Dancing with your poncho during Summervibes. Photo Sven Menschel Notwithstanding the rain, ‘some one thousand’ people celebrated the summer during the Summervibes campus festival. The area between Forum, Atlas and Orion had been transformed into a small festival site with a stage, bar and swing ride. Were there any summervibes to be found?
Photos below: Sven Menschel
‘The rain, that was a real pity’, co-organiser Chris van Kreij says, looking back on the day. ‘We planned for an event based on a sunny day, yet it rained from start to finish, a real disappointment. Still, the atmosphere was great, and I am really happy with the turnout.’
Van Kreij estimates that some one thousand students and campus employees came. ‘The audience changed during the course of the day. During the afternoon, it was mostly employees, while the guests that came during the evening were mainly students. Many people told me that they were delighted to get together in such an informal setting, and that was precisely our objective: a campus-wide festival.’
Fraternising
Did it still feel like Summervibes, with all that rain? ‘Haha, good question. I enjoyed seeing how people managed to get the vibe going despite the rain. Dancing in the rain together unites, but calling it summery would be taking it too far. In this weather, the name is not altogether appropriate.’
Van Kreij and co-initiator Sjef Moling hope for a new edition next year. ‘A new event always means we have to see how it goes. Did we hit the right nerve? We feel we did. We will evaluate and see whether there are options for the next edition and, if so, how. In any case, we think we have had enough rain to last us for the next ten editions, so we are counting on sunshine and 25 degrees for the next one.’
Ten cents of each token sold at the festival went towards the charity Adopt Rainforest. The preliminary result is 800 euros, enough for 320m2 of protected rainforest.
