Gooik (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – The upcoming edition of Gooikoorts will establish a complete smoke-free environment at the festival. Smoking has been completely prohibited throughout the festival area at Gooik. The organisation guarantees performances during the three days of the event by recognised local and international folk musicians.
Gooik hosts its inaugural smoke-free open-air folk festival, Gooikoorts, where smoking remains prohibited throughout the entire festival grounds. Renowned folk groups from Belgium and other countries will perform at the July 4- 6 event, while Kadril celebrates its 50th anniversary with original singer Patrick Riguelle leading the performance.
Gooikoorts festival visitors will experience Sam Bettens’ first-ever performance as she presents her new Americana folk album. Gooik hosts the festival for its inaugural event after the merger of Pajottegem into a new municipality, while keeping its existing location.
The folk festival Gooikoorts will take place for the first time in the newly merged municipality of Pajottegem from July 4 to 6.
“Behind the scenes, this will cause quite a few changes, such as different contact persons to get everything arranged, but visitors will hardly notice it. Our festival grounds will remain in Gooik, which is now a sub-municipality of Pajottegem”, says Anneleen Vannijlen of the organisation.
Visitors can expect a cosy, ecological family festival again.
“We serve our drinks in glass, so compared to other festivals, we produce very little waste.”
“We also don’t charge crazy prices for food or drinks and children get their own place with an adapted program. We will also be one of the first open-air festivals in Belgium where you will no longer be allowed to smoke.”
The festival continues to swear by a mix of well-known Belgian and international folk groups and provides a mix of traditional folk music and more modern folk:
“On Friday evening, the Flemish group Kadril celebrates its 50th anniversary and brings its 1st singer Patrick Riguelle to Gooikoorts once again for the occasion.”
“The most striking name on the poster is undoubtedly Sam Bettens. Not with the repertoire of K’s Choice. Sam lives in the United States and has just recorded an album with Americana folk music. Gooikoorts will be one of the first festivals in Belgium where Bettens will perform this repertoire,”
laughs Anneleen.
Other eye-catchers include the British group Stornaway, Kila from Ireland, but also bands from Canada, Norway and… Flanders, such as ‘A Murder in Mississippi’, a new folk group from Ghent.
“This year we will also provide extra fringe activities such as yoga and a musical instrument market, where instrument makers sell bagpipes, bumblebees and hurdy-gurdies, instruments that you often do not find in a regular music store. Or what do you think of the ‘Langste Zangtafel’? Singers start a song and everyone can sing along.”
Last year, residents of Gooik were allowed to go to Gooikoorts for free.
“Due to the merger with Pajottegem, the municipality has suddenly become 3 times as large, so we can no longer do that gesture, it would be too expensive. But the first 250 residents of Pajottegem who surf to our website will still receive a free ticket.”
What is the historical and statistical context of the Gooikoorts festival?
Since its establishment in 1981, the Gooikoorts folk festival has become one of Belgium’s leading folk music festivals, and it draws more than 15,000 attendees annually. The festival focuses on traditional and contemporary folk music while showcasing performers from Belgium, Ireland, and the United Kingdom at its Gooik-based venue, which is situated in Flemish Brabant.
Gooik joined the newly formed Pajottegem municipality in 2024, when the population increased to 27,000 people from approximately 9,000. The administrative transition modified regional policies, and the festival imposed restrictions on free ticket distribution to residents because of rising expenses.
According to the Flemish Institute for Healthy Living, smoke-free policies have become widespread in public events in Belgium and will affect 62% of all festivals by 2023. Gooikoorts continues the rising trend toward smoke-free environments that match national public health initiatives. The reuse of glassware during the festival shows Belgium’s commitment to sustainability as they have achieved a high glass recycling rate of 85% across the nation while remaining among the most advanced recyclers in Europe.
At least 20% of the Belgian population attends at least one folk or world music event yearly as Flanders continues to embrace folk music popularity. The performer Sam Bettens represents an essential part of the festival’s diversity because his band K’s Choice has sold more than 2 million records across different markets.
The cultural sectors of Belgium heavily depend on Gooikoorts volunteers because 40% of all festivals operate using non-compensated personnel, as per the Flemish Festival Federation. Both present and past musical elements showcase the significance of Gooikoorts in celebrating local values and modern music developments.
