(Zwarte) Kattentocht

On a recent Friday the boys' school had a (Zwarte) Kattentocht. This event, usually done near halloween, is partly in lieu of trick-or-treating. Plans to have it last October fell through and it was rescheduled for February. During the Kattentocht, groups of kids and parents make a circuit around the area surrounding the school and stop at stations for activities or performances. At the first stop, next to a barn a parent was dressed in a Hello Kitty costume and music was playing for the kids to dance. Then the kids were given stuffed "black cat tails" to put in the back of their pants (like, well, tails). The game is to see how many tails they can grab off each other. Most kids ended up with one tail "caught" but a couple of the older girls got 2 or 3. All the kids were given a prize (a red flashing bike light with the school logo) which they wore as they continued on their way. Then it was through the fields to the second stop where a moving truck with it's back end open was set up as a theater with benches for the kids to sit on to watch. There was a thick white sheet stretched across the other end of the truck, with dark blankets along the sides and parents put on a shadow puppet show to music. It was pretty cool. The third stop had 2 parts: first a drinks, fanta for the kids and a shot of flavored Jeniver for the parents (no OLCC here), the second part was a short play about a black cat that follows a wizard around until he gets a great wizard to come and take it away. This was done in a nature resource site shaped like a huge, white dragon-fly, adding to the mystique in the dark. The last stop I can't describe because Nathan was running ahead with other kids and we didn't get there. He was hurrying to get back to the playground where a frituur (fries maker) was set up. The Belgians like fries with everything. There was also a bar with beers and wine, something the parent group sets up at all school functions (again, no OLCC). The procedes from the bar help cover the costs of the events. Overall it was a fun night, especially since it wasn't raining and the moon was just past full. A good night to be out wandering - it felt like October.