The Lokerse Feesten is on August 1-10, 2008 in Lokerse, Belgium. They’ve got a great lineup of bands, including the Sex Pistols, New York Dolls & Buzzcocks (all playing on Saturday the 2nd). Macy Gray will hit the stage on 8 August and Alanis Morissette on 10 August.

Lokeren is about a 2 ½ to 3 hour train ride from Amsterdam Centraal. They even have an overnight bar for hard-core concert-goers who don’t need sleep (or don’t want to pay for a hotel room).

Tickets for each day of the festival run between EUR 12 to 27, and a ten-day festival pass is EUR 85.

The summer solstice has come and gone, but we've still got lots and lots of daylight and short nights to enjoy the music and festivals.

Friday:

Friday nights at the Amsterdam Arena don't usually mean Waltz, but that's the theme of the party, classical music by André Rieu; Amsterdam ArenA, 8pm, €50-€140.

The Running Birds are from France and can be seen at The Waterhole, 11pm, free.

Monte Montgomery jams at Paradiso, Kleine Zaal, 8:30pm, €10 + membership.

Of all the bizarre gatherings, De Balie is having a party called club tobac. The theme, as you can tell, is smoking; Friday includes a screening of Thank You for Smoking; 8pm, 3€.

Saturday:

Holy Cow! It's Gospel Battle 2008, a whole lot of gospel singing in the battle for the top spot; De Kandelaar, 8pm, free.

Red Hot Riviera; De Nieuwe Anita, 8pm, €6.

Brooklyn's own - Papoose; Melkweg, The Max, 9pm, €22 + membership.

Sunday:

Parkpop takes place in The Hague and includes Cheryl Crow; Zuiderpark, , 1pm, free.

Ben Folds - still going! Paradiso, Grote Zaal, 9pm, €26 + membership.

Hip Hop artist Young Buck; Melkweg, The Max, 9pm., €25 + membership.

This is your early heads up for a little known yet very unique event that will take place in the Amsterdam area on July 6th, 2008. It is called "Big Jump" and it involves hundreds of people, possibly like yourself, jumping into bodies of water in the name of water quality and protecting the cleanliness of our water. To reconnect people with their waterways, what better way - than to jump in them.

Big Jumps have been taking place throughout Europe for the past few years in places like Spain, France, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium and the UK. This year there are several Big Jumps scheduled, in preparation for the Big Jump XXL in 2010.

To observe, or better yet, be a part of the grand leap, bring your bathing suit (or not) and head over to either the beloved Blijberg beach, or to the IJberg section of Amsterdam at the Markermeer area. There are further explanations in Dutch here. Or directly from the European wide website in English, here. Don't miss this chance, when else will you be able to say you took part in a big jump into water along with several hundred people at the same time, in the Netherlands!?

Some consider Ulysses to be the greatest novel of the 20th century, and this view is celebrated each year by Joycean fans on Bloomsday, the 16th of June.

This year, head to The Hague for dramatized readings from Ulysses and The Odyssey at The Haagsche Kunstbring (located at Denneweg 64, starting at 8pm). The event, sponsored by the Irish Embassy, is free and open to all. More information can be found here. More details below:

-Theme: A Web of Wiles: the Odyssey of Ulysses
-Directed by Ruud Hisgen & Wim Tigges
-Molly Bloom dramatized by Doreen van der Post and Petra Veenstra
-Music by Paul O'Brien & Simply Green

There's a chill in the air this weekend, keep warm surrounded by cheering fans in concert venues.

Friday:

Interesting and Free, I recommend you check out Makamonde which features lots of unique arrangements and instrumentation; Winston Kingdom, 10pm.

Music in My Head is a two day festival taking place in the Hague, and it features one of my favorite bands, the Tokyo Police Club; Paard van Troje, 7:30pm, €25 entry or €45 for a 2-day pass.

Saturday:

THE Lynyrd Skynyrd tribute band- Skinner; Maloe Melo, 10pm, €5.

My buddy's favorite party- GirlsLoveDJ’s; Hotel Arena, 11pm, €15.

Sunday:

Another excellent free option, this one takes place in Vondelpark, Lavalu; Vondelpark Openluchttheater, 3:15pm.

