PopPrijz 2010 is the annual chance for local Utrecht bands to win the title of Best Band in Utrecht. This Thursday, 3 June, four bands will compete at Tivoli de Helling (De Helling 7) to see who will be named the winner. This year's final four contestants are: Kleinindustrie, The Dance, The Fudge, and The QI. Also performing will be last year's winner, The Pikeys. The winner will be decided by a professional jury, as well as audience vote.

The doors open at 19:30, with the performances beginning at 20:00. Tickets are €5 (€4 with student discount).

This Saturday, 5 June, a gamer's delight is hitting the infamous Paper Dome in the Leidsche Rijn neighborhood of Utrecht. This day-long gaming festival is free to enter and will feature a variety of games, including some decidedly low-tech urban games with stalking, swashbuckling and a variety of balls. The evening will see a special LANparty taking place at the Paper Dome where you can go up against pro-gamer Manuel "Grubby" Schenkhuizen, some seasoned Warcraft 3 players, and Gina, known as the Best Counter-Strike Female Gamer of Benelux. There will also be Battles of the Bands for you and your friends to compete in, along with opportunities to trade in your old games for other used titles.

The event starts at 13:00, with the first round of the Urban Games starting at 13:30, and the second at 15:30, with registration a half-hour before. The Paper Dome is located at Hogeweide 3A, 3541 BC Utrecht - Parkwijk. Check the website (in Dutch) for more information.

As I rode through Vondelpark on this marvelous sunny day, I noticed the amphitheater was a buzz with activity. It struck me - must be that time again!

Indeed the website confirms it, Sunday June 6th, summer theater in the park returns to Vondelpark. The season opener kicks off at 2:30pm with music by Beans & Fatback, a mix of country and soul. By 4pm it will be cabaret with the legendary Brigitte Kaandorp.

After this weekend performances will take place Friday thru Sunday until the end of August. Naturally these shows are all free of charge and open to the public, however the organizers also give you the option of reserving seats in the front rows for a small charge.

The play will be shown at the Cultureel Centrum De Warenaar. It is located at Kerkstraat 75 in Wassenaar. Tickets can be booked by calling 070-3306205 (from Monday - Friday, 8am-7pm) or by emailing aatg@aa-service.nl.

On June 12 from 10:00-14:00, the American School of The Hague is holding a giant garage sale on their campus. Looking for small appliances, a variety of household items, electronics, bikes, books, movies, clothes, or even a car? You can find it here! Just head to Wassenaar (the American School is located at Rijksstraatweg 200) and get ready to find some great deals.

Entrance is free. Head to the Sporthall at the American School to find the garage sale.

Windmill Windup, Europe's largest outdoor grass ultimate frisbee tournament takes place right here in Amsterdam and it begins this Thursday evening. 78 teams from all over the world will gather in the West of Amsterdam for 4 days of frisbee, occasional relaxation, and socializing. And while playing the tournament is for the true blue frisbee types, watching such a massive tournament is something that anyone can and should enjoy. You're unlikely to see anything like it anywhere else.

Directions to the fields and full schedule are available here. Its easily reachable by bike or public transport. Food and other amenities will be plentiful.

Here's a video preview of this year's tournament.

Windmill Windup 2010 - Bring It On! from Job on Vimeo.

No, it's not the US version of Flag Day - it's Dutch! Called Vlaggetjesdag and held on 12 June, this holiday celebrates fish rather than flags.

What kind of fish? Herring, of course. And raw, with plenty of chopped onions. This day is dedicated to celebrating the first catches of the year. A crowd gathers to try out the herring on the coast and at the Scheveningen harbor. Fisherman also get the opportunity to show off their talents, with herring ships racing back to port in an effort to win a cash prize.

If you plan to wait in line for the first herring catch, keep in mind that Queen Beatrix is given the first barrel. To learn more visit www.vlaggetjesdag.com, and head to Scheveningen Beach, in The Hague on 12 June.

These festivals have been going on since 2005, with Little Red Riding Hood as the design theme. This is the first time the event is being held in Utrecht. It takes place from 19:00 to 23:45 at Moira, located appropriately at Wolvenstraat 10. Tickets are €10 and can be purchased in advance at Plato (Voorstraat 35) or Boudisque (Vredenburg 31).

