Market

Koninginnedag – or Queen's Day – is the one day a year that ordinary folk are allowed to set up shop on the sidewalk without a trading licence. A good thing too, as most of the bargains bought on Queen's Day will either end up in the garbage by 1 May, or be stashed away in an attic or garage until next year's festivities.

Marking territory

Traditionally in the days running up to Queen's Day, strange boxes are sectioned off on pavements around the country and marked with the word 'Bezet', or occupied.

To the uninitiated, these markings in chalk or tape may appear to be some kind of bizarre crop circles. They are not, they are just an example of the assertiveness of the Dutch – if you want to sell items on Queen's Day you have to mark out your territory well in advance.

The Dutch are very assertive when it comes to free trade, but not so interested in tidying up afterwards, so that the 'Bezet' markings tend to linger on long after Queen's Day and for months after that.

For the first time ever, Amsterdam City Council took the previously unthinkable step in 2004 of banning locals from reserving their patch. Anyone caught marking the pavement faced a EUR 110 fine. Now, in cities with a free market, it's first come gets a place, and selliing is permitted from 6am until 8pm.

One could argue that selling junk is a rather curious way to celebrate Queen Beatrix's birthday, especially given that her birthday is in January. But being the old sport she is, the Queen decided in 1980 when she ascended to the throne that Queen's Day would remain on 30 April in honour the birthday of her mother, Queen Juliana.

Royals

Royal-spotting is an important element of Queen's Day and each year the Queen and other royals bestow an official visit on one or more parts of her realm to meet and greet her subjects. This year, Queen Beatrix visits Weert and Thorn in the province of Limburg. For more information on the Queen's schedule on 29 and 30 April visit www.koninklijkhuis.nl/ 

How to survive

There are several ways to avoid the crowds and even save a few cents. The faint-hearted can stay at home and watch the day's events on television.

There have long been complaints that the festivities are being marred by increased commercialisation and that the crowds in the big cities are unbearable. To avoid this, you might consider getting out your map of the Netherlands and picking a small town (one you have never heard of before) and going there. This is a great way to sample the gezelligheid (pleasantness) inherent in the festivities.

Alternatively, you could hit the streets of one of the big four (Amsterdam, The Hague, Rotterdam or Utrecht) and dive right into the hedonistic indulgence of drink, music and the search for the bargain you never really wanted. If you feel really brave you could have your face painted orange to help blend into the local scene.

Amsterdam
Amsterdam is among the cities that have set aside certain areas for children to lay out their stalls. These are the north side of Sint Anthoniesluis and the north side of Leliegracht in the centre of the city (Centrum); an area in the Amsterdamse Poort centre in the South-East; the Dapperplein in East - Watergraafsmeer, Buikslotermeerplein in Amsterdam North and the entire Vondelpark in Old South (Oud Zuid). On 29 April the park closes at 8pm and opens again at 9am on 30 April. The following entrances are open: Stadhouderskade, Van Baerlestraat, Roemer Visscherstraat, Vondelstraat, Kattenlaan, Amstelveenseweg and Van Eeghenstraat. In Osdorp the Stadspark is reserved for a children's market and activities (entrance between Meer and Pieter Calandlaan). For a full programme visit www.koninginnedagamsterdam.nl.

Most towns and cities have fairground attractions and music lined up, many kicking off on Queen's day eve (Koninginnacht) on Friday, 29 April and bars and cafes can have extended weekend licenses of up to 2am. 

The Hague
Check out he Queen's night programme in The Hague at  www.koninginnenach.nl. 

The Queen's day programme is at www.haagsekoninginnedag.nl.

Rotterdam
Rotterdam's official celebrations are focused on Queen's Day, with the general market on the Coolsingel. Check out  www.rotterdam.info for the full programme. 

Utrecht
  This year, the free market (vrijmarkt) in Utrecht begins at 6pm on Friday, 29 April and runs until the same time on Saturday, 30 April. A lot of other festivities in the city also geared towards children, but Utrecht will also be filled with music – professional and otherwise – on most street corners and stalls selling the unwanted contents of the vendor's garage.

Because that is what it is all about – it is just a cover for the fact Koninginnedag is the one day of the year that singers and garage bands are actively encouraged to set up on each street corner to give passersby  their all and "traditional" Dutch ballads that have, thankfully, been relegated for the rest of the year to the special CD offers on the shopping channel.

The public don't seem to mind though. Anyway, everyone is jammed together like sardines so you can't escape Koninginnedag even if you wanted to.

Check the weather update here to see if we will have sun or rain on this festive day.

Check out  www.uitburo.nl, www.internetwijzer-bao.nl/koningin/, www.djguide.nl/maand.p?maand=koninginnedag or www.nl20.nl/ for an indication of the action near you. 

 Photo credits: Flickr: Erwin Boogert and .m for matthijs.

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