Flower Parade - From Aalsmeer to Amsterdam

First Saturday in September (usually)

The Aalsmeer Parade is a spectacular floral display which takes place every year and it's for free. This long parade filled with flowers and large trucks on which bands play and costumed participants dance and perform plays will amaze you. Hundred of thousands flowers create an overwhelming display of colors. The parade starts in Aalsmeer en goes all the way to the dam (square) in Amsterdam city centre.

Website:  http://www.bloemencorsoaalsmeer.nl/index_engels.html

IBC Amsterdam

Beginning of September each year

IBC2011 takes place at the Amsterdam RAI from 8 – 13 September.

IBC is the leading international forum for the electronic media industry, attracting 1,000+ exhibitors from more than 130 countries. It combines a highly respected and peer reviewed conference, an exhibition that demonstrates state of the art media technology and unrivalled networking opportunities.

IBC is the event not to be missed for everyone involved in the media worlds of content, creation, management and delivery.

Website: http://www.ibc.org

International Gaudeamus Music Week

April 10-17, 2011
A competition for young interpreters of contemporary music. More than 100 young musicians and ensembles come to Amsterdam to convince the jury of their special talents

The Gaudeamus Foundation holds a competition as part of its celebration of young composers in contemporary music.

Website: http://www.gaudeamus.nl

Inside Design Amsterdam

April 10 2011
ELLE Wonen will organize Inside Design Amsterdam for the eighth time.

Each year this lively and fun-loving event is organized by a Dutch interior decoration magazine Elle Wonen.

The four day long festival presents exhibitions and lectures about design, fashion shows and product presentations. Each year a few selected themes dominate the event.

A number of Amsterdam shops, restaurants, hotels, galleries and museums participate in the event. Each of them tries to organize additional presentations of the individual designers and usually offers special discounts.

MAKE NO MISTAKE ...Inside Design Amsterdam days, is a commercially profit driven event. Originally organized in 2003, the event does however offer a good opportunity to observe the newest design trends, exchange ideas, weather you are a designer or retailer, and more importantly, if a consumer, a great chance to spend your money!

Tickets: Check the website.

Website: http://www.elle.nl/inside_design/ 

Dam tot Damloop (Dam to Dam Run)

3rd weekend in September (Sep 18, 2011)

The largest as well as one of the most attractive running events in the Netherlands 40,000 strong. It goes from the centre of Amsterdam to the centre of Zaandam.

Website: http://www.damloop.nl

Jordaan Festival

16th - 18th September 2011 in the Jordaan

An overwhelming favorite for many years among Amsterdamers and visitors alike! A big inner city street festival loaded with charm and laughter celebrating the diversity of this former working class district. Features this year as in years past include drum bands, an expanded children's festival, opera and cabaret, a boules competition, a flea market and an auction. See you in the Jordaan!

Website:  http://www.jordaanfestival.nl

Robodock Arts Festival

Yearly in mid-September (24, 25 September 2011)

A unique festival presenting contemporary art shows in the huge, old NDSM shipyard depot, in the Amsterdam North. The atmosphere is rough, industrial, experimental. A lot of loud music, fire, smoke, noise and heavy machinery are usually elements of these performances. New and always inspiring, under condition that you are into this kind of art.

Website:  http://www.robodock.org

Amsterdam Fringe Festival

September 1 - 11, 2011

Shows, performances, (music) theatre acts and live art celebrate the urge to act, artistic madness and the bravura that blossoms in the fringes of the theatre circuit in the Netherlands and Flanders.

Website: http://www.amsterdamfringefestival.nl

Nationale Restaurant Week

Two times a year, restaurants all over the Netherlands organize a week long event, during which they offer to their clients a full 3 course dinner for a mere € 25,-. The National Dining Week is a truly great idea giving the opportunity to taste the food at some of the best Amsterdam eating places. A list of the participating restaurants changes – to check for the place of your interest look at:

Website: http://www.restaurantweek.nl/en/cities/amsterdam/restaurants

Sloop race on Amsterdam's canals

This unique boat race on Amsterdam's canals will demand a good deal of skill on the part of the steersmen and -women on account of the tricky passages beneath bridges and the other sloops and canal boats negotiating the canals, which will certainly make it difficult to reach the finish without damage. This race is also very attractive for supporters, as they will be able to follow the sloops along almost the entire trajectory, certainly by bicycle. For more information go to:

Amsterdam Marathon

October 16, 2011

This 34th edition of Amsterdam marathon, indeed the oldest marathon in The Netherlands. The Amsterdam Marathon comprises three parts: the marathon race, the open marathon, the Half Marathon (21.98 km) for joggers, and the Mini Marathon (4.2 km). For more information go to:

Website: http://www.amsterdammarathon.nl

Amsterdam Dance Event (16th Anual)

October 19, 20, 21, 22, 2011

The Amsterdam Dance Event is the worlds biggest club festival with over 700 DJ's and acts performing in 40 of Amsterdam’s finest venues, DJ cafés, record stores, lounges and art galleries. The ADE has grown into a business conference that attracts 1900 key professionals and a club festival audience of 72.000 people. For more information go to:

Museum Night – Museumnacht

Every first saturday of November, Amsterdam museums stay open until 2AM and welcome thousands of new visitors. For a relatively small city, Amsterdam has a great amount of museums: more than 40 museums collaborate during Museum Night and are easy to reach by bicycle or public transport.

