There was great disappointment in 2020 and 2021 with the organization of the Zuidenveld Festival. In both years there was an end to the agricultural festival, which would celebrate its centenary in the oil village of Schoonebeek. Thanks to the current relaxation, the organization sees a chance to finally celebrate that long-delayed party in July this year.
The Zuidenveld is a combination of livestock inspections, equestrian sports and a folk festival, complete with a float parade. The event is held annually in one of the eight main centers of the former municipalities in Southeast Drenthe (Schoonebeek, Coevorden, Dalen, Oosterhesselen, Sleen, Zweeloo, Emmen and Odoorn).
A special edition was planned for 2020. In that year, the Zuidenveld Exhibition Association existed exactly one century. “Everyone was already busy with the street decorations and the floats”, remembers Trijn Finke of the local committee in Schoonebeek. Due to corona, the event was forced to go on ice.
floats
The party is now on defrosting mode, says Finke. “Last week we consulted with the Exhibition Association. We came to the conclusion that the festival can continue under certain conditions. There is some air again.” The Zuidenveld is scheduled for 7 to 11 July.
“As a local committee, we go for the competitions and the inspections anyway.” A float parade is also in the pipeline. A members meeting will follow in March in the FC Emmen stadium. “Then we’ll see how and what we can do next.”
Volunteers
Despite the good news for the organization, a number of challenges must be taken into account. A persistent problem is the decline in volunteers. “Older people will stop at some point because of their age. The younger generation already has a full agenda due to work and family.”
A number of Zuidenveld villages have already indicated that it is becoming increasingly difficult to deliver a float for the parade.” Moreover, the regulations for building a cart have become stricter. “You have to comply with more and more rules, including construction materials. It’s a bit different.”
Corona policy
Despite this, the shoulders are going down again and everything is being done to make it another memorable edition, says Finke. As far as the centenary is concerned, an attempt is made to attract one or more artists of stature.
The question is how the corona policy will work by then and how much room that leaves for the program. “There are still a lot of meetings on the agenda in the coming period, so we will look at that.”