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🇧🇪 Belgium /Culture & Society

Students brave heat at Waanrode's Boekentassenrock with misting stations and ice cream

From VRT NWS · () Dutch

Translated from Dutch, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

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  • Students in Waanrode, Belgium, celebrated the end of the school year with an outdoor event called Boekentassenrock.
  • To combat high temperatures, organizers provided extra shade, an earlier start time, and distributed water and ice cream.
  • Despite the heat, students enjoyed performances, with misting stations and damp scarves helping them stay cool.

Students in Waanrode, Belgium, celebrated the end of the school year with the biennial Boekentassenrock event, braving high temperatures.

The local government took measures to ensure the event could proceed safely amid the heatwave. Originally scheduled for the afternoon, Boekentassenrock began at 9 a.m. The Vruenpark venue received additional shaded areas, and attendees were given water bottles, ice cream, and sunscreen. Misting stations, manned by volunteers, provided further cooling.

It is really very hot. But we couldn't bring ourselves to cancel the event entirely. We also received signals from the children themselves that they were really looking forward to it.

— Katrien DevosAn alderman commenting on the decision to proceed with the event despite the heat.

"It is really very hot," said alderman Katrien Devos. "But we couldn't bring ourselves to cancel the event entirely. We also received signals from the children themselves that they were really looking forward to it."

But the decision to move the event really makes a world of difference.

— a teacherCommenting on the impact of rescheduling the event to earlier in the day.

Schools also implemented their own measures, including providing scarves for students that were regularly re-moistened. "But the decision to move the event really makes a world of difference," a teacher commented. These efforts allowed students to enthusiastically enjoy performances by Loco Kids Disco and DJ Ketnet.

"Good music, good friends: that's all we want at the end of the school year," said one student. "And an ice cream, of course."

Good music, good friends: that's all we want at the end of the school year. And an ice cream, of course.

— a studentExpressing enjoyment of the event.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by VRT NWS in Dutch. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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