Debalie is organizing another debate, this one entitled: Middle East Stock EXchange. The evening will also feature 3 documentaries related to middle eastern economics; 1:30pm film screening/3pm main program, €8

The Cecilia International Choir, one of the longest established English speaking mixed voice choirs in South Holland, will perform in The Hague on Saturday, June 21 at 8:15pm. The performance will take place at the Bergkerk (Daal en Bergselaan 50a) and will include the following pieces:

Faure - Cantique de Jean Racine
Faure - Requiem
Dvorak - Mass in D major

The cost is EUR 15, and you can make a reservation by calling +31703202805 or sending an email to info@cecilia-choir.com. More information plus maps can be found here. What a lovely way to spend a summer evening!

I cut through the Krasnapolsky Hotel in Dam Square the other day while heading to the Central Station. On the way, I noticed a very charming outdoor eating area (pictured below). I wandered in and snapped a quick photo before continuing back into the hustle and bustle of summertime pedestrian traffic.

This is one of the joys of nice weather in the Netherlands: green, open-air spots for relaxation pop up everywhere. Keep your eyes peeled – you never know what you’ll find next.

Despite the fact that I'm in Cambodia... I have my people feeding me what good back in the NL. Therefore, lets get to it, as I sit poolside in Phnom Penh:

Friday:

Don't let anyone tell you bluegrass isn't cool, go see the Southern Tenant Folk Union; Paradiso, Kleine Zaal, 8pm, €8.50 + membership.

Cancer Bats are Canadian. I love the Canadian music, even if it is hardcore punk; Melkweg, Oude Zaal, 8:30pm, €9 + membership.

My buddies over at Wicked Jazz Sounds are doing it on a Friday; Sugar Factory, 10pm, €8.

Saturday:

It could prove disastrous, but it is free so perhaps worth a try; Big Band Marinierskapel, on the corner of Keizersgracht-Nieuwe Spiegelstraat, 5pm.

It should be fairly eighties, but check out PosT; Winston Kingdom, 9pm, €6.

West Hell 5 are having a CD release party at Maloe Melo; 10:30, €5.

Sunday:

I'm full blooded Portuguese so you'll understand why I recommend Maria Fernandes, an outdoor Fado concert!; Claes Claeszhofje, 3pm, free.

Indie is good, and so is White Williams; Paradiso, Kleine Zaal, 10pm, €8 + membership.

It ends on Sunday, but from Friday to Sunday you can go to Haarlem and check out the comic festival. Fun for all ages.

May has just about gone, so this is the last hurrah weekend before the summer sets in. Here are some recommendations:

Friday:

Minuit, who hail from New Zealan; Winston Kingdom, 8pm, €10.

English Reformed Church features songs from around the world performed by Rusalki, 8:15pm, free

Ecellent Cuban music with Pedro Luis Ferrer; Bimhuis, 9pm, €18.

Saturday:

Raggae fest, Future Reggae Ruigoord, at Ruigoord, 2pm., €20 day tickets, €25 for a whole festival pass.

Last Man Standing, hiphop; OneFourOne, 10pm, €5.

More free music at the Patronaat in Haarlem, featuring Paper Chase, 10pm, free.

Sunday:

Big Dance Sunday, with bigbands playing at Odeon, 4pm, €7.50.

Not sure she'll draw the crowds the way she used to, but Mary J Blige is in town; Heineken Music Hall, 8pm, €43.

You know you want to learn Dutch. And now it’s so easy. There’s no need to register and pay for a class and try to motivate yourself to go every week. It’s quite possible to sit at home and – if you have an internet connection – immerse yourself in some great teaching tools online.

The best place to start? With audio. Check out Laura Speaks Dutch, an entertaining podcast with a nice story behind it. He hasn't updated since Koninginnedag but there's plenty to keep you busy in the meantime. Then head on over to Dutch Word of the Day to pick up an important and useful expression. Want the basics? The Integral Dutch Course provides you with all the boring rules on pronunciation and grammar that a textbook would – for free!

With all these resources, there’s really no excuse not to start learning. Hmmm, I think I’ve inspired myself to again take up the challenge...