The future of the Tilburg Dance Festival Wermaelolen is in danger. The province finds the site where the festival takes place not suitable for events. The site in the forests is part of the Nature Network Brabant, which are areas in which nature must be able to develop in peace. Warring mill says that she has actually improved the natural value of the location. Since there is no alternative location, the decision of the province would mean the end of merry -go -round. The organization has therefore started a petition.
The two-day festival, which attracts 13,000 visitors per day, will be held at the MOB complex in Tilburg since 2019. “It is an old mobilization complex, which never worked with a view to nature and was not looked at,” says Hannah Zwaans, co -organizer of Wrake. “The value of the land was bad and sour. In the first years we found grenades. We investigated how we could make the site bloom again.”
For example, the organization has removed dead trees on the site, built paths, built nature walls and laid out a butterfly garden. As a result, insects and other animals can live and grow there. “We do this especially around the period that the festival is held, but also throughout the year. We have good contact with the man who lives next to the site. He keeps an eye on what is happening and the grass mows, we take care of the garden. After the festival we naturally ensure that every piece of waste is removed from the site, so that everything is clean again,” says Zwaans.
“A festival does indeed disrupt nature.”
When the structure of the festival starts, the animals that live on the site slowly go to surrounding nature reserves, such as the Loonse and Drunense Duinen. But they also find their way back after the festival. “Because of us, the site is more livable and more animals have come,” says the festival organizer.
According to Zwaans, the organization has already started doing all those things without ever having a conversation about it, and the organizers are open to see how they can deal with the site even better.
The province indicates that the team is doing good work behind Trek Mill to improve nature. But the starting point of the Nature Network Brabant is that only things are allowed in the affiliated areas that are good for nature. ” A festival with a lot of light and sound does indeed disrupt nature. Despite the good work that the organization does, it therefore does not fit at this location, “says the province.
Organizer Zwaans understands that the festival days, where many people come on the ground, do something with nature. But according to her, it has been legally demonstrated that the presence of merry -go -round still contributes to the site because of all the measures they take in nature.
“As a municipality, we are proud of the festival.”
The municipality of Tilburg supports Festival Wriskolen and calls it an ‘internationally highly regarded cultural event’. “De Woopolen is a iconic festival that we as a municipality are very proud of.”
Zwaans explains that merry -go -round distinguishes itself from other festivals by bringing art, music and nature together and making room for innovation. Visitors and artists come from everywhere. Around 27 percent of the visitors are international and come from Europe, but also from far beyond. “This makes the merry -go -round of great cultural and economic value. We are attracting an international target group to the city and linking the Netherlands to Tilburg instead of Amsterdam,” says the municipality.
The organization has started a petition to safeguard the future of merry-go-round on the mob-complex. It is currently signed 19,115 times. The organization will offer the petition on 19 September.