This year’s edition of Brabant Day is cancelled. Whilst the Dutch government plan to relax the current coronavirus measures further in May, the event’s organisers say there is too much uncertainty around this. Last year’s edition of Brabant Day, which fell during the first wave of the coronavirus, was also cancelled.
Brabant Day is an annual parade celebrating the history and culture of Brabant, held in Heeze.
‘With pain in our hearts, we must cancel the 63rd edition of Brabant Day,’ the organisers write. The decision was reached after much deliberation with local councillors and volunteers.
More events and social activities are expected to be possible by the end of August, but uncertainties remain. Many weeks of preparation go into the parade. For example, mechanics begin building the special parade wagons in June. Whether the building process can be done in a safe, corona-proof way remains under discussion.
The Eindhoven Arts Centre (CKE) and the Parktheater have joined hands with neighbourhood organisations.
Together, they’re bringing art and culture right to the doorstep of residents in various parts of the city. There will be parades with live music and theatre and dance performances. These will be travelling through the streets of Eindhoven from today onwards.
Every evening, under the name Warme Winter Stoet (Warm Winter Parade), a different neighbourhood will be surprised by these performances. The will continue until right before Christmas. The last one will be on Wednesday, 23 December.
Supporting local organisations
The idea was born from all the upcoming public holidays. Because of the anti-corona measures, gatherings with loved ones are out of the question. The CKE and Parktheater, therefore, decided to support the various neighbourhood organisations.
“This year’s holidays are going to be weird. So, there are no big family Christmas gatherings. No o dancing in the new year. No friendly neighbourhood activities. That’s why we want to bring a little warmth and light to the neighbourhoods in a different way,” Wikke Peters and Marjon Reus, of CKE and Parktheater, say.
“In the dark days before Christmas, we’ve organised all kinds of great activities. These are on the initiative of the neighbourhood organisations. All, of course, corona-proof.”
Dual purpose
“These activities have a dual purpose. Not only are we bringing warmth to people’s doorsteps. We’re also allowing dozens of artists to make a meaningful contribution to the city at a time when the culture sector is struggling,” Peters and Reus conclude.
These activities are made financially possible by Woonbedrijf.
Supporters and opponents of Zwarte Piet will get their own spots to demonstrate on Saturday, at Sinterklaas’ arrival in Eindhoven.
The Kick Out Zwarte Piet (KOZP) and Eindhoven Kan Het (Eindhoven Can Do It) activists will get a spot at the Kanaaldijk-Noord/Tongelresestraat intersection. Zwarte Piet’s supporters will about 300 meters away. These are members of people of Pegida. All this is not far from the place where Sinterklaas and his Pieten are to arrive by boat. They will come in on Kanaaldijk, just outside the ring road.
It is expected that KOZP and Eindhoven Kan Het will be 25 to 30 strong. Pegida expects about 200 protestors, according to the Municipality. The Municipality has also granted a demonstration request for ‘Sinterklaasfeest als traditie’ (‘Sinterklaas Festival as a tradition’). This group will be on the corner of Doctor Cuyperslaan and Winston Churchilllaan on Saturday.
In the days before the Sinterklaas’ arrival, on Wednesday and Friday, there will also be two demonstrations. Wednesday is Pegida’s turn; on Friday the ‘Eindhoven Maintains Zwarte Piet’ group takes to the streets. It is not yet known where these two demonstrations will take place.
Freedom of speech
Mayor John Jorritsma says that he wants to give the activists space, in the interest of freedom of speech. However, he is imposing conditions on the demonstrations. These conditions are to prevent similar riots to those of last year. Then, KOZP members were pelted with cans of beer. A policeman was also assaulted, and 16 pro-Zwarte Piet demonstrators were arrested.
One of the conditions set by Jorritsma is that demonstrators stay at their designated area. Also, the action groups must provide supervisors themselves. These people have to ensure things do not get out of hand. The groups must let the police know if disturbances threaten to occur. Furthermore, KOZP and Pegida are not allowed to attach thick sticks and rods to banners.
The parade’s organisers decided to no longer include Zwarte Piet as of next year. This year there will still be Zwarte Pieten at the Eindhoven Sinterklaas parade.
Anyone who has looked around Eindhoven’s 18 Septemberplein has probably noticed something. Since this week there is a real gift tower. With the initiative, entrepreneurs’ association Stichting Binnenstad Eindhoven (foundation downtown Eindhoven, SBE) wants to attract more people to the city centre.
