Events for internationals in Amsterdam this month
Holland Festival
The Netherlands’ leading festival for performing arts never fails to deliver, so mark your calendars and start plotting your must-sees. Productions to look out for include a sharp and funny reimagining of Brecht’s first play, Baal, by the Beijing Repertory Theatre and Théâtre National de Strasbourg’s Lacrima, directed by Caroline Guiela Nguyen.
Spinoza
NITE are a company to look out for if you like your theatre bold, powerful and multifaceted, and their newest production, performed against the evocative backdrop of the Amsterdam Forest, offers an inspiring new way of delving into Amsterdam history. Inspired by the childhood of the famous free-thinker Baruch Spinoza, it’s a musical set in a community of Portuguese-Jewish refugees in 17th-century Amsterdam – a city that sees itself as a safe haven. Bringing together music, dance and storytelling, the story centres on three siblings with clashing ideas of how to find their place in life. In Dutch with English surtitles.
Open Garden Days
One of the great joys of June in Amsterdam is discovering the secret gardens of the canal belt as they are opened to visitors for three days around midsummer. You begin by going to one of four starting addresses – Museum Van Loon, The Willet-Holthuysen House, Huis Marseille or Amnesty International – where you will be given a list of the rest of the participating gardens (which is not published in advance). Gardens include private gardens and those belonging to public organisations, and range from traditional styles to contemporary designs.
Jazz at H’ART Museum
One of the great advantages of living in a place like Amsterdam is the sheer amount of musical talent you have access to – as well as great locations to showcase them. This summer, the H’ART museum is proving that point by hosting jazz concerts by Conservatorium musicians in its expansive courtyard.
24H Nieuw-West
Get out and explore the city! This summer, 24 Hours Nieuw-West hosts free activities in and around the area. The Van Eesteren Museum serves as event hub, offering food, music, an exhibition and more. Other highlights include a dance workshop at Meervaart, clothing embroidery at Muna, and watersports and a floating sauna at the Sloterplas. Don't miss this!
The Little Big Things
This uplifting, pop-soundtracked, award-winning British musical is based on the best-selling memoir by Henry Fraser about adapting to life as a tetraplegic after a diving accident. The production is part of the Broadway in Carré series, which brings musicals from Broadway and London’s West End to Amsterdam, performed in English. Previous shows in the series include The Book of Mormon and Hadestown.
Language Exchange Meetup
Practice your language skills in a laid-back setting at this multilingual social. All languages are welcome, so this is a great opportunity to meet people from all over the world and chat in your language of choice over some snacks and drinks.
Grimm
If you’ve been waiting for the right moment to take the kids to a dance performance, this is it. This family performance is a hip-hop-and-ballet hybrid that brings together motifs from Grimm’s fairy tales with breakdance moves, elegant arabesques and clever nods to classical fairy-tale ballets. It’s been created jointly by Marco Gerris and Ernst Meisner, the artistic directors of hip-hop dance collective ISH and Dutch National Ballet’s Junior Company, respectively.
De Baarsjescoop
Picture this – you take an evening stroll down to your local park and chance upon a free little film festival. And there’s even food on offer too. It’s exactly this kind of thing that we love this city for. De Baarsjescoop was started two years ago with a strong focus on community, and its programme includes feature films as well as documentaries.
IJmuiden Harbour Festival
Big ships, delicious seafood and some fascinating nautical history – what more do you want from a daytrip to the seaside? Well, how about an anniversary and a festival? You’re luck, IJmuiden has all of these things as they celebrate their 150th anniversary with music, food stalls and plenty of other entertainment.
Japan Festival
This popular annual event is made just as much for the Amsterdam Area’s sizable Japanese community as for those wanting to explore Japanese culture in all its facets. Expect culinary specialities and stalls selling arts and crafts, performances of music with classical Japanese instruments, and traditional dance and martial arts such as kendo and aikido.
Keti Koti
Keti Koti is one of Amsterdam’s most significant annual occasions. The national commemoration and celebration of the abolishment of slavery in the Dutch colonies in 1863 is marked with several events. The day begins with a procession from Waterlooplein to Oosterpark, where the commemoration ceremony takes place. Simultaneously, a day-long festival takes over Museumplein with music, dance and food.
Julidans
The renowned annual festival for international contemporary dance festival returns, bringing 26 performances to 9 locations across the city. This year’s line-up includes the Dresden Frankfurt Dance Company, the Iceland Dance Company, Dutch-Belgian company WArd/waRD and the Canadian Fou Glorieux by Louise Lecavalier.
