Massive visitors managed to find Anloo on Saturday. Traditionally, there was all kinds of medieval entertainment in the village. A lack of volunteers almost broke the organization. Now there is hope again.
Satisfied, chairman Henk Doeven looks around in Anloo. The last Etstoel seat is over and here and there people compliment the theater group on their performance. The audience in the old Magnuskerk sympathized with Femmechien Veenhof, the mentally handicapped woman who was sentenced to death. There was laughter at the refusing to work clerk.
Management collapsed
It would have been close or the 35th edition of the Etstoel would not have been there. Last year, the board sounded the alarm. “We then made the decision and said: if it has to be like this, it will not continue,” says Doeven. There was too much work for too few volunteers. “On the day of the Etstoel, the people on the board almost fell over. We didn’t want that anymore.”
Finding extras – 400 people walk around in Anloo in traditional clothing – is never a problem. But also in the run-up to the day a lot has to happen. The board’s call had an effect and apart from a group of twenty to thirty new volunteers, this edition of the Etstoel is organized differently. Although the evaluation is yet to come, it is a good thing.
Gold in the fingers
Inge de Goed and Giten Schoonderwoerd also responded to the call. Together they are responsible for the ins and outs of the market on Saturday. “It cannot be the case that as a village you have 34 years of gold in your fingers and that 35th time does not happen. Together we will make it a wonderful event!”, says De Goed. Schoonderwoerd, who has been a volunteer for years, was also happy to do something extra.
“I think this has been a good choice and the pressure on the board is a bit off, due to this new way of organizing,” says De Goed. Doeven thinks so too. “For now it works. I am hopeful about the future of the Etstoel. It is important that we keep the enthusiasm”, said the chairman.