It is something else than the traditional Christmas market. In this way, the SBE still wants to end the year in a festive way with the “Wrap up the Year” campaign. “In Eindhoven, we are always a bit stubborn. The city will be wrapped up with Eindhoven gift paper this December, so to speak”, Mariette Vetter of SBE explains.
Eyecatcher
According to Vetter, the ten-metre-high gift tower financed by entrepreneurs themselves is therefore intended as an eye-catcher to direct people to the stores. “You can see the structure standing from a great distance, for example when coming from the train station. You can’t go inside the tower, although two parcels contain viewing boxes with a winter landscape”.
Skating rink
Within the “Wrap up the Year” campaign, there is no room for a Christmas market and ice skating rink. “We thought that was a bit outdated and therefore not appropriate for Eindhoven. The Christmas atmosphere will certainly be there with lighting, colourful shop windows, a music programme and other activities in the city. Something we wanted to implement before, but was resisted by the corona virus”, Vetter said.
According to Vetter, the energy crisis has nothing to do with these innovative plans, although that of course plays a role. “An ice rink naturally guzzles energy, so we don’t have that cost this year. Although we are putting more money into the mood lighting than other years because of the energy crisis”.
There’s already an exception to the earlier closing times for restaurants and nightclubs.
Cinemas may finish screenings that started before 22:00 at 01:00, at the latest. The Eindhoven cinema, LAB – 1, enthusiastically reports this exception. The cinema has already adapted its programming.
Initially, it seemed the last movie-goers were going to have to leave the cinema before 22:00. That doesn’t appear to be the case. However, refreshment sales must stop at 22:00.
The exception is hidden in a long explanation on the Dutch government’s website. Earlier, it was already known that takeaway restaurants may be open later. They can remain so until 02:00.
Rain, wind and cold. The weather this summer is not the weather hoped for. Still, day trippers and tourists are enjoying themselves in the Eindhoven region.
The disappointing weather is not stopping tourists from exploring downtown Eindhoven. “I love summer, even if the weather is a little less”, a tourist from Switzerland says. “We are still doing what we wanted to do”. Another tourist is also having a great time, even though she has changed her plans a bit. “I can’t do everything, but there’s some very good shopping to be done in Eindhoven”.
Prehistoric Village
At the PreHistorisch Dorp, visitors also keep coming. A family from Utrecht is having a great time. “It’s a mindset. We decided it’s fine weather for outdoor activities. We are enjoying ourselves”, one woman says. Her children are having a good time. “As long as there are puddles to stomp in and acorns to pick up, they’re all fine. With young children, this weather is better than forty degrees”.
Yvonne Lammers-Keijsers, who spends two months living like a woman in the Middle Ages, finds it as cozy as ever: “We have fires lit everywhere and all kinds of activities that can also be done indoors or under a canopy”, she says. “Even though it rains, it’s actually very ‘gezellig”. Her temporary lifestyle does present a slightly bigger challenge, though: “Clothes get dirty sooner, and it’s harder to get them dry. You can only do that with a fire, and then it smells like smoke again”, she explains.
Camp
For most people, the weather doesn’t matter much, but some still regret it. “I do hate it”, a boy from Belgium, who is at camp, says. “We wanted to do a lot of fun things that we can’t do because of the rain. We have to bike a lot so we are constantly soaking wet”.
Last week, visitors to campsites in the region didn’t let the disappointing weather get them off the hook either. The rain will continue for now.
Ramadam is about to begin and so final preparations are made for the month of fasting. At Mevlana Mosque in Eindhoven, food packages are put together and Muslims are mentally prepared for the month of reflection.
Ramadan begins on Wednesday or Thursday. Muslims may not eat or drink during the day for a month, but that is not the only thing that period stands for. “It is a month of reflection for us, in which we do our best. That is also stated in the Quran. We must make extra good use of this month. You have to see it just like at a school with the test weeks, you do just that little bit more your best”, Imam Mehmet Nurullah Canatan explains.
Daylight saving time
Summer time will start next Saturday, so the sun will not set until an hour later and Muslims will have less time to eat. Although, according to the Imam, that does not matter. “Ramadan is ten days earlier every year. The days are going to get longer, but we’ve been doing this for years. We also fasted in the middle of summer and that’s really harder”.
Sport
Many athletes also remain active during the fasting month. For FC Eindhoven players, the time difference is of greater importance. The sun often sets during the games, but whether they are bothered with that is the question. “I see it in a different way. You have people who have to work from 8:00 to 17:00, I only have to be on the field for an hour and a half. So it’s not too bad. I don’t know any better, I’ve been fasting since I was a little boy. In the summer it is indeed a different story. Then you have to play in the heat at 14:30 and then the days are also very long”, attacker Youness Mokthar explains.
