The celebration of King’s Day has of course changed over the years, but the atmosphere has actually remained the same. Jaap van der Borg, the chairman of the Oranjevereniging Zuidlaren, knows this.
The Oranjevereniging Zuidlaren has an archive with brochures and photos. It also contains images of the visit of Queen Beatrix and her family to the village in 1982.
The royal family then walks through the village and sees, among other things, children making chalk drawings at the intersection at the Brink and a game of skill, in which children cross a large water puddle via a rope ladder. Balloons are also released. “It must have been a wonderful party, you can see that from the images,” says Van der Borg, “but I wasn’t there, I didn’t live in Zuidlaren yet.”