The pepernoten (peppernuts) and chocolate letters are in the stores. It is time for Sinterklaas! Eindhoven’s Steentjeskerk will be transformed into Sinterklaashuis again. For the last time. A renovation is due.
So everything is being done one last time to make it a big children’s party again. “Sinterklaas is unfortunately coming a week later this year and there’s nothing we can do about that!”
It is the fifth year that the good saint will spend the night in the Sinterklaashuis in the Steentjeskerk. The lustrum will still be celebrated, but after that, the Steentjeskerk will be transformed into a cycling hall with a real cycling cafe. “We have to look for a new location and that is not so easy. Of course, you want a nostalgic building and not something hypermodern. That doesn’t suit Sinterklaas,” chairman of Sinterklaashuis Eindhoven Olof van Gelder says.
Sinterklaas later in Eindhoven
According to Van Gelder, that is not the only problem the organization is facing this year. “Sinterklaas will be in the country a week later this year. That is determined nationally and we have no influence on that. So that also means that the children can enjoy the Sinterklaas house for a shorter period of time.”
The organization wants every child in the Eindhoven region to still be able to go to the Sinterklaashuis. They have a solution. “Normally the Sinterklaashuis is open every week from Wednesday to Sunday, but this year it is also open on Tuesday. Monday is really a rest day for Sinterklaas though.”
New location
Meanwhile, they’re busy thinking about a new location for the Sinterklaashuis. “Ideally we would like to stay in Eindhoven. After all, we are called Sinterklaashuis Eindhoven! So we do bet on that and therefore not in one of the other villages around the city.”
Van Gelder informs that a replacement for the Steentjeskerk in the Strijp district may already have been found. “I am in talks with an owner who has a very nice building in the center. That might be even nicer than where we are now. I can’t say what it is yet, but I hope it will come around this year.”
Tickets
Ticket sales for the St. Nicholas House have started, and because of the anniversary, there are some extras. For example, according to Van Gelder, the pietschool has been expanded and every child will receive a present in the Sinterklaashuis.
Source: Studio040
Translated by: Chaitali Sengupta