Wonderfeel
Held in a beautiful 18th-century country estate, this three-day festival combines a classical line-up with the easy-going vibes of a pop festival. And sometimes it also combines pop music with classical, as in the performance of the Nymphéas Trombone Quartet, who’ll play Bach’s Toccata and the Fugue in D as well as the Michael Jackson banger Human Nature.
Love on the Canals – 30 Years of Canal Parade
Get in the mood for Pride! This year marks the 30th anniversary of Pride Amsterdam and its legendary Canal Parade (plus 25 years of marriage equality in the Netherlands!) and this milestone is celebrated by a fabulous, fun and touching photo exhibition – don’t miss it. And of course, get ready for the actual event on 1 August. This year, Amsterdam is hosting WorldPride, so the celebrations will be bigger and better than ever.
Taalhuis Summer Party
The language school celebrates summer at its De Pijp headquarters with
cocktails, Egyptian street food, a live band and DJ Amoela spinning Arab funk and house.
Kwaku
If you live in Amsterdam, you absolutely have to go to Kwaku. Over four glorious summer weekends, the Nelson Mandelapark in Zuidoost is heaving with food, music, football and performances. More than 100 stalls serve up a huge variety of delicious dishes featuring Caribbean, African, South American and Asian cuisine, from Surinamese spare ribs to Korean tacos. Kwaku has its roots in 1975, when a group of locals organised a football tournament at the Bijlmermeer tower blocks for kids who weren’t able to go on holiday. Word spread and people started getting together for football and Surinamese food. The festival now attracts 300,000 visitors a year.
Markets
IJ-Hallen flea market
Once a month, the IJ-Hallen – a cavernous industrial building at NDSM Wharf – host one of the biggest and best flea markets in Europe. With hundreds of stalls selling everything from records and fashion to antiques, glorious vintage finds are pretty much guaranteed.
The Maker Market
This monthly market at De Hallen in Amsterdam-West is a vibrant hub of craftsmanship, design and inspiration, with plenty of creations and original designs by makers from Amsterdam and beyond. Combine with a stroll around De Baarsjes and Bos en Lommer.
De Hallen, upcoming editions: 27 & 28 June, 25 & 26 July
Pure Markt
Some of the farmer’s markets in Amsterdam offer a whole experience rather than just being a place to buy some organic celeriac and maybe a bit of fancy cheese. The Pure Markt has more than 90 food and drink stalls, organic farmers, knowledgeable producers and artisans, delis and non-food, plus music, outdoor seating and generally good vibes.
Sunday Market
At this much-loved Westergasfabriek staple, designers, artists and other creatives sell interior accessories, art, fashion and design items directly to the public. A great event for socialising and shopping, plus there’s live music and plenty of food and drink.
Ongoing events and exhibitions
Conservatorium Concerts
Experiencing the city’s rich cultural scene doesn’t always have to cost a lot. Amsterdam’s Conservatory hosts free concerts and other events almost daily, from piano recitals to woodwind workshops.
World Press Photo
There are few better exhibitions to visit for vivid and often harrowing signs of our times. Each year, the winning images from the world’s largest and most prestigious annual press photography contest begin their world tour in Amsterdam, where they’re showcased in the Nieuwe Kerk. This year’s Photo of the Year is ‘Separated by ICE’ by Carol Guzy.
Artzuid
Regardless of its beauty – if you live in Amsterdam or its surroundings, it can get easy to get too caught up in everyday life to really appreciate the city. So take some time out to explore and enjoy your hometown anew! And Artzuid is an excellent incentive to do so. The Netherlands’ leading sculpture biennale sees 50 sculptures by internationally renowned artists erected on the leafy streets of Amsterdam Zuid. The heart of the five-kilometre route are the Apollolaan, Minervalaan and Churchilllaan avenues, which form part of the early-20th-century Plan Zuid grid by renowned architect and urban planner HP Berlage. You can explore Artzuid on your own or join a guided tour; in the school holidays, the Artzuid organisation also offers holiday camps for children between 6 and 12.
Vondelpark Open Air Theatre
It has entertained generations of Amsterdammers for more than 50 years, so it’s almost an understatement to call the Vondelpark Open Air Theatre an Amsterdam institution. Each summer, from May to September, the theatre presents a packed programme almost every weekend, from young talent to established names. There’s dance performances on Fridays, family entertainment on Saturday daytime, comedy on Saturday evenings, classical concerts on Sunday mornings and pop music on Sunday afternoons. And it’s all free.
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Never miss a beat in Amsterdam!
Whether you’re new to the Amsterdam Area or have been living here for years, our newsletter is designed to help internationals make the most of life in this vibrant region.
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