Historians don’t know exactly when the first Aalst Carnival was organised, but sources go back as far as the 17th century. Back then, the festivities were rather uncoordinated, but the first official parade marched through the city on Sunday, 9 March, 1851. Unlike today, there were no decorated floats; instead, political organisations put together a tour from tavern to tavern and invited everyone to join in. People would wear masks and play music. The aim was to give the citizens of Aalst a good time and allow the local taverns to have a few busy (and boozy) nights right before Lent.
Over the years, the Aalst Carnival has grown into a three-day event, celebrated by up to 80,000 carnivalists (as they call themselves) and visitors, and the entire city is taken over by the festivities. This year is, officially, the 84th Carnival celebration in its current format. Every year a jury chooses Prince Carnival, a devoted member of a Carnival group who gets the keys to the city and rules Aalst during the three days. For the first time, the jury has picked a woman: 25-yearold Stephanie Daeleman.
Carnival starts on Sunday, 19 February, with the famous parade of floats. The decorated wagons set off at around 13.00 from Pierre Cornelisstraat and take all afternoon to make their way to Grote Markt. All along the route, people gather to watch the beautiful and funny floats, depicting contemporary issues, local politicians and celebrities both local and international. It’s the tradition to mock everyone and everything one more time, before entering the pious 40 days of Lent.
This year, we can definitely expect exaggerated versions of the new prime minister Elio Di Rupo, the late singer Amy Winehouse, Prince Laurent of Belgium (always a float favourite) and a send-up of the endless roadworks in the city of Aalst.
After a traditional late, late night of revelry for the adults, the next day starts with a party for the children of the city, called the Jefkes Carnival. This event prepares the 500 participating kids for the “real” carnival they’ll get to celebrate when they’re older.
On the same day at about 14.00, the Grote Markt is the setting for the broom dance by the Gilles of Aalst. Gilles are typical carnival characters, disguised with masks and wearing red-and-white suits and wooden clogs. They stamp on the ground to chase away the cold weather and dance to ask the gods for a good harvest.
This traditional scene is followed by onion throwing (Aalst is known for its abundant onion farms.) From the balcony of the city hall, Princess Stephanie will throw 100 onionshaped sweeties to the crowd. Whoever catches the onion with the number “1” written on it wins a little golden onion.
Tuesday is for many Aalst Carnival fans the highlight of the year, starting with the parade of the Voil Jeanetten, or the Dirty Jennies. When you see these men dressed up in a wig, fishnet stockings, a fur coat and plastic boobies, you might be shocked, but cross-dressing became part of traditional carnival customs in the 19th century. As most of the carnivalists were working-class men, the only costumes they could afford were their wives’ clothes. The original accessories of a Voil Jeanet include a pram, an umbrella and a bird cage, but today, a parasol and supermarket shopping trolley often do the trick.
The Jennies gather on the Grote Markt at around 15.00 and strut their stuff all over the city streets. As many of the Jennies have been partying in their outfit for the past two days, they’re not necessarily the most elegant of creatures – but the parade is an entertaining thing to watch. To keep themselves warm, the Jennies drink lots of beer ... preparing themselves for the most difficult moment of the year: the burning of the carnival doll.
After three crazy days of cross-dressing, parading, singing, dancing and drinking, all carnivalists make their way to the Grote Markt at around 21.00. If you’d like to watch the event but prefer to avoid the big crowd, the ceremony will be projected on a big screen on Vredeplein (and will be shown on the TV news that evening). The speakers blast out the Carnival songs for the last time, and Princess Carnival will give her final speech before setting the Carnival doll on fire.
Escorted by a group of bagpipe players, the doll will be carried over the square. When the bagpipes start playing “Amazing Grace”, Princes Stephanie will set the doll on fire with a burning torch. It’s an intense moment for many; there will be hugging, chanting, some might even shed a tear ... or start planning for next year, when Aalst will celebrate Carnival for the 85th time.
www.aalst.be/carnaval (official website)
www.carnaval.oilsjt.be (by Digital Radio Aalst, with live streaming, carnival songs and lots of pictures)
Aalst is a transport hub and easy to reach by train from any station in Flanders or Brussels. For a cheaper ride, buy a B-Event carnival return ticket, which is valid between 19 and 21 February. It’s a short walk from the station to the centre; simply follow the signs, the crowd or the trail of confetti.
Carnival is organised by and for the many local carnival groups, but everyone is welcome to join the festivities. Feel free to dress up any way you like; you’ll notice your efforts will be much appreciated. Interaction with the people of Aalst might be difficult as their dialect is known to be quite hard to understand, but there’s one slogan you’ll hear and see quite often: “Weir doeng voesj”, which means “we continue”.
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