By day, Swenney Roels works for multimodal logistician Shipit, but his free time is largely dedicated to carnival. He also met his girlfriend through the Gilles carnival association in Lokeren. “We are known throughout Flanders and also work together in Aalst,” he says.
Swenney Roels rolled into the carnival scene by chance. “It’s actually a playful story. The carnival association in which my sister is active was looking for a replacement for someone who had dropped out for the dance group. After long urging, I said yes. That’s how I got into it and learned the choreography and had a costume made at short notice. Meanwhile, I have been a carnivore for eight years, first by taking part in the carnival celebrations myself, but now I am also on the group’s board,” he says.
Friend
“Carnival has brought about a lot of positive things for me privately. Through the carnival, I met my girlfriend and we are still happy together. My sisters and brother-in-law are also active in the carnival scene.”
Eight months of preparation
The carnival celebration itself only lasts about five days, but the preparation takes several months. “The carnival season runs from September to April. So we organise various activities to raise money. These range from dinner parties, a ball masquerade and a schlager night to selling some 1,100 chrysanthemums. From September, we have also been spending two days a week building the wagon. We have chosen not to build new cars, but to rebuild cars we buy over from other communities. We will also look at other carnival floats,” he says.
Scoop
The Gilles of Lokeren provided a first in the city this year. “As a group, we were allowed to deliver the prince carnival and, on top of that, we also won with both our float, the music, dance and originality. That had never happened before. So we had put a huge amount of work into it,” he says.
Sense of organisation
The carnival also provides positive side effects. “Being on the board, where I do finance, among other things, instils in me a sense of organisation. In a job, you need that too. There is also the social aspect and the great responsibilities. With our almost 40 members, we are the largest group in Lokeren. We are known throughout Flanders and also work together with Aalst,” he concludes.
