Ramadan just ending, Tilburg kermis just starting, summer in full glory, free festivals everywhere and people gone away on a deserved vacation; July was supposed to be the edition when the Africa Night dance hall will be nearly empty. It is the time of the year when the permanent wishful thinkers, seeing the pictures of an empty hall always repeat their prediction of the imminent demise of Africa Night. Never mind that they are always wrong. Never mind that they never seem to learn.
So it was that we were braced for a less than full house in July. We told ourselves if 50 people came, we were going to be very happy. We already told the management of Horeca T Kwadraat to come with 1 less staff to work behind the bar. The only comfort we had was that we also knew from experience that even if only 50 people came, those 50 were going to make it a special evening. It is in the DNA of the average Africa Nighter. Like we wrote several times before, it has never been about numbers. It is always about having fun. Fun is something you can create and the Africa Night crowd are the best in creating magic.
At 23:00 hours, the hall was empty. Then it was 01:00 hours and the dance hall was nearly full! What? It is really true, we couldn’t believe our eyes too. There were even more people there than in June! Where did they all come from?!! Not that we are complaining! Old faces, fresh faces. Africa Nighters who discovered Africa Night just a couple of months before bringing new customers with them. We were happy for the 2 ladies (they were at this location for the first time) who arrived on time only to be met with an empty hall. “Are we too early?” they asked. “No you are on time”, we replied. “The others are just too late”. They waited and by the end of the evening they had so much fun on the dance floor they did not want it to end. They were not the only ones. Africa Night is worth waiting for. But the contrast between 23:00 hours and 01:00 hours could not have been more! One moment empty the next full!
And yes, From Kazakhstan to Kenya and from Surinam to Sudan everyone was in the house too. We can only thank you again and again from the bottom of our hearts for making this party another one to remember. So many memories but our memory card is huge. Let’s meet again in August 😉
PS. How much do you really know about Africa? Test your knowledge against these smart guys 🙂
