From June 2nd to June 5th, you can find the biggest open-air restaurant of The Netherlands in Oosterpark. There will be food trucks, pop-up restaurants and performances. And the good thing about this festival: there is NO entrance fee! Open every day from 1pm till 11pm. More information: http://amsterdamkookt.nl/oosterpark/
A specialty beer festival will take place coming weekend (Saturday May 28th) at Jaap Eden Ijsbaan. There will be artists, food, games and of course many, many specialty beers from national and international breweries. Only in Amsterdam, we already have about 35 breweries! Specialty beers are a real trend in our city; people are willing to pay more for a beer, as long as it is a beer with a story. This is a good chance to taste a couple of beers that are brewed locally. More information and tickets: http://www.bierfestival.amsterdam/eng
On Friday May 27th there will be a flea market at Amstelveld. You can find more than 100 stalls selling antiques and all kinds of other stuff. It will be open from 9am till 4.30pm.
Every year from May until September the Vondelpark Open Air Theatre can be visited. During these months you can listen to live music (classical, jazz, fado), participate in several dance workshops (salsa, bachata, Argentinean tango), watch movies in open-air or attend a cabaret performance. The best thing about this: it is all FOR FREE! Voluntary donations are very appreciated though… If you want you can even bring your own drinks, but there is an open-air bar as well. Check out the whole programme: http://www.openluchttheater.nl/optreden/ (website is in Dutch)
On Saturday May 21th, a Gin Festival will be held in Amsterdam. In Europe, gin has made a true comeback in recent years. The spirit was developed in The Netherlands on the basis of the older jenever, which was first sold as a medicine in the late 16th century.
On this festival you can taste more than 100 types of gin and there will be several food trucks as well. Furthermore, you can listen to international speakers that will tell you everything about making gin. The festival will take place in Amsterdam Noord, there will be free ferries available from Amsterdam Central Station directly to the venue. More details and tickets: http://ginfestival.nl
From Thursday May 12th, until Monday May 16th 2016 you can visit the Food festival ‘Rollende keukens‘. The Westerpark will transform itself into one big outdoor restaurant. There will be dozens of food trucks with a big variety of food: from vegan to burgers, from waffles to deep fried insects. You don’t have to pay an entrance fee and if you want you can just bring your own drinks. The kitchens will be open from 1pm – 11pm.
Every year on May 4th, we commemorate the victims of war. In Amsterdam there is a big commemoration at Dam Square where prominent people (for example our King and Queen) lay wreaths at the National Monument. At 8pm everybody in the whole country is silent for two minutes.
May 5th is the day that the German army capitulated (in 1945) and is our National Liberation Day. There are many festivities in the whole country (14 Liberation Festivals). In Amsterdam Liberation Day is closed with a free open-air concert on the Amstel River. Various artists perform and there is a different orchestra every year. Members of our royal family attain the concert and, like many citizens do, they traditionally arrive by boat. You can watch the whole concert from the quay or standing on a bridge. The weather looks very promising this year so bring your bottle of wine and enjoy the music, the atmosphere and the beautiful view on the illuminated Amstel River. The concert starts at 9pm. More details: http://www.4en5mei.nl/herdenken-en-vieren/vieren/5-mei-concert/programma