Holland beckons with new experiences and a warm welcome
The small sampling of events on this list makes clear that there are numerous reasons to make Holland an exciting travel destination in 2004. Visit Holland and experience the most appreciated Dutch tradition of all -a warm and memorable welcome.
April 24 Flower Parade
The Dutch version of California\'s Tournament of Roses Parade! Featuring hundreds of thousands of flower petals sculpted into an array of amazing creations and fantastic floats. From Noordwijk to Haarlem.
April 30 Queen\'s Day; The Queen\'s Birthday
Queen Beatrix\'s birthday is an annual countrywide party that\'s not to be missed. Enjoy the world\'s largest flea market in Amsterdam, musical performances and nonstop, good-natured fun wherever you go. Don\'t miss the orange colored baked goods and treats!
May 8 National Windmill Day & National Cycling Day
Windmills across the country open their doors to visitors, while towns organize special cycling routes and tours.
June 4 - 26 Holland Festival in Amsterdam
This 56th annual, month-long celebration of the arts features the best of music, theater and dance in superb venues throughout Amsterdam.
June 18 - Sept 26 Edouard Manet, Van Gogh Museum - Amsterdam
Impressions of the sea Edouard Manet (1832-1883) was one of the foremost avant-garde artists of his generation and an important precursor of the Impressionist movement.
This exhibition is the first to focus on his marine paintings. The show examines earlier traditions in this genre as well as Manet\'s own innovations in his paintings of the sea. His works are presented alongside contemporaries, such as Courbet, Whistler and the Impressionists. Particular attention is paid to the dialogue between Manet and Monet as painters of marine views.
July 11-13 North Sea Jazz Festival - The Hague
The North Sea Jazz Festival is the granddaddy of Holland\'s many jazz festivals. Justly world famous, this year\'s swinging extravaganza headlines top performers on over a dozen stages.
August 7 Gay Pride Parade, Amsterdam
No Gay Pride Parade in any other city compares to Amsterdam\'s- in spirit, spice or entertainment. What\'s more, it takes place on the city\'s canals.
Sept 23 - Jan 9, 2005 Carel Fabritius (1622 - 1654), Mauritshuis - The Hague Carel Fabritius, a pupil of Rembrandt, was undoubtedly one of the most ingenious and versatile painters of the Dutch 17th century. His work had a decisive influence on Johannes Vermeer, Pieter de Hooch and Emanuel de Witte. The explosion of the municipal arsenal in Delft in 1654 not only took the painter\'s life but destroyed many of his work as well. Masterpieces such as The goldfinch, The sentry and the View in Delft, with a musical instrument seller\'s stall rank among the most handsome and famous of Dutch paintings. Fabritius\' complete (modest) oeuvre will be brought together in cooperation with the Staatliches Museum in Schwerin. The Mauritshuis restored the Goldfinch in the run-up to the exhibition.
Early November Museum Night in Amsterdam
34 of Amsterdam\'s most popular museums open their doors until 2:00 a.m. Stunning permanent collections are on display, along with many special exhibitions and presentations.
Nov 26 - March 6, 2005 L\'Art Nouveau, Van Gogh Museum - Amsterdam
The Bing enterprise. This exhibition tells the story of Siegfried Bing (1838-1905), the collector and art dealer whose Paris gallery, L\'Art Nouveau, became synonymous with
the late nineteenth-century art movement. When Bing started collecting, he was mainly interested in Japanese art. He became a major promoter of Asian art, which profoundly influenced many nineteenth-century artists, including Vincent van Gogh. The latter owned numerous Japanese prints, some of which he had bought from Bing. Bing also collected modern and decorative art, superb examples of which are featured in the exhibition, including work by Toulouse-Lautrec, Munch, Bonnard, Tiffany and Daum.
December 5-12 PAN Amsterdam 2004
The RAI in Amsterdam hosts this Annual Art and Antiques Fair, featuring a myriad of intriguing finds and rare delights.