Dennis Detillon

“The Thursday before Carnival starts street Carnival with Weiberfasnacht. We then take a bus towards Cologne. And Sunday is always a special day for me; I go with my father to the session of the Kölsche Narrengilde, the last of the season. That is our moment together, a tradition that has been going strong for eleven years now.”

The organization in Cologne inspires him. “From January to Ash Wednesday everything runs like a well-oiled machine, with one prince for the entire city and more than 100 associations. It is remarkable to see how professionally everything is organized, and you can see that in Venlo we are learning more and more from it. Yet the foundation remains the same: bringing people together and celebrating life.”

"I also experienced that when I was the jubilee jester of De 3-kes in 2012. It's so cool, you travel through the entire municipality, appearing as the Jester in many places. That's the beauty of Carnival, you go everywhere. To someone who has turned 90, or is sick, but you also attend the balls and receptions. Throughout all those years with De 3-kes, I have learned that it's the little things that make Carnival special. Last year in Arcen, it gave me goosebumps just thinking about it. The youth there have a trio with a dance marietje and a master of ceremonies. The master of ceremonies is blind, the boy was about 10 years old. We gave him a medal and how he felt that medal, that was Carnival to the core."

"I was asked to become a Jester myself in 2012, in the pub, so I thought, that won't be anything. Two weeks later, Sander Mattheijssen, the founder of De 3kes, called me. Turns out it was a serious question! The difference between the prince and a jester is that the jester is there for the laughter and the people, the prince is somewhat more stately. The Jester rules during the carnival over the entire Groeët Venlo, from Arcen to Belfeld."

Dennis concludes with a smile: “Carnival is in my blood, from Groeët Venlo to Cologne. The most beautiful part is that I don't celebrate it alone, but share it with others – especially with my father. And I pass it on to my little son, who has become an adjutant himself this year. That makes it extra special.”