“Even though he is very far away now, he still feels closer than ever.” Six months after his sudden death, Bjarne and Chinouk reminisce about their father Fred, alias Prince Fred I. For ten years he held sway over ‘Put en Buntland’ during carnival. His death leaves a great void within his family and the Putse carnival. Nevertheless, the organization has decided that the carnival festivities will continue this year: subdued and without a prince.
Fred van Ginneken (54) was the main driving force behind the carnival in Putte for many years. When no one came forward to become prince ten years ago, Fred decided to give it a try. “Dad would actually only do it once, but once he became a prince, he got the hang of it and started to enjoy it more and more,” says daughter Chinouk.
“Dad was loved everywhere, children especially loved him.”
The beloved highness became ‘world famous’ in his village. Bjarne: “When we went shopping in the supermarket, we didn’t get any further. Every time he was approached by people and children who recognized him. He took the time to have a chat with everyone. Dad was loved everywhere, children especially loved him.”
Fred died in May of this year as a result of a ruptured aorta. His death leaves many people in the village devastated. As many as 350 people attended his funeral. Chinouk: “We actually still can’t believe it, it was so unexpected. It’s as if he could walk in at any moment.”
Great loss
One of the annual highlights for Prince Fred I was the annual celebration of the eleventh of the eleventh. “Dad had been working on this for months in advance, everything had to make way for it. While confetti from the year before was still appearing in the room, he was already busy coming up with texts and developing ideas,” says Bjarne.
“Dad was the happiest during carnival, you could see him beaming from ear to ear,” Chinouk agrees with her brother. She continues: “After his death, he lay in the coffin in his prince’s suit. It is very difficult to see your father like this, but he still had a kind of satisfied smile on his face. I am sure he wanted to tell us that he is proud of us and of the carnival party in Putte.”
In Putte, the start of the carnival season is traditionally celebrated on the Friday evening before November 11. “We are not choosing a new prince this year out of respect for Fred. It is a great loss, but we are going to try to make the best of it. This means that most things will continue as usual, including the lantern parade on Friday evening with the children,” says Carlo van Hoof alias Ko.
“We take the stab and the scepter with us everywhere so that Fred is still present.”
“We carry Fred with us in our hearts and in a large photo that is given a prominent place during the various festivities. It feels good to do it this way for our own processing. We also take the stab and the scepter with us everywhere so that Fred is still somewhat there,” adds Adjutant Sabina Stokmans.
Chinouk has planned to celebrate carnival in Putte with her fellow villagers. “In previous years I also went to other places, but this time I will stay here. It will sometimes be quite confrontational and there will be a few tears shed, but that is part of it. I think that because of Dad’s death, people have become closer to each other.”
Bjarne: “Dad planted the seed and I think he really likes that everyone is moving on now. I’m sure he’s up there drinking a schrobbelaerke on us.”
