The PopUpClub is eager to make its appearance on the scene and the PR machine is churning smoothly; more than a thousand ‘likes’ have already appeared on Facebook. The ball will start rolling come end September. ‘It will be really cool.’ A big gain for Wageningen nightlife, is how the initiators describe it. And a necessary one as well, they add. ‘After the closure of de Overkant, there was an enormous gap in the underground culture in Wageningen,’ says Joris Soeter, former landscape architecture student. That was felt acutely by many, he says. ‘All those in our team had been out all over the place to look for activities which can replace it.’ Soeter succeeded in getting all of them behind the ultimate plan: introduce a PopUpClub to breathe new life into what used to be de Overkant.PopUp is a concept begun in Berlin to put empty premises to temporary use. ‘In this case, it concerns a nightlife venue, but it can also be an exhibition in an empty shop or a makeshift garden on a piece of bare land,’ Joris explains. In the coming four months, the PopUpClub will occupy de Overkant. What happens after that will again be anybody’s guess, and the group itself does not know where or whether it will appear after that. According to Joris, the transient nature is the very charm of the concept: ‘This way you make it a scarce good too.’ TechnoFrom 26 September, the PopUpClub will open its doors from Thursdays to Sundays. Thursday evenings are targeted mainly at students, but on a smaller scale than the open parties of student associations. With different music styles and a theme party thrown in now and then, the organizers aim to reproduce the atmosphere of a pleasant house party. ‘An informal easygoing night out to get to know one another,’ claims Joris. On Fridays, the Popculture Wageningen Association will take over, with live bands in its programme. Saturdays are for the club scene, with plenty of techno music as well. ‘Something which is clearly missing in Wageningen,’ says Joris. ‘For that the younger set often have to go to other cities.’ The DJs of Miniculture will have the leading role in the Saturday programme, but other groups will also come along. On Sundays, according to the planner, it is basically time to sober up. ‘But also for listening to a singer-songwriter or possibly, even a talk.’At the moment, the crew is still working hard on renovating the place to make it look special. The Overkant sign has already been taken down, a clear signal of the end of that era. The first week, beginning from 26 September, will be a time for opening parties and the concept will be launched. ‘We are now very busy making plans for these evenings, but it will be really cool anyway,’ says Joris enthusiastically.
More information can be found on the Facebook page www.facebook.com/PopUpWageningen.
Foto: Sven Menschel