What you sometimes have to learn in life is: what you are worth is determined by how you carry yourself when you are down and not how you behave when all is well and good. When you are down, sometimes people you thought you knew and love will kick and stamp on you. To be honest Africa Night Productions as an organisation has had very few downs when it comes to Africa Night Tilburg. With few exceptions, Africa Night Tilburg has always been one show we were always sure will be a success. Whereas the Africa Nights we’ve held in other cities have been met with varying degrees of successes and failures, Tilburg has always been like a solid rock. Come rain come shine, Africa Night Tilburg almost always has a full house.
So when last month we had a quiet night in Tilburg, we knew it was one of those nights that are exceptions to the rule. Of course we did our quiet research in the background to try and find out what the possible cause could be. However none of the things we found out pointed directly at something we deliberately did wrong all of a sudden. When we then read/hear some people say this one quiet night is as a result of Africa Night having changed and being not what it used to be, we are very amused to say the least.
Of course Africa Night has changed! And yes it is not what it used to be! When we started in 1998 The Netherlands was using the Guilder and not the Euro as currency! The only social media available in 1998 were the cafes and restaurants in the city centre where you met and gossiped about everything. Now you don’t even have to leave your house to do that. Facebook, Twitter etc. offer you a media to talk trash about whatever and whoever. You just sit behind your screens alone and you are social!
Of course Africa Night has changed. When we started in the old days, the average age of our visitors was different than now. Back in those days, the 90% of the visitors were people from Tilburg. Even the people organising Africa Night were living in Tilburg. Now only about 10 to 15 % of the visitors are from Tilburg. Does Africa Night Tilburg only have to think only of our Tilburg clients to maintain the original atmosphere we used to have back in the day? The fact of life is that life is constantly changing and some of us adapt to changes faster than the others. Others are stuck in the past, while others have their eyes fixed on the future.
What we at Africa Night Productions always do is to take care of the present. Today’s present is yesterday’s future. Just like today is tomorrow’s past. By staying in the present, we ensure that we keep our feet firmly to the ground. We see the world around us changing. We see the demography of our clients changing. We see that most of our clients make the big effort to come from very far (Groningen, Maastricht, Eindhoven, Amsterdam, Belgium, Germany, France to mention a few). We also see that some in Tilburg think going from the North to the South of Tilburg for Africa Night is like traveling to the end of the world and has become too much of an effort!
We can only say, we are happy we have kept to our vision of having an Africa Night that is not only for one set of people. Like we wrote in one of our previous blogs, Africa Night is and remains an open church. That is why during the November 2013 edition of Africa Night Tilburg, there were at least 5 mother and daughter combinations that came to enjoy the ambiance. How many other theme shows do you know where 2 generations feel comfortable doing their own thing? The youngest person at Africa Night Tilburg in November was 16, the oldest 70! Of course Africa Night has changed!
We know we can never satisfy everyone. That will be impossible. We however feel the pulse of our guests and adapt to the will of the majority. Client is still king. Some are still dreaming (read; stuck) about the cosy charm of the good old “The Boat” where Africa Night started in May 1998. Yeah some would for that matter prefer that mankind was still walking naked like in the time of Adam and Eve. The reality is that we adapt or die.
Let us use this opportunity to clear up one fact. Africa Night Tilburg has never left any location voluntarily. We left the legendary “Boat” because the owners told us to! We left Paradox because their volunteers did not understand the ways of our clients and told us to leave. We left Bosvreugd because the owner told us he wanted to do other things after hosting Africa Night Tilburg for 3 years. We left Partycentrum Oase because it was closed down by the local authorities! We are now at Horeca T Kwadraat because it is the best location around. We know it takes some getting used to for some people. But we also know that 80% of you really like the new place. If and when we leave this new place, it will as usual not be voluntary.
Of course Africa Night has changed! The gate fee Africa Night Productions charge only barely covers the costs of organising the show. For the most social amongst us who see lots of money by multiplying the number of guests by the €10 gate fee, we are sorry to bust your bubble. Your maths is as wrong as hiding behind the computer to stay social is wrong. Those security guys don’t work for free. Neither does the DJ or the ladies who you meet at the entrance. 21% of what you pay goes straight to the government as direct tax. The posters/fryers we make are not free. Neither is hiring a hall. The travelling expenses are not free in Holland neither are the other costs we incur in other to entertain the people.
To be honest with you, Africa Night cost us more to organise than we get back. But as we said several years ago, Africa Night is a labour of love. We do it with joy and pride. That gate fee does not enrich our pockets. It is seeing your feet on the dance floor that repays our efforts! We don’t always like to saddle you with all the behind-the-scenes shenanigans. We just want to provide you a place to shine on the dance floor. Leave the grey hairs to us.
Of course Africa Night has changed. This November edition is another proof of this fact. We looked around and saw lots of happy (new) faces. We smiled as we see the fun, the flirting, the dancing and the teasing going on. It was almost a full house again. Yeah! Africa Night has changed. Sometimes you change by just remaining the same. We are proud that Africa Night is still the place you come to every month because you know you can count on us.
Next month we will give out the now traditional Africa Night end-of-the-year free CD’s. One thing we surely know, some of our very-social-behind-the-laptop-friends will show their faces again to claim “their” own copies. They spent time bad-mouthing Africa Night but will be first to be there during the twice a year that we give out the CD’s as mark of appreciation to you who are always loyal. You see, some things never really change! Looking at the crowd yesterday the great Mark Twain crossed our minds. The news of our death has been greatly over exaggerated! See you all in December!
