And so we rolled into 2025. The list of sponsors kept growing and the prizes for our raffle kept getting cooler. We saw and spoke to each other at least weekly, and the group chat was working overtime. It had practically become a part-time job for us. The locations for the site events were found, location visits followed and arrangements were made. The event booklet kept taking shape, and 135(!) new caches had to go in, all of which also had to be made and placed. The activities for the children took shape. The volunteers were assigned, and some were able to take the traffic controller course. The 300 Will Attends (WAs) were quickly reached, and registrations and ticket sales kept coming in. Listings were written and proofread. The finishing touches were put on the designs for the woodies and the geocoins. 2 geocoins that complemented each other nicely, plus a blockparty coin with its own unique design. The number of registrations kept climbing. The logbooks were designed and built, as were the signage and other decorations. Vans and a horse trailer had to bring everything to the locations. The final layout of the grounds meant that setting up went smoothly. And the forecast was for good weather, fingers crossed. With 777 WAs, we headed into the event weekend. And what a blast it was! Friday evening in and around the church of Driel to commemorate the Poles of Driel. A glider as a logbook, 2 beautiful lab cache series and the exhibition in the church introduced everyone to the history. Complemented by the jeeps of Arapahoe, the setting was complete. The first orders were picked up. With 142 logs it was a very successful evening — the ice was broken.
Saturday morning up early, the re-enactment had settled in, the shops were set up, the kids' corner too, and the finishing touches were made. We saw the line at the entrance growing... oh boy, so many people! Will the sum-up hold up? Is the logbook in good shape? The opening, with appropriate ceremony, was attended by a colonel and his first lieutenant, after which the gates opened. About 1,000 people walked onto our grounds, logged on the wooden bridge, and enjoyed the lab caches, the kids' corner, the re-enactment, the vehicles, Signal, poffertjes, new caches, the beautiful weather and the Pipers and Drums. The raffle closed out the event and was the signal to start breaking everything down and tidying up again. Around 9:30 PM the field was empty, everything was back in the vans and the horse trailer, and we were worn out but in one piece. At that moment we were surprised by a toast with real gun oil, offered by the re-enactment team Arapahoe to mark the successful day. What an honor! That gave us just enough energy left to drive home and unload everything. Only to get up again on Sunday morning: still a Cito and goodbye event to go. At the Drielse Veer, at the foot of the Westerbouwing, we collected litter. Heavy fighting took place here in 1944. The monument “Oversteekplaats: Operatie Berlin” is a silent witness to this. This spot was also clearly visible from the grounds around the Oude Kerk in Oosterbeek, where all attendees could hang their little parachute under the glider as a logbook. The Oude Kerk was open for a visit and told its story about its role in the war. Here we thanked everyone for coming and for their help, and closed out a fantastic weekend. We'll meet again.
