What was supposed to be the ultimate warm-up for carnival in Oosterhout will not take place at all this year. A similar party last year was sold out quickly and ticket sales for the 2026 edition also went well. Yet organizer Niels Houtepen blows Ut Snowball and Ut Nasibal completely finished now. Not because of disappointing figures, but because of hassle with the name.
Niels, who organizes large and small festivals with his events company, came up with a carnival warm-up for the first time last year: Ut Nasibal. With big names such as Veul Gère, Lamme Frans and Vieze Jack, all 5500 tickets were sold out quickly.
Brand new festival
To make the event profitable, he decided to program two days this year: first the new après-ski-like Ut Snowball, followed by the carnivalesque Ut Nasibal. “A large-scale tent, security, technology, catering: that costs a lot,” Niels explains. “If you build that up for two days, you can spread the costs. Only then do you have a chance of getting something out of it.”
“The early bird tickets flew out the door,” says Niels. Everything seemed ready for a successful edition, until a phone call came from Utrecht. The Snowball Festival, a house and rave event, takes place there a week earlier. They saw the similarity between the names and raised the alarm.
Arguing over the name
That fell raw on Niels’ roof. “We had certainly seen that festival in our brand research, but because we are a small, local and carnivalesque party, with a completely different target group and atmosphere, we did not expect any problems with it.” ‘Snowball’ is also a general word. “You can’t set limits on that, can you?”, says the organizer.
But a conversation with the Utrecht organizer quickly turned formal. On the advice of his lawyer, Niels chooses not to wage a legal battle. “It would take weeks of litigation without us being able to work on the festival. And if we lose, it would cost a huge amount of money. That risk is too great.”
The result: Ut Snowball has to be called off, and Ut Nasibal is pulled along. “All costs – tent construction, technology, security, catering – are based on two full festival days. One day is not enough,” Niels explains. “Then we make a loss. We simply have to operate for two days to be able to pay for the event.” That is why Ut Nasibal, which was sold out last year, is now collapsing.
Why doesn’t Ut Snowball continue under a different name?
Everyone who has purchased a ticket will automatically receive a full refund of the purchase price, Niels assures. But he does get a lot of disappointed reactions. “Many people asked if the party could simply continue with a different name.”
Everything had already been purchased, Niels explains. “Campaigns, posters, social media content, the entire decor was ready,” says Niels. “For a small and local event, it is unaffordable to throw it all in the trash and start over.”
There is also time pressure. “We would then have to start a completely new campaign in January. Then you only have one month to sell 2,500 tickets. That is far too short, especially for a new brand that does not yet have a fan base.”
The organization hopes that visitors will understand and that trust will remain. “Last year we made a lot of people happy, and we want to do that again next year.”