Out & About: April 2023
TEXT: STUART FORSTER
UFO, Foreign Nature, by Julius Horsthuis. Photo: Gert Jan van Rooij
Expectations of milder temperatures inevitably mean that people hope to seize opportunities to spend time together outdoors during springtime. Blooming tulips and artful flower arrangements famously draw garden lovers to the likes of the Keukenhof Gardens. Yet the spring weather is notoriously changeable and indoor events, including art exhibitions, offer alternative fallbacks in case of wet April days.
King’s Day
27 April, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
Flea markets, live music and street parties are attended by people celebrating and wearing orange across the Netherlands on King Willem-Alexander’s birthday. The royal family will walk together from Rotterdam’s Afrikaanderwijk district, take a water taxi across the river and end their public appearance on the Binnenrotte Square. Expect plenty of cheering along the way.
King’s Day. Photo: NBTC-Tom-Knol
Grevenmacher Wine Market
14 April, Grevenmacher, Luxembourg
Winemakers from across the Moselle region present their newest wines at the Grevenmacher Wine Market. Visitors can sample and order both still and sparkling wine at the annual event known locally as the Wäimoart, traditionally held on the Friday after Easter. It’s an opportunity to bag a bargain while gaining an in-depth overview of the region’s viticulture.
www.visitluxembourg.com/event/waimoart
Grevenmacher Wine Market. Photo: ©Ville de Grevenmacher
Celebrate!
Until 20 August, Leeuwarden, the Netherlands
Highlighting 12 celebrations, including everything from Passover to Carnival, the Princessehof National Museum of Ceramics exhibition explores the many different ways in which special events are celebrated all over the Netherlands. The focus is especially on the ceramics used (usually the finest) and the stories that come with these objects. The Leeuwarden museum is housed inside the handsome 18th-century city palace of Maria Louise van Hessen-Kassel, Princess of Orange Nassau.
Celebrate! Photo: Thomas Nondh Jansen
UFO: Unidentified Fluid Other
Until 30 April, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Closing at the end of the month, UFO is an innovative and exciting exhibition which explores the identity of art and artists in the virtual sphere. Works by the likes of Harriet Davey, Julius Horsthuis and Lu Yang will be displayed at the Nxt Museum, the Netherlands’ first museum to focus on new media art forms.
Baroque Influencers
Starting 21 April, Antwerp, Belgium
Jesuits, Reubens and The Art of Persuasion in the Seventeenth Century runs at the St Charles Borromeo Church until 16 July. Exploring how Antwerp’s leading figures thought, worked and worshipped, the exhibition is part of a wider city festival celebrating leading figures from bygone times and the legacies of their ideas. Loaned books, prints and etchings will be on display.
Narcissus Festival
14 April, Rocherath/Mürringen, Belgium
Every year in April, the wild yellow daffodil blossoms abundantly in the Natagora/BNVS conservation area of the Valley of the Holzwarche, located in eastern Belgium. Come and enjoy a guided walk or follow the signposted hiking trail. Children’s entertainment is also available.
http://pro.ostbelgien.eu/nl/media/mediatheek
Narcissus Festival. Photo: Pixabay
Floralia Brussels
1 April to 4 May, Brussels, Belgium
The 20th edition of the springtime flower show will be held over 14 acres of parkland and in the greenhouses of Grand Bigard (Groot-Bijgaarden). The castle, which has 12th-century origins, is located just a few kilometres west of central Brussels. More than a million bulbs, including over 400 varieties of tulip, are planted for this multi-hued event.
Keukenhof Flower Parade
22 April, from Noordwijk to Haarlem, the Netherlands
Imaginatively decorated floats decked with colourful, blooming flowers will be paraded through four cities with grandstand seating. The event is now in its 76th year and ends at the Keukenhof, Lisse’s popular botanical garden. The cities of Lisse, Hillegom, Sassenheim and Voorhout all offer spectators seats in this eagerly awaited parade.
www.bloemencorso-bollenstreek.nl
Keukenhof Flower Parade. Photo: Tulip Festival Amsterdam
Voices of Passion
29 April to 7 May, Leuven, Belgium
Leuven’s Park Abbey is the setting for Gregorian chanting and polyphony researched by the Alamire Foundation. The abbey was established in the 12th century as a place of worship for Praemonstrian Fathers – alternatively known as the Norbertines, after their founder, Saint Norbert of Xanten. Voices of Passion begins with English polyphony, Music for St Katherine by The Binchois Consort.
www.alamirefoundation.org/en/outreach/voices-of-passion-2023
The Warehouse Project
28-30 April, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
Manchester’s popular club night event is making its first international appearance over three nights in the Netherlands’ second-largest city. The main venue will be the former Rotterdamsche Droogdok Maatschappij (RDM) shipyard. Boat parties and after parties are planned too. Participating DJs include Bicep, Peggy Gou and Seth Troxler. Expect numerous revellers to visit from the United Kingdom.
The Warehouse Project. Photo: The Warehouse Project
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