previously with eight.” The enthusiasm in itself is not less, the Hummel brothers think, but the competition, this weekend alone, from other events is: ,,Oerol, Springsteen and the Hello Festival in Emmen.”
First camping guest in Emmen
Rudie Habing from Valthe is again the first at the campsite of the Hello festival at the Rietplas in Emmen this year. “I was already standing in front of the gate with my fire engine at eleven o’clock on Friday evening. I always like to be right at the entrance. The most beautiful spot, because then I see everyone passing by.”
He has been a camping guest from the very beginning. Music is secondary to him. ,,I think that on Saturday I will spend more time at the campsite than at the festival site. Grab a beer and enjoy. The atmosphere is so very good. You have continuous contact, everyone walks around here with a broad smile.”
Next year he can walk to the festival site, because he has bought a plot right next to it. “Look, there will be my barn house between the trees. No, I’m not moving especially because of Hello, mind you. Pure coincidence that it turned out that way. But even though I will soon be living on the festival site, I will also come back next year with my fire engine. I like that. And that’s how people know me.”
A group of friends from Peize has entrenched itself in a corner of the campsite. They are already behind the beer at half past ten. ,,But the first bottles opened around eight o’clock, when we were still waiting in front of the gate. Tradition, isn’t it,” says Wim Dekker, who is the only one of the bunch who is preparing for a luxurious stay. Because he sleeps in the horse trailer, the rest has to make do with a small tent.
Box spring in horse trailer
,,Look, I brought my own box spring”, Dekker points to his bed. The fridge full of beer. The barbecue next door. That’s all we need. We’re ready for it.” But wait, barbecuing? Due to the drought, the organization just announced a ban on Thursday evening. Richly late, the friends judge. Because all the meat was already smashed. Other camping guests also complain about the barbecue ban, which also applies to gas or electric barbecues.
Wim Beekman of the organization can imagine the disappointment. “We are also sorry. But we do this on the advice of the fire brigade. It’s been bone dry for weeks. Just look how dry the grass is. We don’t want to take any risks. Extra food trucks have now been arranged for the campsite.”
Heat
Because of the predicted heat, the group of friends from Peize hastily bought hats to keep a cool head. Beekman points out that there is enough shade on the site, because all stages are in tents. Also the main stage. “The sides are open, so that the wind can blow through. It will not be too bad here at the Rietplas, because the water is always two degrees cooler. But we have arranged more than fifty water taps. And there are also dispensers with sunscreen. Of course, people should also bring their own cream.”
Out of stock
The campsite has a thousand guests. The festival itself has been sold out for weeks with over 17,000 visitors. ,,We could have allowed a little more people on the site”, says Beekman. ,,But we don’t want that, because then you would have to wait longer at the toilets and the bar. We strive for the shortest possible waiting times.
Hello is one day again these days. Beekman does not see a return to two days happening any time soon. ,,Then even more Friday night more.” It has been an intimate party for only the camping guests for many years.