The Hague sure is getting a lot of play on this blog lately! It's probably because I don't live very far away, but it seems to be exploding with events as summer approaches.

Coming up this weekend is Jazz in de Gracht, held from 11-12 June. A free festival, held at De Bierkade en Dunne Bierkade (also known as Avenue Culinaire, and in The Hague) it offers the audience a chance to relax and let all the performances come to them. How is that possible, you ask? Well, the performances are on boats, and the boats stop at specified places in front of the audience. The audience is then treated to 20-minute performances.

The stops are located by the restaurants Afasika and Serengeti, between the cafés Paas and Pakschuit and at M-restaurant. See the website for a full program, which runs from 6pm Friday until 10:30pm Saturday.

If you're in the Netherlands, you've no doubt noticed the orange craze that has swept the country. In case you still hadn't figured it out this is due to the World Cup 2010, the global football competition that is being held 11 June through 11 July.

If you're looking for a place to watch the game with fellow expats, I have a couple suggestions. First, ADO Den Haag stadium at business park 'Forepark' is showing all games - for more information check this website.

If you're closer to Leiden, there are a couple places that are particularly expat friendly and will be broadcasting the games. You can try Duke of Oz (Oude Singel 2) or Bad Habits (Pelikaanstraat 64), which are both quite close to the Central Station.

Enjoy the games, and may the best team win!

Up here in Northern Europe, late June means midsummer night, the shortest night of the year. This occasion is traditionally cause for many parties and other rituals. One in particular is not often talked about in international circles, the midsummer festival in Bourtange.

Bourtange is known as the star fortress. An amazingly beautiful fortress from the 1500's that once protected the only route between the city of Groningen and Germany. Restored to its original state around 1960, the fortress today is an open air museum.

Vestivale Bourtange is a new festival that hopes to become a midsummer standard for years to come. Its focus this year will be the work of William Shakespeare, who wrote in the same era that the fortress was in heavy use. 2 Shakespeare plays will be the centerpiece of the festival this year. These events will be taking place even beyond midsummer, with renaissance style fairs taking place throughout July and August.

Two upcoming dates of particular interest for Vestivale Bourtange are June 19 and 20 when:

The Amuse theatre group will show an adaptation of the comedy 'As you like it' by William Shakespeare under the title of 'Wat u wilt!'; a light-hearted family performance which includes songs, music and dance. In addition to the performances, there will also be musical performances, lectures, stands, booths and people wearing historical dress.

Bourtange is one of those destinations in the Netherlands that you don't often hear about and few have the pleasure to experience. Yet with such a gorgeous summer ahead and such a great list of activities taking place, now is your chance!

The Hague Festivals are held between 10 and 27 June. These festivals boast over 200 cultural, musical and entertainment events for a wide variety of tastes. A few of the better known events include The Hague Jazz, Festival Classique (18-20 June), The Hague Sculpture, PopHotSpot Summer Festival, Shopping Night (17 June), Dutch Veterans Day and Parkpop.

Many of the events are free, and others have promised to contribute their support to War Child. It's a great time to head to The Hague, experience the summer and lots of interesting events.

Visit the website for more information, including details on all events, pricing, and locations.

Everywhere I look in internet land I'm hearing about Festival Mundial in Tilburg. The first day of the festival has already passed, and today may not be an option either if you're not near by, but if you can make it on Sunday you might be quite glad you did.

Tickets were going for 15€, see the website for more details.

