One of the major features of the event is the music, which includes gothrock, retro-wave, gothic-metal, avant-garde, darkambient, medieval, neo-folk, darkwave, industrialrock, and neo-classical. The musical acts booked for this year come from a variety of countries and include: And One, DAF, Brendan Perry, Leatherstrip, Project Pitchfork, Clan of Xymox, Grendel, Faith & The Muse, Aesthetic Perfection, and many many more.

Along with the music, DJs and dance parties, there are markets set up on the Domplein, for all your shopping needs, from clothing and wigs, to CDs and home decorations, all with a dark spin, of course. There are also fashion shows and musical performances going on in the Domplein throughout the weekend. The events here are free and open to the public and are great for the more casual weekend attendee. They're also great for photographers, as many of the people attending are dressed to impress and are often more than happy to serve as an impromptu model.

The event takes place August 13-15 at various locations around Utrecht. Tickets can be bought for the whole event at €65, or can be purchased for individual days for €37, and single tickets for individual events are sometimes available, starting at €15. Tickets may be purchased through Ticketservice or at the cash desk of Tivoli Oudegracht during office hours, and at Plato record store. Full ticket info is available on the official website (in English), as is the full program with all the locations, times and individual events.

Out of all the Amsterdam Pride 2010 video clips I found on Youtube, the one was my favorite. Over 3 minutes of some of the best scenes along the canals. Enjoy.

Here are some summer concerts that may be just what the doctor ordered for the last weekend of July 2010:

Saturday

George Clinton and Paliament Funkadelic - I've seen George perform in Amsterdam before and let me tell you, there is no better place on the planet to experience his show. - Paradiso; 7pm; €30 plus membership.

If you like amazing guitar players then the Concertgebouw is the place to check out "Jazz Guitar Summer Night" feature the best of the best in Holland. 8:15pm, prices range from €22 to €30.

Sunday

The Pogues are back and the word is, better than ever. Find out for yourself. - Melkweg; 7pm; €47.50 plus membership.

Sugar Factory at the Beach. Yes why not, the legendary Amsterdam night club has taken its party to the beach, featuring Tentempiés and The Tunes. 3pm, free entry.

The weather may not be wonderful today - we actually saw some rain in Leiden earlier - but generally summer allows for outdoor activities on a more regular basis. Beach trips, cycling, and picnics are all possibilities that should be taken advantage of in the summer months - but have you thought about watching a film or enjoying some music in the open air?

If you're near Amsterdam, be sure to check out the Vondelpark's Open Lucht Theater, which aims to entertain visitors all summer long. They have a full summer schedule available online. For example, next week (30 July - 1 August) offers 11 different options for interested attendees. You can see everything from a dance company to films to classical music concerts just during this three-day period. You can even reserve your tickets online.

The Open Lucht Theater runs until the end of August, so be sure to stop by one of their events before or after exploring the lovely Vondelpark in Amsterdam. Now get out there and enjoy the summer!

Sometimes it seems like Amsterdam gets all the bigger international musical acts, with Utrecht left forgotten. So here's a bit of a heads-up for some of the bigger indie music acts hitting the stage at Tivoli in the coming months. Tickets tend to go fast, so get them while you can.

Kasabian is playing 11 August, but according to Tivoli's Twitter postings, there are only three tickets left. Hurry! Black Rebel Motorcycle Club play 24 August, with tickets on sale for €17. Josh Ritter & The Royal City Band hit the stage 15 September, with tickets priced at €15. Finally, I Am Kloot is playing 6 November, with tickets going for €16.

All of these shows are at the main Oudegracht location of Tivoli. Check the website for links for tickets, as well as opening times and support acts.

The official website already has all details available for the Canal Parade. Check out the site for an official map, where you can see the parade begins at 2pm on the Prinsengracht at the Westerdok harbor (west of the Central Station). It travels around the Prinsengracht until it makes a left onto the Amstel, then heads north in the direction of the Oosterdok, finishing around 5pm.

The website also provides a full schedule of events from Friday August 6th until Sunday August 8th. If the Canal Parade isn't what you had in mind, an incredible variety of parties and cultural events await you during the weekend.

The Source Festival in Utrecht is expanding this year to fill two days (10-11 July) with electronic music, theater, fashion, video and more. The festival runs Saturday 11:00-23:00, with five stages offering music and artists from the Netherlands and beyond. Some of the artists include Moderat & Pfadfinderei, Theo Parrish and DJ Koze. Sunday, the festival runs from 13:00-23:00, with three stages, as well as all of the accompanying activities that seem to make up any festival. There will also be a big screen set up for anyone wanting to watch the World Cup final.

The festival takes place at Nedereindse Plas, and special bus tickets can be purchased to get you from Utrecht Jaarbeursplein to the festival grounds. Tickets are €24.50. More info can be found at the official website (in Dutch).

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

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.

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).