Events: Queens Day

The celebration to mark the Dutch monarchs birthday was originally on August 31th (birthday of Queen Wilhelmina), then moved to the 30th of April  in concordance to Queen Julianas birthday. However, upon the crowning of Queen Beatrix, the date remained unchanges as a tribute to her mother, but also so that revelers could benefit from the more clement spring weather. Indeed, Queen Beatrixs' birthday is in January, not very interesting for an outdoor all day party!

A particularity of Queens Day is reflected in its other name, 'vrijmarkt' ('freemarket'), where any one can sell anything in the streets. This adds to the colourfull activites and to the good humour of the day as not only can one party all day, but clear out the garret and hey, even make a penny of two! ( A survey pointed out that in 2007, the average person made 111 €!)

Most people will dress in orange that day and cruise down the canals in boats. And wear funny hats.