23-year-old Tamika van Haaren from Udenhout can call herself the queen of the Corn Festival in Loosbroek for a year. The blonde beauty won this prestigious title after she was allowed to model for the Farmer’s Calendar. At the Loosbroek festival Høken & Hakselen, three farmers were crowned as prize winners on Saturday evening. Thanks to Tamika’s special talent, she walked away with a prize.
Despite her hoarse voice, Tamika can’t stop talking about her festive weekend on Sunday. “They were two pleasant evenings,” the winner reflects. Saturday evening in particular had a golden edge for the 23-year-old from Udenhout.
“I thought: if I don’t win anything, that’s fine too. I also gave it to the other girls, but I am a real Brabantian so to be able to call myself queen of a Brabant festival is a nice prize,” she laughs.
The ball started rolling a year ago at the same Høken& Hakselen festival in Loosbroek. “I jokingly asked the organization at the campsite why I had never made it to the Farmer’s Calendar,” says Tamika. She was advised to register, after which she could participate in a photo shoot for the calendar in June. All models from the calendar showed themselves again on Saturday evening for a chance to win the title of Miss Boerin.
“I call myself a bomb farmer these days.”
To participate in the Farmer’s Calendar, she had to have a link with the agricultural sector, but that was not the case. “When I was young, I didn’t want a standard part-time job in the supermarket. That’s why I went to work on a friend’s farm. I milked cows there for ten years,” she says.
Even today, Tamika has no problem digging in the sand with her hands. “I do soil research at new construction projects, among other things, to detect explosives. I now call myself a bomb farmer at work,” she laughs.
The fourteen participants had to complete three rounds on Saturday evening. During the first round they did a dance for the audience, which they had prepared earlier. During the second round they had to go on stage in a ‘calendar-worthy outfit’.
Her outfit was not very striking, the winner explains. Because it was exactly the same as her outfit on the calendar: cowboy boots, a vest and pants. So she had to stand out in a different way. “Farmer Bennie, who is on the jury, thought it was important that Miss Boerin could drink well. I had a beer and the audience went wild,” she laughs. In the third round she entered the stage in a neat dress, waiting for the jury’s verdict.
“Just a down-to-earth barn party.”
“I thought it was exciting to be on stage by myself,” Tamika admits. But when the final judgment came and she walked away with second prize, all the tension was lifted from her shoulders. “I don’t regret it at all. I had a great time with all the girls.”
She is not sad that she missed out on the first prize, because the title Miss Høken& Hakselen is exactly what she did it for. That title also immediately crowns her queen of the Corn Festival. “I have been going to the festival with my group of friends for years. It is a big tent party, just a down-to-earth farmer’s party.” The win means she will at least be assured of a spot in the tent next year. “I get a weekend ticket and coins, that’s nice. Other than that, I actually have no idea what the title of a queen means,” she laughs.
