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.
The AATG amateur theatre group in The Hague is putting on an English language play called The Dining Room. If you're interested the play is showing on 10, 11 and 12 June 2010 (Thursday through Saturday).
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 this date in 1122, Emperor Henrik V made Utrecht into a city proper. Today, Utrecht is celebrating its 888th birthday. The city looks good for its age! You can get in on the celebration by attending any of the variety of events going on around town today and in some cases throughout the week. Some museums are offering free entrance, other spots have special offers for anyone with a name derived from Henrik; a bronze seal of the city is being placed in the pavement at the Vismarkt; and much more. Check the special Stadsdag website (in Dutch) for the full program of events.
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.
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).
If you're a sucker for comedy shows, but still struggling with your Dutch, there are plenty of outlets available in Amsterdam for your viewing pleasure. Cosmo Polite recently listed a comprehensive overview of all English-language comedy shows. For example, there's the best-known Boom Chicago (in the Leidseplein), the often-mentioned EasyLaughs (at CREA on the University of Amsterdam campus) and the Comedy Café (near the Holland Casino). But she mentions a new one I hadn't heard of before - Toomler.
Toomler is a group of stand-up comedians, sponsored by Comedytrain International. They find the best comedians from the UK, US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand for performances. If stand-up is more your style, head over to Breitnerstraat 2, next to Hilton Hotel.
The Festival aan de Werf is winding up its last few days, but if you're looking for something to do later this evening, head to the Domplein at 23:00 for the DJ at the Dom dance party here in Utrecht. DJ DNA, producer of the Urban Dance Squad, will kick of the evening's free music and dance party. You'll also see DJs Pitto and Nuno dos Santos there, with special videos and light shows to entertain. At 1:00, the afterparty heads to Tivoli de Helling (Helling 7, Utrecht) for more performances by DJ Crossfingaz as well as VJs Miss Soviet and LotteZ. Entrance to the afterparty at Tivoli de Helling is €5.
Another not-to-be-missed event is coming up in Amsterdam. World Press Photo is here! As every year, the global tour starts in Amsterdam at the Oude Kerk. From now until June 30th, you can see this year's winners and a wide array of stunning, thought-provoking and sobering images that reflect current events.
Oliver Laban-Mattei (from France) took the example provided here. It is of an opposition supporter shouting in Tehran.
The exhibition is located at Oudekerksplein 23 in Amsterdam. Opening times are Monday through Saturday from 10:30 until 17:30, and Sundays from 13:00 until 17:30. Admission is €7,50 for adults and €5,50 for those with a student card. Entrance is free for I amsterdam and Museum card holders.
One of my favorite bloggers has written a unique book called Amsterdam: Made by Hand. From the publisher's website:
Follow stylist Pia Jane Bijkerk's ten "wanders" through Amsterdam to the places where she sources the props, accessories, and objects that she uses in the sets and photographs she creates. You'll find jewelry, clothing, home furnishings, antiques, collectibles, and more, all made by hand. Along the way, discover the real Amsterdam (Pia lives there--on a houseboat!).
This isn't Pia's first foray into the publishing world. Other than her inspiring blog, she recently published another book called Paris: Made by Hand. I own this one and can say it's full of delightful surprises.
The book launch will be in Amsterdam at the American Book Center (Spui 12) on Saturday June 5th at 3pm. Stop by for a signed copy, then get ready to experience a whole new side of Amsterdam. You can also follow Pia on Facebook for more information.
There's so much going on in Utrecht right now, it seems that they just ran out of room for the monthly Cultural Sunday, so they moved it to Monday, 24 May. This month's Cultural SundayMonday event focuses on dance. Professionals and amateurs will be moving and grooving through a variety of styles, from hip hop to world dance.
The heart of the events is at the Domplein, where the Dance of Utrecht will kick off the party at 13:00. Throughout the city, there will be performances, workshops and clinics, with opportunities for spectators to get involved, too. The whole event reaches its grand finale at 17:00 with U Dance at the Domplein, where everyone gets to take part in a choreographed dance. Want to learn the moves and join in on the fun? There's an instructional video available on YouTube. A full schedule of the day's events is available through the official website.
