Before the concert, Vondelpark Open Air Theatre, Amsterdam. Image courtesy of DavidDje on Flickr.
A four-month program of open-air festivities has kicked off once again in Amsterdam’s Vondelpark Open Air Theatre, with jam-packed schedule of comedy, children’s theater, dance, rock concerts and cabaret – and amazingly it’s all free.
The Vondelpark Open Air Theatre (‘Openluchttheater’ in Dutch) festivities have run every summer since 1974, when hippies launched their summers of love with a series of free Vondelpark Parties and ‘Happenings’ staged in the park. The afternoon jazz sessions of today are reminiscent of these early events, with the same laid-back, easy-going vibe. Now the action centers around the shell-shaped open-air stage in the 50-hectare depths of Amsterdam’s favorite park; there’s a casual vibe, a bar at ‘t Blauwe Theehuis, the Vondeling and Peperwortel catering concessions serving surprisingly good food, and lots of stalls selling beer and bitterballen (the iconic Dutch snack of spicy meatballs) but you can also take a Dutch gastronomic picnic and join in the fun.
Running from May through to the end of August, the summer shows include a mixed bag of live music, dance and theater, with star attractions in 2014 including the Dutch National Opera Academy on Sunday June 22, singer-song writer Celine Cairo (Saturday, June 28) and award-wining dance from Dance Makers Amsterdam on Friday, August 8.
Elsewhere in the Vondelpark, changes are afoot. The Nederlands Filmmuseum has moved to its shiny new home at the EYE Film Institute across the River IJ and its much-loved Café Vertigo has had a facelift and morphed into Vondelpark3; weather permitting this is a lovely spot to linger on the terrace and hear live music wafting across the park from the Open Air Theatre. Information on the 2014 program is now available on the Vondelpark Open Air Theatre website; it’s in Dutch only but you can see the program of concerts under the heading ‘programma.’ Concerts are held every weekend and although they remain free for all to attend, a donation of at least one euro, payable at the Vondelpark Euro Bus, is suggested to safeguard the future of this ever-popular venue.
The post Vondelpark Open Air Theatre appeared first on Amsterdam Things to Do.