The list of acts and stages is impossible for me to sort through and summarize... have a look at it for yourself, the Dutch parts aren't vital. Doors open at 12pm:

MILLENNIUM STAGE
13.10-14.00 Quique Neira CL
14.50-15.40 Ozomatli US
16.30-17.20 Babylon Circus FR
18.10-19.10 Alison Hinds BB
20.00-21.00 Calle 13 PR
21.50-23.00 Sean Paul JM

NEW VIBES STAGE
14.05-14.45 Suarez BE
15.45-16.25 Merdan Taplak Orkestar BE
17.25-18.05 Lyapis Trubetskoy BY
19.15-19.55 BCUC ZA
21.05-21.45 Mil Santos CO

PODIUM 2015
13.35-14.25 Depedro ES
15.05-15.55 Kirmizi TR
16.35-17.25 Minyeshu ET/NL
18.05-19.05 Victor Deme BF
19.45-20.45 Rachid Taha FR

UNITED CULTURES STAGE
13.00-13.30 Purnati Dance Theater Company ID
14.30-15.00 Ikobe RW
16.00-16.30 Xindira Companhia MZ
17.30-18.00 Taiwa Jazz Band ZA
19.10-19.40 Metzo Djatah GH
20.50-21.20 Wind Afrique CN

BECAUSE I AM A GIRL VILLAGE
13.20-14.05 Ceumar Group ft. Mike del Ferro NL
14.45-15.30 No Blues NL
16.10-17.05 Caspian Hat Dance NL
17.45-18.30 Orchestra Ismailia NL
19.10-19.55 Fremdkunst XL ft Eric Vloeimans & Baba Sissoko NL
20.35-21.35 Timbazo INT

THEATER DANS EILAND
13.30-14.00 Abacus; Act Wastelanders
13.45-14.30 Frans Custers; Act Boyaci Huseyin
14.10-14.40 TukkersConnexion; Voorstelling Toy Soldiers
14.45-15.30 Close-Act; Act Saurus
15.35-16.05 Chavi Bansal; Colour Me

16.15-16.45 Abacus; Act Wastelanders
17.00-17.45 Frans Custers; Act Boyaci Huseyin
17.10-17.40 TukkersConnexion; Voorstelling Toy Soldiers
17.45-18.30 Close-Act; Act Saurus
18.35-19.05 Joshua .A. Trebi; Reaction to Gravity
19.10-19.40 Abacus; Act Wastelanders
19.10-19.55 Frans Custers; Act Boyaci Huseyin
20.00-20.30 Nishant Bhola; Bollywood Beats

Beginning Jun 24, Utrecht will be celebrating the Rietveld Year, in honor of Gerrit Rietveld, the great Dutch architect and designer. A member of De Stijl movement, he first made a name for himself with his chair designs, including the famous red-blue chair. You can see it and some of his other chair designs in the video below, which also features a few well-known Utrecht residents, including C-Mon & Kypski. Ultimately, Rietveld became famous for his great work of modern architecture, the Rietveld-Shröder House, which joined the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2000.

As part of the special celebration, the house will be open for free guided tours on June 26-27, beginning at 11 a.m. Guided tours of the council housing that he also designed in the Hoograven area are also available, since once of the apartments has been turned into a museum. Reservations for the guided tours are recommended and can be made by calling (030) 23623. More information about Rietveld, his work, and the festivities can be found at the Rietveld Year website (in English and Dutch). If you can't make it this weekend, you can still visit the house. Combination tickets and guided tours are available from the Utrecht Centraal Museum.

In the meantime, enjoy this video of the famous blue-red chair as it makes its way from the Rietveld House to the Utrecht Centraal Museum, with stops at the Stadhuis, Griftpark and other locations in between.

Going on now until August 13th at the Rijksmuseum, an exhibition of work by Johan Miró and Jan Steen. It was in 1928 that Miró came to Amsterdam and was influenced by Steen's work showing at the Rijksmuseum. The exhibit will be the first time ever that Miró's work is on display alongside the 17th century pieces that inspired him.

Are you a fan of culinary delights? Don't miss this year's Taste of Amsterdam! There's no better opportunity to get a comprehensive idea of what Amsterdam has to offer in terms of food. From the website:

Welcome to Taste of Amsterdam, a celebration of the finest cuisine the capital has to offer. Mingle with top chefs as you sample signature dishes from 17 prestigious restaurants. Improve your culinary skills and discover a stunning selection of fine wines and specialty food and drink, all in the beautiful surroundings of the Amstelpark.

