Yes! It is that time of the year again. De Parade is back in town! Every year this amazing theater festival ends its tour in Amsterdam at the Martin Luther King Park. Starting this Friday the festival will be in town for almost two-and-a-half weeks, until the 27th of August.

For you who have never heard of De Parade, it is the only traveling theater festival in the world. Quirky artists tell stories, dance and sing about the things that they are passionate about. Of course, accompanied by a team of chefs, employees and entrepreneurs. Together delivering a great festival with a varied program of art, theater and music and yummy food. Each year the festival travels through the four biggest cities of the Netherlands, playing a total of 55 days.

Originally De Parade started out in 1990. Director Terts Brinkhoff thought of his festival as an ‘inside out circus’. The public would be centered in the middle with the artists surrounding them. This would put the initiative with the artists and the audience itself. His inspiration came from the carnival. Everything about the festival is live and unique, made accessible for everyone.

Many of the performances and acts are specially put together for the festival, and therefore very exclusive. If you’d like to see performances or acts you have to buy a ticket to a particular show. Most of the shows take about half an hour, so it is possible to visit multiple acts in one evening. Check out the website for the full program and read all about the acts here: click. It is also possible to visit just the festival, without seeing any specific shows or performances.

Besides the extended evening program, the festival offers a lot of other activities. The festivals opens everyday at 2 pm (except for the opening night). During the day the festival has a special kids program with acts, music and fun workshops for them to do. Every night two live bands play at the festival, which are free of an additional charge.

Definitely worth a visit if you aks me.

Sincerely,

Mr. J

Martin L. Kingpark

€•••• (festival ticket: 7,50 euro / shows and acts 2 – 10 euro)