The traditional pubs of the Merode

Merodefestival visits three old-fashioned village cafés in the Merode. Singer-songwriter Lennaert Maes talks with the landlords and at the end sings them a song. The result is three quiet, moving and deeply human portraits of around 25 minutes each, about local heritage that is in danger of slipping away. Vin, Maurice, Yvonne and Simone talk in their own colourful dialect about the café's role in the neighbourhood, the savings club, secret loves and annual feasts.

The three portraits

1. Lang leve de Stips! · De Stips, Testelt

Maurice and Vin kept café de Stips open for no fewer than 62 years. They stopped at the age of 87, when the coronavirus crisis forced the cafés to close.

2. Lang leve de Nachtegaal! · De Nachtegaal, Ramsel

Von kept café de Nachtegaal open until the age of 92, until she passed away in September 2022.

3. Lang leve café Moderne! · Café Moderne, Deurne

Simone is 71 and still keeps café Moderne open. It is where ‘Duune’ comes together, young and old, and the only one of what were once thirteen cafés in Deurne that still exists.

A dedication

With these documentaries Merodefestival immortalises these places and their landlords in a cinematic and musical ode. Vin and Yvonne are no longer with us; they passed away a few months after filming. That shows how important such records of their time are. We dedicate the series to them.

With the support of Cultuur & Erfgoed de Merode, Landschapspark de Merode and the Flemish Government (arts & heritage).