Dutch National Street and Fair Organ Day 2004

Organ Eldorado!
Dutch National Street and Fair Organ Day 2004
Idius Felix Reports

You'll probably know how it is with kids: what to do on a lazy sunday in June? Some time ago I read a little in article in Old Glory Magazine on a vintage organ that had been exported in the 1960s and that would visit The Netherlands for the first time in decades. Next to the article there were some dates on organ festivals in the UK and on the mainland of Europe. One of the events was the Dutch National Organ Day in the Netherlands Open Air Museum. We had heard of this event but actually never visited it before.

My father is in frequent contact with the Dutch showman and vintage fair organ enthusiast Toon Gigengack. He told my father the Dutch Organ Days were a festival definately worth visiting. Since my father was on holiday at the time of the festival he pushed me and my family to visit the festival. Especially because he recently became interested in the Ruth organ of Hinzen for modelling purposes and he knew that this organ would probably be at the festival. And that would make a great opprotunity to take some detailed pictures!

We visited the Netherlands Open Air Museum some years ago. Of course at that time there was no organ festival going on. But we rembered the kids had a lot of fun and liked it. So we thought we just give it a go. And you know how it is with these kinds of shows, when you least expected it, you are in for a really big surpise! We had a great time! This show was fantastic! The wearther was good! Organs played everywhere in the beautifull environment of the open air museum!

The Dutch National Street and Fair Organ Day is an annual event organised by the Netherlands Open Air Museum in cooperation with the Kring van Draaiorgelvrienden KDV (~Dutch Organ Enthusiasts Society). This year the event took place on the 6th of June. On that day there were more than 24 street and fair organs playing all around the museum. Almost all famous Dutch organs were present as well as examples from Belgium, Germany and the UK! And almost every well-known organ builder in Europe was respresented with one or more organs: Gavioli, Ruth, Decap, Limonaire and Frei.

The Netherlands Open Air Museum in Arnhem offers its vistors an image of daily life in the Netherlands between 1700 and 1970 with more than 85 real buildings, such as windmills, farms and houses. Further there is a railway track all around all the museum. Vintage Dutch trams are making their rounds along the track with drivers and conductors wearing their original suits. The initiative for the museum was taken in 1912 and the museum opened its doors for the first time in 1918. The buildings in the museum have originally been used throughout the country and have been moved to the museum. Often this removal has been done brick by brick. The furniture, articles of use and tools from the buildings were moved as well and displayed at the museum. The museum is situated in a big estate which a lot of trees and greens. It thus offers a great environment and background for the organs that attended the event as you can see in te pictures.

The Kring van Draaiorgelvrienden KDV is the Dutch society for the preservation of fair organs, street organs, dance hall organs, orchestrations and other automatic musical instrument, their history and devlopment as well as their present situation. The society was founded in 1954 by a group of organ enthusiasts. So it celebrates its 50th anniversary this year!

Star of this years issue of the Dutch National Street and Fair Organ Day was undoubtedly the organ "De Grote Gavioli". A really great organ now owned by N. Myers from York in the UK. This Gavioli organ played in the Netherlands from 1920 untill 1963. Unfortunately (for the Dutch people) the organ was exported to the UK in 1963. I heard some Dutch organ enthusiasts still regret the fact that the organ was ever expoterd. It seems to be in good hands, because it was in great shape and sounded superb! On the occasion of this organ day the organ returned to the Netherlands for a week for the first time since 1963!

Line up of organs present:

	Organ Name	Present Owner
	De Leeuw	Stichting Vrienden van het Gavioli Orgel De Leeuw, Tiel, The Netherlands
	De Turk	Stichting tot instandhouding de Turk 1908, Deventer, The Netherlands
	Jacobsladder	G. Jacobs, Milsbeek, The Netherlands
	Grote Wellershaus	H. Ballman, Rengsdorf, Germany
	Grote Dorus	Vereniging Draaiorgelvrienden Weststellingwerf, Wolvega, The Netherlands
	De Cementmolen	Roos Family, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
	De Korsikaan	Stichting Carl Frei Concertorgel “De Korsikaan”, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
	Victory	W.M. Kelders, Breugel, The Netherlands
	Pascal	J. Wolsleger, Tilburg, The Netherlands
	De Grote Gavioli	N. Myers, York, United Kingdom
	De Grote Radio	Z. de Ruiter, Rijswijk (ZH), The Netherlands
	36-erRuth	M.W. Verdonk, Nieuwegein, The Netherlands
	Toverfluit	C. van der Meer, Hoek van Holland, The Netherlands
	Montparnasse	J.A. Meulkens, Rijswijk (ZH), The Netherlands
	DeArabier	G. Perlee Draaiorgels, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
	38-erRuth	D. Hinzen, Roermond, The Netherlands
	Anton Pieck	J. van Eyk, Terwolde, The Netherlands
	De Lange Gavioli	Nationaal Museum “Van Speelklok tot Pierement”, Utrecht, The Netherlands
	Wrede	F. van Reeken, Beek (L), The Netherlands
	38-er Ruth	G. Vader, Kolhorn, The Netherlands
	De Jupiter	Stichting Stadsorgel Haarlem Het Kunkels Orgel, Haarlem, The Netherlands
	Carrousel	Duijts P. Duijts-Eckelboom, Rumpt, The Netherlands
	Several little hand turned organs

Last but not least, the famous Dutch Duijts-Eckelboom Vintage Fun Fair was also present at the event with some of their vintage attractions. This time they brought their chair-o-plane with wooden swans, a childrens boat carousel, a caterpillar, a sweets stall, a living van and of course a fairground organ. More on the Duijts-Eckelboom Vintage Fun Fair can be found in an article that appeared on this website in september 2003. Click here for: Steam at the Fortress!

For your enjoyment a seperate picture page has been made on this event with pictures of (almost) all organs present.

Click here for the Picture Gallery on the
Dutch National Street and Fair Organ Event 2004

Watch out: Next years Dutch Street and Fair Organ Day wil be on Sunday 5th of June 2005.
Make sure you'll be there! It's definately worth it. Me and my family will be there for sure!

Until next time!

Text and photographs by Idius Felix,
The Netherlands, July 2004

!	For more information on the Kring van Draaiorgelvrienden (KDV): www.draaiorgel.org
!	For more information on the Netherlands Open Air Museum: www.openluchtmuseum.nl

Strike up the band!!

Street Organ "De Jupiter"

38-er Ruth organ at the open air museum

38-er Ruth organ in front of the windmills

"De Grote Gavioli" for the first time in the Netherlands since 1963!

Limonaire Organ "De Turk" (1908)

36-er Ruth organ of Verdonk
Turning the wheel!

Duijts-Eckelboom chair-o-planes with wooden swans

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