Taste of Amsterdam is being held 24-27 June in the Amstelpark. There are between 1- 2 sessions daily and tickets can be purchased for either the afternoon lunch or the evening diner session. See this link for detailed information about the schedule. Admission is € 15 (presale) and tickets are € 17.50 at the entrance. Eet smakelijk!

This fall will present an interesting opportunity for any rare book lovers or authors out there. The American Book Center has purchased an Espresso Book Machine (EBM), capable of rapidly printing any text in just a matter of minutes! From the blog:

We hope to have it installed and ready to print obscure in and out of print titles within minutes by late September. This machine is also a godsend for authors, students, anyone who wants to quickly turn a document into an actual book with full color cover. Plans for incorporating this ingenious device into our stores are now being made. Even more so than ever before, ABC is the first place to check for wild and wonderful titles.

Check out a demonstration video on the ABC Blog. Sounds like a great idea for anyone writing a thesis that wants a nice finished final version, too. Stay tuned.

Schiphol airport is full of fun treats - museums, a casino, lots of shops and plenty of food and drink. But they're now offering a new, more educational option: the world's first airport library! From Expatica:

The project is being set-up by the ProBiblio Dutch public library organisation with money from the ministry of education, culture and science. According to project leader Dick van Tol, the collection will be very diverse. "It will be a multimedia venture and will include different aspects of Dutch culture. There won't just be books, but also films and music."

To appeal to a more global audience, most materials will be in English. And although travelers can't take away library materials (that would be tricky!) there are some digital materials available for download.

Look for the airport library to open at the beginning of July.

The John Adams Institute is well known for its amazing selection of literary speakers. But now they're raising the bar and offering a literature course this fall.

In this six-week course Dan Hassler-Forest of the University of Amsterdam will explore the way writers today are mixing art forms (think how television shows have taken the place of serial fiction). Lectures and corresponding discussions will focus on authors and filmmakers like Bret Easton Ellis, Charlie Kaufman, Jane Campion, David Benioff, and David Cronenberg. Some of the authors will also be featured at fall events put on by the John Adams Institute. The best part? Course students will have free entrance to these events!

The course will be held on Thursdays: 9, 16, 23, 30 September 2010 and 7 and 14 October 2010, between 7.30pm - 9.00pm. The location is at De Rode Hoed located at Keizersgracht 102, The cost is €200 per person. If you're interested, please register before 1 September 2010 at info@john-adams.nl.

For more information or questions please contact Maarten van Essen at essen@john-adams.nl or at 020-6247280.

The Amsterdam local transport company (GVB) has found its funny bone and is using this video to promote their unlimited travel cards:

The video was created with Amsterdam's comedy institution, Boom Chicago, which also produced five unique podcasts for five popular journeys in the city.

This Thursday, July 1st, marks the beginning of another edition of the Over Het Ij Festival in Amsterdam north. A fantastic theater festival that lasts for 10 days, what I love most is that most of the performances traditionally take place in converted shipping containers. Often times the containers aren't really converted, the audience simple fits into one side while the performance takes place on the other.

Besides all manner of theater performances, there is also food, live music, and all kinds of side show fun taking places throughout the festival terrain. The main action takes places at NDSM - Amsterdam North, easily accessible via Ferry from Central Station. This year there will also be some performances in other parts of Amsterdam north, check the website for full details.

Temperatures keep going up over here in the Netherlands, set to hit 30C (86F), which for this part of the world is quite dramatic. Naturally with all this hot weather, people are flocking to the beaches. With so many people heading to the coastline, you're unlikely to find a beach that isn't packed. Still there are ways to find something off the beaten path, and here is one of my favorites:

From Amsterdam Central Station take the train to Alkmaar, if memory serves it is around a 40 minute ride. In Alkmaar find the bus outside the station that will take you to a town called Bergen. In Bergen what I like to do is rent a bike for the day (about 8€) and ride through the dunes. The dunes are awesome and there are a few choice spots to stop and have a drink.

Once you're through the dunes you arrive at the beach, Bergen aan Zee. A nice beach that is by no means private, but potentially with a bit more space for you and your towel. Plus this fine beach has plenty of activities and places for you to grab food and drink. All the ingredients for a great beach day on hot Holland days.