“The requests for bookings cannot be counted on two hands, really unbelievable.” Mayor Han van Midden van Roosendaal is surprised by the success of his carnival hit ‘Kom West’. Last week, the song he made with his colleague Frank Petter van Bergen op Zoom premiered at Omroep Brabant.
As the occasional duo ‘De Kettinkskes’, both directors advertise West Brabant in the song. “The goal of getting more attention for our region has certainly been achieved,” says Frank Petter. “We have really lost the Calimero feeling. This is the best and cheapest advertisement for the region in years,” adds his colleague from Roosendaal.
“The positive reactions predominate.”
During carnival there is traditionally a playful battle between Tullepetaonestad and ‘t Krabbegat. The fact that the mayors of Roosendaal and Bergen op Zoom are joining forces in the carnival song has caused hilarious reactions on social media.
Frank Petter: “We noticed that the positive reactions predominate. One of the nicest reactions was that of colleague Ruud van de Belt, the mayor of the municipality of Steenbergen. He sent a video from his vacation address in Miami with the song of the Kettinkskes in the background.”
“Of course I have sung a lot as a pastor’s son.”
Both ‘singers’ are also regularly approached on the street. “That you dare to do this. Or; I didn’t know you could sing”, I get to hear. But of course, as a minister’s son, I have sung a lot,” laughs Han van Midden.
Incidentally, despite the whole series of applications, a joint action is not on the agenda. Han van Midden: “Carnaval is the celebration of the prince and all the fun-loving people. We shouldn’t get in the way of that.”
“I’m not saying anything about next year. I like to remain unpredictable.”
Frank Petter will stop as mayor later this year and therefore also as the singer of the Kettinskes. Han van Midden, on the other hand, seems to have got the hang of it. “I’m not saying anything about next year. I like to be unpredictable.”
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