The party week in Nijeveen ended with a bang yesterday afternoon. After three years, the annual fair returned, in extra-large form. There were 141 stalls, three times as many as a few years ago. About a thousand visitors came. And that is important according to the organization, because the market had an additional function.
“Yes, this is really fantastic, a blast”, says organizer Rudi Timmerman. He takes pride in the market, especially the spectacle surrounding a rodeo bull. “We were looking for a bit of hilarity on the market. Then we came up with this idea. We got thirteen well-known residents to compete with each other. More than 500 people were watching, so this was certainly successful.”
A lot of attention is important to Timmerman, because he hopes to achieve a higher goal. The market must better involve new residents of Nijeveen, for example from the Randstad, in the village. “The goal is connection with Nijeveen”, says Timmerman. “We have a lot of new residents. They come to live here in a rural area, but we have to ensure that they bond with the village.”
According to Timmerman, the new neighbors are not always up for voluntary work. “If you ask them something, they all say ‘I can’t, I don’t have time’. We Nijeveners always say ‘it’s good’ and just do it. People from outside have some trouble with that.” What’s that in? Mentality, says Timmerman. “You have to get this from home. I also pass it on to my own sons that they should join the village. Not all the time on the phone or other nonsense.”
To create connections, local associations present themselves, but also entrepreneurs from the region. Such as winegrower Peter Pels who grows grapes between Nijeveen and Havelte. “You have to let people taste it and tell them that it comes from the backyard. Then people like it and usually also enjoy it. People know wine, but do not know that it is also made in Drenthe,” says Pels.
“I’m amazed at the number of people, it’s really a lot!”, continues the happy winemaker. He thinks that integration of the new residents will be fine. “I’m also a Westerner, my wife helped me with it. She always said: ‘If you just come to live here in Drenthe, you keep your big Amsterdam mouth shut for the first six weeks. You listen to those Drenthe, then you try to talk to come with them.’ That worked, then everything went automatically.”