In his opening words, Hiemstra praised what local businesses do and pointed out how much food is produced in the area itself; in his view, residents could enjoy it and benefit from it more often. Several products on the tables had cards next to them reading ‘Local tastes better’.
The breakfast is a tradition of the Ondernemersvereniging Rolde en omstreken, the local business association; baker Ko Pots wrote the first running order for it more than fifteen years ago. The tables held rolls with all kinds of fillings, eggs, fruit and drinks, among other things, and most of it came from businesses in and around Rolde.
Later in the morning came the horse fair, from 11am to 5pm in the centre of Rolde and for the first time on a Sunday. Until last year it was part of the market Tuesday, but the OVVR, the association that organises the Roldermarkt, moved it because it was getting harder and harder to bring horse traders to Rolde. The association expects more people to have time on a Sunday to bring or buy horses, ponies and donkeys.
The festival week, with the theme ‘Een Technische Roldermarkt’ (a technical Roldermarkt), runs from Thursday 3 to Tuesday 8 September. Tuesday is the day of the Roldermarkt itself, with the goods market and the Landbouw- en Groenbeurs, the agricultural and garden trade fair, where a refresher course for the crop spraying licence will be held for the first time this year. The course has room for sixty farmers and other licence holders and covers working more precisely against weeds and pests, with fewer pesticides.