Oerol Festival
Encyclopedia
Oerol is the name of a Frisian
summer festival that takes place each June on the island of Terschelling
. The 10-day festival is focused on live, public theatre
as well as music and the visual arts.
In the Terschelling dialect, Oerol means "everywhere" or literally "overall" in the sense of covering the entire land (oeral in standard Frisian
). Oerol takes its name from an old Terschelling tradition, when for a short time in early spring cattle were allowed to roam freely on the island, grazing on any and all available greenery. The oerol tradition continued until the arrival of paved roads, since cars and bicyclists collided at night with sleeping cattle; it was finally ended during the German occupation of the island in World War II
.
The premise of the festival is to use the entire island as a stage, although two primary stages (Groene Strand and Westerkeyn) are set up. Beaches, woods, dunes and other landscapes can function as performance spaces, and shows have also taken place in farm sheds, boathouses and an army bunker. Tickets are sold in the form of "passports" allowing access to the island for part or all of the week, and then tickets are available for the individual performances. Street theatre acts, art, and podium musical performances are free during the festival. Over 50,000 people visited the island and some 95,000 tickets were sold for the 2007 festival. The 2009 Oerol Festival took place from June 12-21, and in 2010, the Oerol Festival took place from June 11-20.
In 2011, the Festival will take place from June 17-27.
Friesland
Friesland is a province in the north of the Netherlands and part of the ancient region of Frisia.Until the end of 1996, the province bore Friesland as its official name. In 1997 this Dutch name lost its official status to the Frisian Fryslân...
summer festival that takes place each June on the island of Terschelling
Terschelling
Terschelling is a municipality and an island in the northern Netherlands, one of the West Frisian Islands.Waddenislanders are known for their resourcefulness in using anything and everything that washes ashore. With few trees to use for timber, most of the farms and barns are built with masts...
. The 10-day festival is focused on live, public theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
as well as music and the visual arts.
In the Terschelling dialect, Oerol means "everywhere" or literally "overall" in the sense of covering the entire land (oeral in standard Frisian
West Frisian language
West Frisian is a language spoken mostly in the province of Friesland in the north of the Netherlands. West Frisian is the name by which this language is usually known outside the Netherlands, to distinguish it from the closely related Frisian languages of Saterland Frisian and North Frisian,...
). Oerol takes its name from an old Terschelling tradition, when for a short time in early spring cattle were allowed to roam freely on the island, grazing on any and all available greenery. The oerol tradition continued until the arrival of paved roads, since cars and bicyclists collided at night with sleeping cattle; it was finally ended during the German occupation of the island in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
The premise of the festival is to use the entire island as a stage, although two primary stages (Groene Strand and Westerkeyn) are set up. Beaches, woods, dunes and other landscapes can function as performance spaces, and shows have also taken place in farm sheds, boathouses and an army bunker. Tickets are sold in the form of "passports" allowing access to the island for part or all of the week, and then tickets are available for the individual performances. Street theatre acts, art, and podium musical performances are free during the festival. Over 50,000 people visited the island and some 95,000 tickets were sold for the 2007 festival. The 2009 Oerol Festival took place from June 12-21, and in 2010, the Oerol Festival took place from June 11-20.
In 2011, the Festival will take place from June 17-27.