Source: Peter Goedhart
Call it a blessing in disguise. Due to the rainfall, the parking lot of the Oldtimer Festival in Venhuizen was no longer available to park cars, but an alternative was quickly found. Thousands of visitors were brought to the festival by bus, including an old English one.
No fewer than 9 halls, the size of three football fields, were yesterday and today on the Torenweg in Venhuizen decorated with classic cars, trucks and old motorcycles. Under which many English models from brands such as Plymouth, Chrysler or Dodge. The Caddilac or Chevrolet are present from the 1950s.
“If you listen carefully, you can now hear a band playing. There are all kinds of children dancing on stage,” says organizer Jeff de Lange enthusiastically. A little further away – in another hall – a duo is playing. One with saxophone, the other on guitar. It is clearly not just old cars, motorcycles and mopeds that steal the show in Venhuizen.
‘Controlled madhouse’
The first day attracted approximately 3,000 to 4,000 paying visitors. “But there were probably more, because everyone who has a car or motorcycle here gets a free ticket. It was a madhouse, but a controlled madhouse.”
The rain shower that fell during the night from Sunday to Monday was disastrous for the meadow that serves as a parking lot. “A total of 1,000 cars can be parked there, but that was not possible. So our alternative traffic plan came into effect. People can park their cars along the road and be picked up by shuttle buses. There are four of them driving around, including a very beautiful English one.”
20 traffic controllers
It creates a long line of parked cars. “I think 8 to 9 kilometers in total. In a panic? No. We have 20 traffic controllers who are all certified and trained. After all these years, we are well prepared.”
These are busy days for Jeff, who will soon move on. “It’s enjoyable. Not only for the visitors, but also for us as an organization. We already said to each other: ‘What else would all those people do for Easter?’”
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