Ton Drissen

Ton stood in his prince costume at the pulpit and said his piece for the community. “I felt just like Saint Nicholas then,” says Ton, laughing. To this day, 45 years later, those same Holy Masses are still being held, and Ton hasn't missed a single one! Meanwhile, Ton has been with the Council of Eleven for 21 years.

On the evening of Carnival Friday, Ton, together with the parade participants and the uniformed company of De Keieschieters, goes to the Hertog Jan brewery in Arcen. This is for Ton, but also for De Keieschieters, the official opening of the carnival. The first glass is raised with the new prince and the master brewer, beer flows all evening, and it's entirely free. “We are incredibly grateful to the brewery for these special evenings!” What the brewery also does each year is create ceramic plaques of the princes who have been present and experienced the opening. A whole wall is filled with former princes from Arcen. Opposite the brewery lies the tasting room, making the evening completely perfect.

On Saturday, the Children's Parade in Arcen is also on Ton's agenda, and he goes straight to the reception afterward. “This is really incredibly well attended in Arcen!” Last season, the year 2021-2022, De Keieschieters chose to still announce the youth quintet and offer them the best season possible, even though they knew in advance that it would not be a normal season with all the Corona restrictions.

What makes the carnival in Arcen so special is, among other things, the way it is concluded on Tuesday. The parade participants and the association go together to the outskirts of Arcen. "Young and old, by bike or on foot, we are on our way in all sorts of ways!" This journey naturally starts at the Hertog Jan brewery and they end up back in Arcen itself. In this village, they officially close the carnival with the ‘balloon popping’. In the evening, the prince and his dance partner are allowed to pop the first balloon, and then the rest follow. "For 5 minutes, you go completely crazy from the noise because there are really hundreds of them!" Ton is looking forward to the upcoming carnival and all the activities that are scheduled again. "Carnival is in the blood here in Arcen."