No matter how this summer pans out, there will be plenty to keep you amused in the next few months, from cheering on the women’s footie team to playing with Lego and much, much more.
Come to Keti Koti
Start the month with the Keti Koti Festival, commemorating the 1863 abolition of slavery with a plethora of music, dance, theater and food at lots of venues across Amsterdam. July 1. Website
See John Malkovich absolutely everywhere
Fans of actor John Malkovich will have fun seeing him taking on the guise of Dalí, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Che Guevara, Albert Einstein and many other famous men and women in a series of retakes of iconic photographs created by photographer Sandro Miller. You really have to like John Malkovich though. Until July 12 at the Torch gallery in Amsterdam. Website
Don’t eat the sweets
Simone Post is flavour of the month at the Voorlinden museum in Wassenaar, literally, because she has reconstructed the house she lived in when she was three years old entirely from pastel coloured sweets.
Ban any shades of Hansel and Gretel – although it is hard to imagine any childhood could ever have been this sweet – this is pure, childlike joy. Children from 12 are welcome but have to be held by the hand” for obvious reasons. Adults are supposed to be able to control themselves. Until August 31. Website
Watch the women
The Dutch women’s football European Championships take place in Switzerland from July 2 to July 27, featuring the Dutch women’s team in Group D. It’s a tough draw for the Dutch, who meet France, defending champions England and Wales in their efforts to make the knock-out competition. The Dutch, who won the title in 2017, take on Wales to kick off their campaign on July 5. Match schedule.
Mind the glass
The Allard Pierson in Amsterdam has- very carefully – put together an exhibition about ancient glass, and fathomed out any clues as to its production by subjecting it to the latest investigative methods.
From the 15th century BC, when the Egyptians started to make glass objects, to the first century BC when glass blowing was invented, to modern methods, Glass, made in antiquity, represents some lovely examples of each. Until March 1, 2026. Website
Be as happy as a cricket
The Netherlands host the Men’s T20 World Cup Europe Regional Final at Voorburg Cricket Ground in July. The Dutch go in as pre-tournament favourites against Scotland, Italy, Jersey and Guernsey to grab one of the two available berths for next year’s T20 World Cup co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka.
With free entry to all 10 matches, music and food, cricket lovers are in for one of the most exciting weeks of the sporting summer. July 5-11. Website
Spend another night with Noah
Strike Me Pink Productions is reprising a My Nights with Noah, a gay reworking of Good Luck to You, Leo Grande at the Amsterdam Theaterhuis in Amsterdam. It tells the story of retired English teacher Christopher Barlow. Played by Dutch theatre stalwart Barrie Stevens, Barlow decides to live it up a bit at last – ie explore his sexuality with young sex worker Noah. The consequences this has are not confined to the bedroom. July 25, 26, 27. Website
Come into the garden of the Rijks
The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam has gathered together the work of Japanese-American sculptor Isamu Noguchi (1904-1988), with some of his bronze and stone sculptures in the museum, including the very tactile and bright red Play Sculpture.
Inside, over 30 of his light sculptures light up the museum’s main hall and such iconic pieces as Face Dish (Me) and Chess Table pop up elsewhere. Isamu Noguchi in the Rijksmuseum Gardens will be on until October 26. Website
Enjoy some orange and pink at the Bostheater
More outdoor fun at the Bostheater in Amsterdam where theatre group Out of Office is taking the piss out of the royal family, or Willem II to be precise. Willem II (1792-1849) was definitely a more flamboyant monarch than the current Willem.
Apart from a possibly briljant general and a political weather vane, he is also rumoured to have been bi-sexual, cue al lot of jolly sexual innuendo. Until August 2. Website
Create your own Van Gogh sunflowers out of Lego
Vincent, Lego and good old Van Gogh Museum business sense are coming together this summer in several Lego workshops where you can create your own sunflowers and learn something about the meaning of flowers in the artist’s work.
The workshops are popular so be quick. If you’re too late you can always have a look at the recreation in Lego of the story of the Yellow House in Arles where Vincent painted his Sunflowers, spread over five rooms. July and August. Website
Get stuffed at the new Art Zoo Museum
Located on the lovely Herengracht in Amsterdam, the Art Zoo Museum takes taxidermy to the next level. Based on the cabinet of curiosities of yore, it presents the stuffed animals in dramatic poses that reflect on the hazards they encountered during their lifetime and the perils the animal world is facing today. Prepare to be astounded. Website
Tiptoe through the royal gardens
Classy outdoor fun is to be had at the gardens of the Het Loo royal palace this summer, where you can stroll across the premises as if you are William and Mary. Plants, fountains, and statues are much as they left them and very pretty they are. Website
Spot the dromedary
Artus Quellinus (1609-1668) spent 14 years designing the decoration of the palace on Dam Square. He is now experiencing a bit of a revival. Over 100 of his most celebrated pieces have been brought together at the palace. Fun fact: Quellines liked to sculpt animals, from fish to dromedaries, wolves and crocodiles, chameleons and turtle doves. Until October 27. Website
Brave the mozzies under the stars
Plenty of opportunity this summer to get bitten to death while watching a film in the open air, with just some of the venues including the VUE Open Air Festival Apeldoorn (August 22-30), the Lumière Open Air Festival (August 8-19) in Maastricht, Pluk de Nacht in Amsterdam ( August 20-30) and Utrecht (August 7-16) and the Pleinbioscoop in Rotterdam (August 14-30) in Rotterdam.
Immerse yourself
The Artis Planetarium in Amsterdam and the Museum Universum Dome in The Hague are hosting Mesmerica, a 360° immersive experience featuring visual effects and music composed by James Hood which has been travelling the world to great acclaim. Tickets are available for July 11 in Amsterdam and July 12 and August 2 in August at the time of writing.
See Nijmegen’s pride in Paris
Last but not least and not in the Netherlands but in France where you may well be on holiday, Les Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry is on show at the Château de Chantilly just outside Paris.
Made by the legendary Limburg brothers from Nijmegen in the 15th century, the manuscript containing 121 exquisite miniature paintings has hardly ever been seen by the public because of its fragility. It has now been restored. You have until October 5 to see it before it is locked away again. Website
