Westelfolk

Folklore in the Kempen

Music

Westelfolk is a group of folklore enthusiasts and traditional musicians, who share their love for the folklore of the Kempen (the region situated chiefly in north-eastern Belgium, also known as the Campine).

The core activity of Westelfolk is organizing music courses for traditional instruments: how to build them as well as how to play them. The courses include playing the “Trekzak” (diatonic accordion), Flemish bagpipes, building and playing the dulcimer, ... We concentrate mainly on Flemish traditional music and more in particular on the music from the Kempen area. To that aim, we do some research for old, forgotten songs, dances and melodies and try to note them down and play them. The students learn how to build their own traditional instrument and how to play it. The music taught is traditional music, typical for the region.

The courses are given by experienced musicians and/or instrument builders.

Concerts

Over time, the group of students has generated a large group of musicians who regularly give performances at events that are linked to folklore, tradition or heritage, even abroad. By the way: giving our students lots of opportunities to get experienced on stage is one of the objectives of Westelfolk. For our concerts we can always count on the support of experienced and well-known musicians from the region: musicians with a solid reputation in the folk scene.

But Westelfolk is more than music alone.

Traditions

We want to reinstate old traditions like feasts, commemorations, ... An example of this is the yearly traditional Shrove Tuesday we organize like our forefathers did in the Kempen: with sword dances and stick dances. Other activities are being planned.

Baking Ovens

In the Kempen you can still find many old baking ovens. Westelfolk have their own baking team who go out and bake bread in one of the ovens in the Merode area, at least once a month. Each oven has its own characteristics and has to be used in a specific way. Several members of this team have been trained in building baking ovens and they are making plans to build one themselves. Our qualified miller always supplies us with flour fresh from the mill, to bake our little loafs of bread.

During this activity too, it is traditional recipes we try to use. That is how we came across the old recipe of the delicious “métvlaaikes” (market flans). These are little cakes that bakers in Westerlo produce on market days.

As an introduction to this old baking technique, we organize workshops or “baking days”. The Westelfolk bakers and firemen love to share their knowledge.

Heritage

Westelfolk cares about cultural and historical heritage. As a spinoff of the courses and workshops, some projects have emerged, like creating awareness around “het trammeke” (the little tram): an old and neglected lock and dam installation at the Grote Nete river that was built in 1874. We now help to create a project to renovate the installation and to install an information panel about its operation.

If you would you like to participate in one of our courses, workshops, activities, ... Please look at our courses page

de Merode

Delightful Countryside of Princes

The former properties of the de Merode family, better known as the “de Merodebossen” (the de Merode Woods) are situated between Westerlo and Scherpenheuvel-Zichem. They are currently owned by a group of partners who manage and accommodate them starting from a common vision.

On the transition zone between the Kempen and the Hageland, this area forms the heart of a region with rich nature, intact and authentic landscapes as well as some interesting monuments that need to be preserved.

At this moment, this unique region is under full development.

Would you like to see this with your own eyes?

If you are looking for a place where you can spend some unforgettable days in peace and quiet, then do come over and enjoy, discover and dream, ... in this Delightful Countryside of Princes.

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