In charge of the carnival of Leuven: Denise Vandevoort.
https://www.leuven.be/denise-vandevoort
History of the carnival of Leuven.
It is not surprising that there were members of the “Jaartalen”(Men of the Year) who had difficulty adapting to the efforts and tradition of the “Men of the Year”.
The “Years” primarily sought mutual understanding and solidarity between their own peers, culminating in the solemn celebration of their fiftieth birthday.
In between, there were other relaxation options, especially eateries (banquets).
Everything always happened in a closed circle and under the strict eye of their board members, who usually belonged to the well-to-do bourgeoisie of the city and certainly did not strive for public display and tolerated even more indulgences.
Since the founding of the Verbond der Jaartallen, which was created to coordinate the activities of the vintages, the men became more familiar with the townscape and showed themselves, in specific clothing adapted to their date, in the Parade of the vintages.
This happened again under the strict eye of their respective authorities, which always kept a careful eye on ensuring that their “standing” was not affected.
In order not to affect the dignity of the vintages, all carnivalesque and other sensational situations were kept out of the procession.
Some, more boisterous yearlings, therefore had to look for an outlet in order to be able to relieve their surplus life’s steam.
In this context, the emergence of the City Carnival the “Order of the Pietermans”, “Men of the Years”, which sought an activity to be able to be entertained during the winter months as well
Immediately with this, which was initially considered to be a subdivision of the Verbond der Jaartallen, a gap was filled in Leuven’s cultural life, namely: celebrating carnival again, celebrating carnival had fallen to zero in Leuven since the 2nd world fire.
The attempts of the student groups to involve the people of Leuven in their celebrations were never of that magnitude to get them excited about the carnival.
For the true carnival celebration, the people of Leuven were designated to descend to the surrounding cities, even beyond our eastern border.
The Order of the van Pietermannen “came into being during the carnival season 1968-1969 with the election of a Leuven Prince Carnival later” Prins van Loven “. This happened in collaboration with the year 1919, this year was also co-founded the Union
The four initiators were in particular: Frans Delfosse (1910), Charel Antoon (1914), Frans Eyckmans (1925) and Tony Steegmans (1926).
Their objectives were: The carnival celebration in Leuven in a pleasant, playful and pleasant way, by organizing parties and carnival procession, to breathe new life into it. Building on it so that the Leuven carnival would also become known abroad.