Apart from seeing the collections and temporary exhibitions there’s plenty to see and do, also for non-Dutch visitors. The programme includes DJ’s, bands, dance, performances, film, food & drinks.

Since our targetgroup consists mainly of young adults in the Netherlands, most of our information is in Dutch. But if you’d like to know more about our organisation, please get in touch:

n8 | stichting museumnacht amsterdam
Piet Heinkade 5
1019 BR Amsterdam
T 020-5270785
F 020-5270786
info@n8.nl

Website:   http://www.n8.nl

pAn Amsterdam – Art and Antique Fair

20, - 27, November 2011 November

The biggest national antique fair in the Netherlands takes place in Amsterdam, and lasts for the full week. No wonder, as can be no hasty decisions made in the timeless fields of art and antiques. pAn takes place at the RAI congress and exhibition center. Last years showing also more of modern art of good quality, pAn is a fun to visit, even if you do not intend to buy anything.

Website:  http://www.pan-amsterdam.nl

High Times Cannabis Cup

20 - 24 November 2011

Pax Party House. Melkweg, various coffeehouses, (various times). Six days of pure hedonism: music, events, forums, and tasting sessions.

Website: http://www.cannabiscup.com

Crossing Border Festival

November The Hague

International literature festival, Programme not yet available but last year’s talents included the likes of Germaine Greer, Lou Reed, Eddi Reader, the Flaming Lips, David Sylvian, Joseph O'Connor, Bob Geldof and Monica Ali.

Website:  http://www.crossingborder.nl

Shadow festival

End of November each year

A small film festival, which functions in the shadow of the bigger event – the Amsterdam international documentary film festival - IDFA. The Shadow Festival concentrates on unusual and creative documentaries with an original style. It often presents the work of the students of the film schools. There are open discussions with the film author after each screening. An interesting event, which promotes exchange of new ideas.

IDFA - International Documentary Filmfestival of Amsterdam

November

Leidseplein, (various times)
International documentary festival screens 200 documentary films and videos.

Website:  http://www.idfa.nl

Arrival of Saint Nicholas

Sunday in the middle of November each year

The tradition of Saint Nicholas bringing gifts to children, celebrated in many countries, is an extraordinary occasion in Amsterdam. Saint Nicholas surrounded by his black servants arrives on a deck of a ship to Amsterdam.

The Holy Man arrives every year around 11.30 AM at the Central Station by steamer. He will be accompanied by hundreds of his helpers (zwarte piet), lots of music and lots of fun. Later, the whole parade in a festive way accompanies him to the city center. Hundreds of thousands of children greet the procession. Customarily five tons of candies are given away. The parade ends on the Leidseplein, where Amsterdam mayor welcomes Saint Nicholas.

On the eve of his feast day, December 5th, St. Nicholas visits all children. After knocking on the door he gives them a bag full of presents, that is they were good children.
Read more about the story of Sinterklaas:

Websites: 

Christmas Day and Boxing Day

December 25, December 26

If you find yourself there this Christmas here are a few suggestions to help you pass the time and incorporate a little Dutch culture into your holidays.

New Year's Eve

December 31 / January 1st

New Year is another deliriously wild celebration. The Dutch often stay home with their families until midnight, and many bars open then. The spots that are seriously crowded include Leidseplein, Rembrandtsplein and Nieumarkt. Many venues offer New Year parties. From midnight the sky lights up as the whole of the city sets of fireworks. Find a rooftop location for a 360 view of the largest and farthest reaching fireworks display view on the planet.

Floriade – World Gardening Exhibition

April to October 2012 in Venlo

Floriade, officially called World Horticulture Fair, is a big gardening exhibition, which has been organized each ten years since 1960 in the Netherlands. The scale of the fair is enormous as Floriade usually presents almost a hundred flower shows, with participants from all over the world. The fair lasts through changing year seasons, attracting more than two millions of visitors. The next Floriade will take place in 2012, in the region of Venlo.

Important events outside of Amsterdam

Keukenhof – a historic flower garden
from mid-March to mid-May each year
Keukenhof is a 74 acres flower garden, probably the largest in the whole world. Typically for the Netherlands tulips are here the most important: they are usually grown in more that 100 varieties, to a total of 4,5 million flowers. Additionally there are hundreds of sorts of other flowers (all together - 7 million bulbs planted by hand) as well as beautiful sculpture park, featuring 2500 trees in 87 sorts. Keukenhof is located ca. 30 km south of Amsterdam, close to Leiden, with an easy communication to the city.

Website:   http://www.keukenhof.nl