The TT Festival will be kicked off this year with an opening parade. The tour runs from the Veemarktplein to the center of Assen.
The starting shot for the festival will be given on Saturday 17 June. Acrobats from youth circus Bombari, players from the Abacus Theater and musicians from the Mercurius Showband, among others, are taking part in the parade. Children can also participate in an outfit of their own choice. The tour departs from the fairground via the center and ends at the finish of the TT City Run in the Torenlaan.
“We want to give the opening extra attention this year,” says Tamara Boor of the TT Festival about the new part. “We had these plans for some time, but in recent years little has been possible due to the corona pandemic.”
At the same time, the TT City Run will start, a new event and initiative of the former organizations of the TT Run and the Asser Stadsloop. According to organizer Stefan Zevenberg, registrations are going fast. More than 1,000 runners have already signed up to complete the route from the TT Circuit to the Asser center. “That is beyond expectations,” he says. “And those are not just people from Assen. They come from all over the country and even from abroad.”
The organization hopes for at least 2,500 participants. “We will achieve that number, because most registrations have yet to come,” thinks Zevenberg.
While the TT Run called it quits after thirteen editions due to, among other things, a lack of volunteers, that problem does not seem to be an issue with the new running event. The TT City Run can count on at least 75 volunteers. “We will manage with that, but we can always use more help,” says Zevenberg.
In addition to the opening tour and TT City Run, more parts are known. For example, the Gouverneurstuin will once again be renamed TT Theater Garden, this time with an improvisation theater in which the visitors are part of the performance. This cultural activity was organized for the first time last year. A low-stimulus afternoon at the fair and the TT Kids Festival are also on the program again.