Anyone who enjoyed the popular festival in Zandvoort last weekend should jump in the car now to visit De Kwakel in North Holland. That village is completely turned upside down today because of a historic fair parade. A striking number of car builders are mocking the holiday chaos at Schiphol this year. Very topical, because things went wrong at the airport yesterday.
“We wanted a topical theme this year. Something that lives”, says Niels Koole of cart number 7 ‘Schiphol op hol’. “And take someone for the Sjaak a bit”, he adds with a laugh. And so he and his regular group of friends built a Schiphol Tower of almost five meters high.
Around the tower are signs like ‘flight delayed’ and part of the group is dressed as a frustrated holidaymaker. “We want to turn a grumpy situation into something funny,” explains Niels. “Travellers had to queue for four hours this summer or their luggage was lost.” The women of the company are dressed as flight attendants. “Because we do have staff!”
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Niels and his friends are not the only ones who were inspired by the chaos at the airport for the design of their car. 5 of the 39 participating teams chose this theme. Michel Lek’s team was also inspired by it. The group has been participating for years and, according to Michel, belongs to the old guard.
“We are always drinking beer and talking a bit stupidly and then someone shouts something nice”, he describes the brainstorming session in which the design of the cart is created. The friends always build these up within a week, so the design should not be too complicated. “We have a lot of suitcases and, for example, ladies who are waiting in front of the counter”, he describes the car. They haven’t been doing it for years for profit. “It’s just very cosy.”
Aalsmeerbaan
De Kwakelaars ignore the theme of noise nuisance from aircraft this year. That is perhaps not surprising, because the village has had a quiet period. The Aalsmeerderbaan, whose flight path goes over the village, was three months closed for maintenance. They also had to spend a lot during two corona years to tolerate fewer planes overhead.
Several participants in the fairground parade have started working with current themes. For example, a group of younger participants is complaining about the shortage on the housing market and the farmers can also count on support. The parade today starts at 9.15 am from the Ringdijk and ends around 3 pm in the center of De Kwakel. It is expected that peace will return to the village only in the late hours.