Noorderzon Festival

The Noorderzon in my favourite annual Festival, in Groningen, The Netherlands. For more details: Noorderzon Festival

The Noorderzon Festival

If you haven’t been to the Noorderzon Performing Arts Festival yet you should do so. Every year for ten days in August this festival takes over the Noorderplansoen (park), is in various theatres and other venues in the inner city of Groningen and provides a varied and entertaining crossover theatre festival.

This year the festival celebrated its 18th year. Each year it grows in popularity and with a diversity of things on offer to do or see, and appeals to a wide audience.

Entrance to the part is free. There is a mixture of free and ticketed things to see. It seems that this year two thirds of the program comes from abroad, and dues to limitations the inner city location have more on offer this year.

The diversity of the program includes theatre, dance, multimedia, film, video and circus to name but a few.

The Romeo and Juliet tents house bigger acts such as circuses or thought-provoking theatre. Then there are the metal containers that house anything from quirky little acts, to artists and designers. This year’s theme seemed to be more than ever before about re-cycling, with some amazing results. Old pliers and iron welded together became an unusual lampshade, or a small dog sitting patiently waiting for its owner. Elsewhere, you could bring any article of your clothing to one stall to have it ‘pimped’ with an original silkscreen design.

One attraction I particularly liked was the ‘Pocket Garden’. A caravan had been turned into a small garden and filled with plants and flowers. The outside of it was pretty funky too!

As always there is world food and drink available in tents and terraces to suit every palate. In the evening the whole place is lit up with bulbs and trees are illuminated by green lamps, whilst videos are projected onto a three-screened object, which floats on one of the areas of water in the park.

For children there is always loads to do, painting activities are on offer and this year large paintings with cut outs where the heads should be were great for photo opportunities.

For more on the festival, visit their website – Noorderzon

© Alison Day

Alison Day Design 

First published in the Connections magazine #21 Autumn 2008 

City Urinal as Art Object

At every turn in Groningen there is always something unusual to be seen whether it be a building and its facade, a statue of unusual proportions, a bridge or an artistic creation incorporated into city life. But none can be more unusual than the one found close to the canals edge along the Kleine der A. This rather unusual ‘art object’, is in the form of an urinoir and is not only decorative but also functional.

This point of relief was designed by the internationally acclaimed architect, Rem Koolhaas and decorated by the master photographer and artist extraordinaire, Erwin Olaf, both native Dutchmen. Its milky coloured glass is alive with black and blue duo-tone figures large and small. These figures seem to be taking part in a bohemian extravaganza, a re-occurring theme throughout Erwin Olaf’s work and in keeping with the lifestyle of the man himself.

Its creation came about to celebrate the cultural manifestation in Groningen ‘A Star is Born’ in 1996. A festival organized by the local Council, where the city became a stage for the entire summer and was filled with theatre, music and other cultural curiosa.

So if you are ever taken short whilst walking along the Kleine der A, it is possible to relieve oneself in this public toilet, although I would advise against it. For the more brave hearted of you who don’t want to listen to my warning and are determined to view it from the inside…a clothes peg for your nose is a must!   

© Alison Day

Alison Day Design

First published in the Connections magazine #9 October 2005 

Cucumber Time!

What does one do in the summer months often referred to by the Dutch as ‘komkommer tijd’ (cucumber time)? Not much can be organized or done during this period as everyone is planning his or her holidays. If you have not already flown to foreign shores, or disappeared to the nearest lake with a good book for the afternoon, you could always join the exodus to one of the islands along the coast of the Netherlands for a week or two. There are five in total: Schiermonnikoog, Terschelling, Ameland. Vlieland and Texel. Each offer a diversity of nature, scenery and activities to appear to all.

Schiemonnikoog

This island can be reached from Lauwersoog in twenty-five minutes, and its size makes it perfect for a day visit. Cars of visitors are not allowed on the island, as it is a nature reserve so the main means of transport is the bicycle. These come in all sorts of shapes and sizes both for adults and children. The tandem is a regular sight and trailers can be filled with your baggage or even small children for quick transport around the island and down to the seashore.

Apart from the obvious attraction of the sea with its dunes and grasses, the natural beauty of this national park includes salt marshes as well as a variety of flora and fauna. There are numerous cafes, restaurants and pavilions, a lighthouse, and a bunker from the Second World War to be visited along the way.

Terschelling

Terschelling can be reached from Harlingen by boat and takes an hour and a half. This is somewhat bigger than Schiermonnikoog and is made up of a number of small villages all easily accessed via a connecting road system. The best way to get a good impression of what Terschelling has to offer is to walk from the Noordzee to the Waddenzee right across the island. Along the way you will see the natural dune formations and pass through the different ecosystems of the island (there are nine in total), which are homes to a rich diversity of flora and fauna. The beach is the widest of the Dutch coastline and in the whole of Western Europe.

Generally there are plenty of places to stay on the island unless you choose to visit around the time of the annual ‘Oerol’ Festival. During this time because of the festivals enormous popularity, most places are fully booked although some camping areas may have a few places available. 

Oerol this year is 10th – 19th June and has a nautical theme entitled ‘Geen zee te hoog’ (‘No sea too high’) and has to do with the bond between the islanders and navigation. During the festival the whole island becomes a stage and the backdrop for (street) theatre, cabaret, circuses, dance acts, and artistic creations. Tickets sales begin on the 8th and 9th of June on the island with half being withheld for sale during the festival itself. More information about Oerol can be found at: www.oerol.nl/index.html.

Ameland

To reach Ameland the boat goes from Holwerd and takes forty-five minutes. Used to belong to the royal family around the beginning of the 18-th century but since the early 19-th century has become part of the property of Friesland.

The island has 4 villages, a population of 3,500 and measures 25 kilometres in length and is 4 km at its widest point. Again interesting to explore it is rich in flora and fauna. One such area, known as the Nieuwlandsreid, is a marsh filled with unusual vegetation due to the fact that it is regularly flooded with salt water.

The natural history museum offers activities and information as well as an enormous aquarium filled with a diversity of fish and shellfish whose natural habitat is the Noord- en Waddenzee.

Vlieland

This island can be reached by boat from Harlingen and takes one and a half hours. This island also has a no car policy for non-residents, the bicycle again being the main means of getting around the island.

The tourist office has all the infomation about what there is to see and do on Vlieland and offers a variety of different excursions around the island. There is an aquarium which is filled with sea life native to the area, but there is also a special aquarium filled with rays and dog sharks that can be stroked if you dare!

Other attractions for all ages include the ‘Kabouterbos’ (‘Gnome wood’), ‘Jutterszolder’, (‘Beachcombers attic’) filled with all kinds of objects that have washed up on the seashore, and a ‘Wrakvondstenzolder’, (‘Shipwreck attic’) exhibiting objects retrieved by divers from Northsea shipwrecks.

Texel

Texel is the biggest and most diverse of the ‘waddeneilanden’ (‘wadden islands’) and can be reached by boat from Den Helder in twenty minutes, and is home to large herds of sheep and birds

On Texel, EcoMare can be found in the center of the National Park ‘Duinen van Texel’ (‘Dunes of Texel’). This comprises of a visitor’s center, a center for education about nature and the environment, a museum, a crèche for sea lions, and a bird sanctuary. There is also information available about the North Sea, the Wadden area, nature on Texel and the influence of man’s presence on all this. The dune park of 70-hectares has a number of different walks marked out, which can also be done as part of a guided tour, giving the visitor a good idea of the diversity of plant life on the island.

More information about the islands and Holland: HERE

© Alison Day

Alison Day Design

First published in the Connections magazine #8 July 2005