Saturday - Kwaku festival in the Bijlmer

This annual Festival in the Bijlmer is a celebration of this Amsterdam neighborhood music and culture and takes place over 4 weeks in the Bijlmerpark.

There are of course performances from several local and international bands and DJs,  but also a football tournament (considering the amount and skills of Dutch national players hailing from here, you're almost certain to see some excellent footie), debates (today for instance about the roles of fathers and mothers in kids' upbringing), literary awards and beauty contests.

The entrance is moderately priced at 2,5 euro and apart from the usual fries and kroket stalls, expect to find loads of delicious food from Suriname (bara being my own personal favourite), the Antilles and the Caribbean.

http://kwakufestival.nl/

Friday - Photocompetition: the men and the sea

You love taking picture and going to the beach but you are also get very annoyed about how people dump their rubbish all over the place?

Time to document the mess and havoc created by pollution on the marine ecosystem and have a chance to win a surfing class + the publication of your photo.

More information available on the website of the association Kust&Zee, a foundation that strives for a sustainable use of the sea and the coast.

http://www.kustenzee.nl/fotowedstrijd/index.htm

Thursday - Open air cinema at the Humanity House

Every Thursday till the end of August, at the Humanity House in Den Haag, open air film screening starting at 21.45.

Tonight: When we were kings, a documentary about the legendary Congo boxing match between Muhammed Ali and George Foreman in 1974.

Next week, Persepolis.

http://www.humanityhouse.org/en/museum-agenda/open-air-cinema-1

Wednesday - They see me rollin', they hatin' ....or nightskating in Rotterdam

Don your skates and join the crowd in Rotterdam for this year's first edition of the Wednesday Night Skate.

Every Wednesday evening until the 28 August, skating enthusiasts will get together and take over the streets of Rotterdam with a race around the city which includes a final jam (skating) session.

Picture me rollin'....

http://www.wednesdaynightskate.nl

Tuesday - Faces of Utrecht

Free exhibition running till the 28 July portraying Utrecht through its inhabitants.

According to the author, it's an anthropological study of the classical Utrecht's sense of humor and outlook on life.

http://www.stedelijkefotografie.nl/opdrachten.php?geheim=&id=32

Monday - FAST and curious

A bit of a follow up to yesterday's post.

The Surfers Village is actually called FAST, or Free Architecture Surf Terrain and it's a (seemingly random) concoction of buildings, containers, caravans, a theatre arena and in general, bits a pieces looking as if they have been washed ashore by the sea.

It's actually part of an architectural project, but the outlook contributes to giving a very pleasant feeling of anarchy and hippiness that you don't get too often in NL.

In summer especially, they have a programme packed with open air events: cinema, theatre, weekly parties, plus unplanned performances from passing and resident artists and DJs.

Bonfire and cold beer included. And yeah, if you cannot make it home on your legs, there's an hostel on the premises.

http://www.fastthehague.com/content.php?lng=2

Sunday - Waslijn: for swappers, not for swingers (and some beach football)

Today, in Scheveningen's Surfers Village (at the very end of the Northern beach, opposite the pier that marks the harbour's entrance and the Beach Stadium), starting at 14.00 join a very original Summer party offering you clothes swapping, poffertjes, BBQ and live music.

The clothes swap  is organised by the dynamic duo behind Waslijn and it roughly works like this: you rent a 5 euro "clothes hanging line", you bring your used-but-in excellent-condition clothes that for whatever reason you don't want to keep anymore and swap them with someone else's pre-loved ones that suits your current tastes (or size) better.

All the left over garments will be donated to a charity.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Waslijn/120896548079528?fref=ts

PS:  those not too keen on clothes who want to join the party a bit later, can check out the qualifications to the European Beach Soccer Championship in the Beach Stadium just across the road from the Surfers Village.

http://www.beachstadion.com/

https://www.facebook.com/KNVBBeachSoccer

Map of the area here:

http://goo.gl/maps/702ZX