,,This is three times nothing”, grumbles an exhibitor of the fair. The Night of Winschoten has never been so deadly boring. No music, no fun in cafes, just a small fair with hardly any audience.
The market vendor of Tip Top Fashion packed his merchandise back into the car around 6 p.m. on Friday evening. “It was absolutely nothing today. The costs are just gone. A lost day. People are too afraid to come.”
,,Thanks to the criminals”, grumbles a man who watches on a bench how the fair stalls are taken down hours before closing time. ,,I’ve been looking forward to this day all year,” says an older man who is also sitting on the bench. ,,To the fair with the grandchildren.” But due to imminent criminal settlements, the Winschoter is alone in the center of the city. Yet there are no police to be seen, but many security cameras. “Normally you can walk over the heads here.”
Attacks and shootings
Market merchant Khan from Germany had not realized that most of the activities of the large annual folk festival had been canceled due to attacks and shootings in Winschoten, Pekela and the city of Groningen. He goes home with almost as many bags and belts as he came. “First the corona years and now this. A drama.”
At the beginning of the evening, a group of women with children stands in despair in the shopping street de Venne. Where is everything and everyone? Despite the restrictions, they expected to be able to enjoy a fair for a while. But no, due to a lack of clientele – normally the fair, fair and music attract thousands of enthusiasts – the exhibitors give up before nightfall.
Loaded atmosphere
This afternoon, a member of one of the warring gangs walked through the market, says a friend of the women. ,,I was born and raised here and I have seen those boys grow up. There were more from the circuit today, also from the outer villages.” No, no name in the newspaper. “They stop at nothing. It’s not normal for them to just walk around here. There has been a charged atmosphere all day long. It’s good that the municipality has taken precautions.”
The woman lives just behind the Market Square, where it is otherwise a big party during the Night of Winschoten and the day before it. “I no longer feel safe in my own home.”
The fair on the Marktplein also attracts much less visitors than usual. The 40th edition of the Night of Winschoten can be regarded as a major failure.