FRIDAY

12

to

SUNDAY

14

Two performers in a historic canal house room

Grachtenfestival – Canals Festival 2016

Friday 12 August to Sunday 21 August 2016

The Grachtenfestival (Canals Festival) is a unique, yearly event. In the 1 1/2 week this classical music festival goes on for,  you can get acquainted with various types of classical music. Not just in a concert setting, but in various, creative forms and set ups. As the name suggests, the setting is the Amsterdam canals; either along the canals or in one of the canal houses. The Grachtenfestival is THE platform for young, classical musicians to take the stage and show their talents (for the first time) for a bigger audience. Many events and activities are for free, but be early, as this festival, in general, is very popular.

Read more on the website of Grachtenfestival and check out the programme

De Parade – Theatre Festival

Friday 12 August to Sunday 28 August 2016

Another popular event – although in a different category – is De Parade Theatre Festival. The first De Parade started 26 years ago and was a hit from the beginning; now touring all four major cities in the Netherlands. There are various regular theatre and music performers, with the Living Jukebox as one of our favourites. Till 16.00 hours, you don’t have to pay to get on the festival grounds; in the evening it’s €7.50. You also pay between €2 to €10 per show. Whether you see a lot of shows or not, the atmosphere at the festival is always very relaxed, vibrant, creative and ‘gezellig’. De Parade prides itself in being very conscious and sustainable and has set minimum animal welfare rules for the catering companies present at the festival. De Parade is also the only festival that serves only tapwater – carbonated or non-carbonated.

Read more about the programme of De Parade on their website (NL – check for the little LNP (language not a problem) logo in the performers listing)

A view over the small, but well stocked men's department

Conscious = sustainable and ethical fashion shopping

Always

Of course there are many other things to do in Amsterdam this weekend, but not many that could be called ‘conscious’. And because we need new pants, we thought of highlighting our favourite sustainable and fair trade fashion shops in Amsterdam. Nukuhiva was the first sustainable and fair trade fashion store in Amsterdam. It is a not-so-big shop in the Haarlemmerstraat, but still with a good range of ethical fashion brands. A newer addition is Charlie + Marie. They have a store in neighbourhood De Pijp and a smaller one in De Hallen in West. Recently we’ve also been to the newest addition of sustainable fashion shops in Amsterdam, Studio Jux & Co (also in De Pijp) and think they are a great addition (recommendation to follow).

Read our recommendation of Nukuhiva and the one of Charlie + Mary. Check out the website of Studio Jux here.