Elise Kerner and Chris Bol are organizing Voel het Veen Festival this weekend in their concert farm d’Rentmeester in Valthermond. With the festival they want to tell a positive story about living on the peat.
“We came up with this festival together with other people from the village and the municipality,” says Kerner. “The question was how we can put the peat in a positive light? Then we came up with Feel the Peat. That actually says it all: come here and you will feel and see that it is beautiful.”
“A lot of people think: what am I supposed to do here? And that’s a shame, because there is a lot to be found here,” says Kerner. Although there are major differences with other areas, Bol realizes. “For example, on the sand you have more forests and heathland. In the peat it is more straightforward.”
“But you also enjoy the openness of the area more here,” Bol emphasizes. “You can feel all the elements better here. I always call it the Drenthe prairie. And the sadness and purity of the people here is really fantastic. It was about time to approach the positive side of this area.”
Theater maker Hans van der Werf was asked to write a monologue especially for the festival. Marit Nygård has also written songs that she sings during a walk. Regional language artists Marlene Bakker and Erwin de Vries will also perform. The intention is for Voel het Veen to become an annual event.