Swinging and waving in the Eurohal in Zuidbroek. Fair instead of Christmas. “Tomorrow evening we will go to the Chinese and play old-fashioned board games.”
If you pay close attention, you will hear a fragment of a Christmas song here and there. Feliz Navidad and Last Christmas . But the fairground sounds dominate this Christmas holiday in the Eurohal in Zuidbroek.
Fair instead of Christmas
Going to the fair instead of high mass, it’s something different. And very popular, as became apparent over the past 50 years when KerstPlaza settled in Martinplaza. Even on this first fair day in Zuidbroek, the Sunday before Christmas, the indoor fair has not lost its popularity. There are lines out the door.
“It’s close to home, let’s go here,” Sharon (30) from Scheemda explains her choice for KerstPlaza. She is with her toddler daughter and 7-year-old son. She finds the entrance fee of 17 euros, also for her 7-year-old son, on the pricey side.
Hours of fun for 17 euros
At the same time, it offers 17 euros entrance to 20 attractions. Anyone who sits in the bumper cars without interruption will be entertained for hours in the Euro Hall.
Kasper (28) from Winschoten wanders through the hall with his wife and two small children. It goes past the punching bag, past the bratwurst sandwiches, the cotton candy. “When we were little we already went to the indoor fair in Martiniplaza,” he says. And he doesn’t think it’s expensive at all. “You spend a lot more at a regular fair.”
If you look through his eyelashes, you can also see something romantic in it. Swinging together in a seat in the Music Express during the Christmas holidays. “Last rrr round,” says the accompanying fairground operator.
MartiniPlaza and Eurohal do barter
Organizer Arnold Por from KerstPlaza is at the entrance. He looked ugly last year when Martiniplaza in Groningen canceled the indoor fair. Martinplaza’s preference was for the international equestrian competition, which was too cramped in the Eurohal in Zuidbroek.
Por had to swallow hard. He himself was at the helm of KerstPlaza for 20 years, which had been located in Martiniplaza for half a century.
He found a new home in the Eurohal and this Sunday before Christmas is a kind of test run. To his delight, the audience knows how to find their way there. The fair will remain there until January 7.
Still a Christmas mood at the fair
A ticket inspector, who has been involved with KerstPlaza for many years, has his own opinion. “This fair was once intended for young people from the city neighborhoods. By taking it away from Martinplaza you are taking something away from that youth. Why not organize something for the young people, but for a horse competition, something for the elite, right?”
“Boys, do you want this?” a man asks two boys standing near the gambling machines. They receive a festive coin of 20,000 points. It looks like Christmas! They exchange the coin for an infinite number of crackers.
The Baalmans family – grandmother from Veendam, daughter and son-in-law plus children from Delfzijl – says they are not at Christmas Plaza to get into the Christmas spirit. “It’s tradition for us. My father-in-law always liked it and even now that he has passed away, we always go there. And now that it is in Zuidbroek, it is nice and close.”
On Christmas Day they go to Chinese at Golden City in Veendam. “And we also play old-fashioned board games. Monopoly, I Love Holland and Settlers of Catan.”