1/9 Another carnival in Someren-Eind: ‘People want to hustle and party here’
Some people can never get enough of Carnival. Two weeks after Ash Wednesday, the real enthusiasts lined up on Sunday afternoon to watch Karvanstal in Someren-Eind. Eighteen carnival floats competed there for the championship of the Southern Netherlands. Several villages from Brabant and Limburg competed against each other.
Two ladies in the audience from Weert, Limburg, are very firm about it. “In Weert you can easily pick out the Brabant carnival floats. They are much bigger and more spectacular.” But another Limburg visitor disagrees. “They are just as good.”
The rivalry between the people of Brabant and the people of Limburg and the various villages is palpable, but above all there is a great love for carnival everywhere. “I like to come here and when it’s half-fast, I go somewhere again,” says one fanatic.
Karvanstal has a completely different atmosphere than an average carnival parade. “Here you can really take a good look at the technology,” says a resident of Someren-Eind. “That is a lot more difficult during carnival.” In short, a real viewing parade, where the public shows up in civilian clothes, although here and there a scarf or jacket from a carnival association can be seen. But the atmosphere is no less.
“People still want to jump and dance here two weeks after carnival.”
The first edition of Karvanstal was in 2019. “We had to work hard,” says chairman Peter van de Voort. “Of course we had no name recognition. But that has changed now.” The growth is therefore considerable. “We have never had so many participants,” says Van de Voort. “And we now have about seven thousand visitors.”
Some people are secretly happy when Carnival is over after four days of partying. “There is nothing noticeable here,” says Van de Voort. “People still want to jump, dance and have a party here two weeks after carnival.”
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The participants are also very loyal. They are not afraid to wait two weeks before dismantling or selling the car and are happy to travel for an hour to participate. It’s a matter of properly preparing the route, transporting the car in pieces or even taking a low loader with you. “We already came on Saturday,” says Stefan Daris, wagon builder from Bergeijk. “And we’ll bring everything back on Monday morning.”
“After carnival it is much more relaxed, there is less stress with the car.”
“It is very nice to see all the big cars from the region together here again. But we always have to recharge.” Daris hopes for sixth place. “I have seen the car from Leende, last year’s winner. It will be very popular, I think.”
Jordi Vlemmix of the wagon construction group from Leende does not feel pressured to defend the championship title. “But this year we are going for it again, the bar is high, we want to win again.”
Jordi really enjoys participating in a parade two weeks after carnival: “Building is so much fun, together with your friends in a barn, having fun. Such a parade is now much more relaxed. There is much less stress with the car,” he says. “On your first carnival parade there is always last minute something you still need to make or repair. Now everything is just ready and well prepared. Have a beer and then go.”
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The results of the parade are expected on Sunday evening around ten o’clock and you can read about them later in this article. Haven’t you had enough of carnival yet? Then check out our special website with all the carnival news: www.omroepbrabant.nl/carnaval