More focused
According to Mokthar, there are six players from FC Eindhoven who are participating in Ramadan. “We can’t wait for Ramadan to start. We support each other and are more focused on the game. Ramadan also has something spiritual, you are more concerned with faith”, Mokthar explains.
“I have also had trainers who were amazed and had a lot of respect for us. It really has to do with discipline. I understand if you are not a Muslim and you participate for a day, that you are only busy with food, but it’s more than that for us. We usually play our best games during Ramadan”.
It was one big party at the Philips Stadium again this weekend. There, Guus Meeuwis took to the stage for the penultimate time with his Groots met een zachte G concert series. The audience was treated to several guest artists and went wild as ever. During the song ‘Het is een Nacht’, Guus hardly had to sing himself: the whole stadium reverberated along.
The three concerts were almost completely sold out. The shows were playfully opened with a video message from King Willem-Alexander and Máxima, made by Lucky TV. Afterwards, almost 35,000 visitors sang along with songs like Per Spoor, Tranen Gelachen and Brabant.
For Flemming from Vughen, a dream came true. He was in the support act and got to warm up the audience. During the song ‘May I Dance’ later in the evening, he came on stage again. Together with Guus, he sang a mix of that song with his own ‘Automatic’.
There were also guest appearances by Acda and the Munnik and DJ La Fuente. When the latter entered the stage from the audience, the party really erupted. Guus also sang a song that his witnesses, including comedian Leo Alkemade and rapper Diggy Dex, sang at his wedding.
The Golden Thumb is an award for events that are the most accessible for people with a physical disability. GLOW Eindhoven has received this accolade for 2019.
This award is the brainchild of the Stichting Platform Gehandicaptenbeleid Eindhoven (Eindhoven Platform for Policies for the Disabled Foundation or PGE). With it, this platform wants to encourage event organisers to take disabled people who want to visit these social events more into consideration.
In 2019, a number of events in Eindhoven were again visited by PGE volunteers. These events were assessed on accessibility, usability, and safety for physically disabled people. GLOW Eindhoven came out on top last year.
‘A long-term partnership’
GLOW’s Head of Production, Tom Weerts, says “We are very happy with this recognition. GLOW Eindhoven is an event for everyone. We see the cooperation with Foundation PGE as a long-term partnership. Every year, if needed, we will make improvements in a sustainable way.”
“Last year we mainly invested in providing information on our website. We looked at the GLOW route with the Foundation in advance. There was, therefore, still enough time to make several places more accessible for the disabled.”
PGE Chairman, Toon van de Kerkhof, states that “GLOW has made an enormous effort to expand on the idea of inclusiveness. PGE finds the result admirable, and asked us for advice beforehand”. He points out that it is ‘very difficult’ to guarantee accessibility for wheelchair users and other disabled people at such large public events.
Urban Skin
Contour, by Michel Suk, at GLOW 2019. Photo credit: GLOW
From 7 to 14 November 2020, for the 15th time, Eindhoven will again be dedicated to light art. This year’s theme is ‘Urban Skin’. The city centre will be transformed into one huge exhibition space. Light projects by artists from the Netherlands and abroad will be on display. The projects will be interconnected by a walking route.
GLOW started in 2006 with 45.000 visitors. It has since grown, having a record number of over 770,000 visitors in 2019. This puts GLOW Eindhoven in the top five ‘ best-visited light festivals in the world’.
The official commemoration of Best’s liberation will take place on Tuesday 24 October. This will take place at the Scottish monument in the Koetshuistuin garden. The commemoration will be framed musically by Harmonie St Cecilia. An occasional choir led by Marie-Annick Canoy and backpiper Willie McVean will also participate.
Operation Market Garden started on 17 September 1944 with parachute landings. Americans of the 101st Airborne Division landed on the heath between Best and Son. They were followed by the advance of the British XXXth Army Corps from Belgium.
After ten days of fighting, the Allies got no further than a front line, which ran roughly along the railway and Oranjestraat in Best. This front line was occupied by the soldiers of the 15th Scottish Division. In several attacks by the Germans, more than 150 Scots died.
On 24 October, the German occupiers were finally driven out and Best was liberated. Hence this commemoration. Activities start at 18:45, with the official act and wreath laying at 19:00.
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