By Anne Brugts, content manager Story Terrace 

The festival sentiment of an organiser

Maarten Aland is festival. As a member of the organisation of well-known Dutch festivals such as Valtifest, Open Air and Voltt, he has the concept of festival running through his veins. In this interview he tells us about weeding Dance Valley’s festival ground, the festival bubble and his principle of doing-learning-experiencing.

‘Festivals are unique,’ Maarten states. ‘The feeling of being outside, living with nature, watching a sunset. I love the feeling of space and liberty that a festival breathes out. That’s one thing that applies to all the festivals I like. I love trees, for example, and it might be hard to find one of those in a club…’

By bicycle to Dance Valley

One of his first festival memories dates from when he was around 14 years old. ‘Together with other boys from my neighbourhood, we went to the Dance Valley site by bicycle to help get the field ready. Dance Valley took place on a farmer’s field near the Dutch village of Spaarnwoude, and the ground needed to be prepared for the festival. It was a vacation job which involved raking the field, preparing it with tractors, that sort of activity. It kept us busy for 10 days in a row. Dance Valley wasn’t as huge as it is today, but it was still quite a big job. Later on, the work would be outsourced to reputable companies.’

Rise of festival multinationals

Doing small jobs for festival organisations grew to taking on more substantial jobs in the sector. ‘A friend of mine had a nose for business and he started a bar company. For several years I worked with him on festivals such as Vollt, Valtifest, Open Air, Appelsap, and Kingsday. That way I more or less grew into the business.’

Since Maarten has been working in the festival scene for so long, he’s able to draw a comparison between festivals 20 years ago and nowadays. ‘In the last couple of years, festival organisations have gone through an enormous professionalisation. Organisations that started out as a group of three friends have grown into multinationals.’ Festivals have grown bigger and bigger and that hasn’t necessarily resulted in a better atmosphere at the events, Maarten argues. ‘A form of entertainment has arisen that often focuses on the trinity of music, alcohol and drugs.’

No regular Friday-afternoon drink

Maarten came to feel he wanted to change this. The festivals that he organises himself offer a totally different vision. ‘I want to return to a smaller scale and sense of intimacy. I believe festival goers are looking for this. Apart from that, the way I want to experience a festival is completely different and I want to communicate this to the audience. All elements have to interact at a festival, is my belief. The location, the lighting, the decorations, the bar staff, the people that welcome you at the entrance. Everything combines to create the atmosphere at a festival.

This way, a festival returns to being a special experience, he says. ‘Visiting festivals has tended to become an ordinary habit, something that isn’t notable anymore. It’s like a meeting place where everyone goes as a matter of course, as if for a Friday-afternoon drink. I find it important to make a conscious choice about the events you attend and to make sure they are special to you.’

Doing-learning-experiencing

‘In organising my recent festivals, I’ve implemented a principle of doing-learning-experiencing. Surfana, a festival I organised at the beach last June, is a good example. We applied my principle by arranging a series of activities for visitors, such as surf lessons and wine tasting. And there was a lady who took visitors into the dunes, where she gave a workshop on edible foods found in the wild. The activities stimulate people, and they gain a sense of connectedness through taking part together. It increases the feeling of living in a happy bubble for a few days.’

Fairy tale at the Flevoparkbad

Maarten’s upcoming project is Restival, a recycling festival that is decorated entirely out of things left over from previous festivals. ‘During the season we noticed that after every festival we had a load of stuff we wouldn’t use any more, and naturally it would be thrown away. This was niggling at us and we decided to make a change.’

Recycling is a concept that Maarten supports 100 per cent, but it proves to be difficult to implement. ‘It takes a lot of time to collect the stuff, take it to a depot and transport it.’ Luckily, they get a lot of help from volunteers. ‘Many people help behind the scenes, and DJs do their acts for free as well. Together we create our own fairy tale at the Flevoparkbad in Amsterdam.’

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This month we celebrate festival memories. Also see our article Top 5 Most Bizarre Festivals and other stories. What’s your most treasured festival memory?