Queensday in Golden Gate Park!
The Dutch community in San Francisco invites you to celebrate Queen’s Day this year on April 28th near the Dutch Windmill and the Queen Wilhelmina Tulip Garden in Golden Gate Park. Queen’s Day will be filled with activities and festivities for the entire family to enjoy:
- Bike-ride “Market to Mill”
- Walking tour Golden Gate Park by City Guides
- Official opening Murphy’s Mill
- Classical music concert at Park Chalet
- Flea market
- Children’s games
- Soccer for kids
- Commercial market
- Live entertainment by Once Again (Band) and DJ Marc van Brabant
- Food and beer garden
Bike-ride “Market to Mill”
We will start off the day with the traditional Dutch bike ride, this year “from Market to Mill.” Starting at 9:30am at “My Dutch Bike” on Market Street and ending at the Murphy’s Windmill in Golden Gate Park around 11:00am. Please dress up for the occasion (anything orange or red-white-and-blue will do).
Want to join the Bike Coalition and the Dutch in this epic bike-tour
Walking Tour in Golden Gate Park
In the morning, City Guides will organize a guided walking tour in Golden Gate Park that will also end at the Murphy’s Mill around 11:00am.
Please register here for the City Guides walking tour
Official Opening Murphy’s Windmill
At 11:00am, SF Recreation and Parks and the Netherlands Consulate will officially open the Murphy’s Windmill and Millwrights Cottage in Golden Gate Park. There will be a exposition in the Cottage about windmills and sustainable energy. After the opening, we will walk through the park towards the Dutch Windmill at JFK Drive (blocked from Ocean Drive to 47th Avenue) for the festive Queen’s Day program.
Classical Music Concert at Park Chalet
In the Park Chalet, you can enjoy a beautiful classical music concert performed by winners of the Princess Christina Concours: pianist Laurens de Man, Annemiek de Bruin on clarinet and Ferdinand Binnendijk on the mandolin. A special “Queen’s Day lunch” will be on the menu. Tickets for the concert can be purchased through the Netherland-America Foundation (http://www.thenafnorcal.org). The concert will start at 12:00 pm.
Flea Market
Like the good Vondelpark tradition, we support a flea market on Queen’s Day, under the trees in the park at JFK Drive. It’s a great opportunity for kids and grown-ups who want to do a little “spring-cleaning” in the house. Grab a blanket, take a spot, and sell your stuff. Please let us know if you or your kids want to participate in the flea market .The area is open from 11:00am – 5:00pm.
Children’s Games
The kids can participate in numerous typical Dutch games, such as “touwtrekken,” “zaklopen,” “blikgooien,” “ezeltje-prikje,” “sjoelen” and solving the puzzle of the Netherlands. We’ll also have facepainting, storybook reading (in Dutch!) and a bouncy castle. For all your little explorers, there will be a special scavenger hunt from The Dutch Windmill to the Murphy’s Windmill and back (under supervision by parents, of course). Please register your kids for the games at the registry table on the day of the event.
We still need VOLUNTEERS to help out at the Children’s games. This will all be simple but fun stuff. We will provide you with instructions about the games, and we ask for a minimum of two hours of your time. Please help us out so all the kids will have their chance to participate. Soccer for Kids
For the little soccer-superstars-to-be, we are organizing a “”little league” with demonstrations and a tournament. If your little “Johan Cruijff” wants to participate, please register here
Market, Beer Garden and Live Entertainment
1:00PM-2PM Performance by "Once Again"
2:00 – 2:10pm Official Opening by Consul General Bart van Bolhuis
2:10 – 2:40pm Performance by “Once Again”
2:40 – 3pm pm Performance by Rick VanderKleijn (Dutch singer from LA, http://www.myspace.com/rickvanderkleijn)
3:00 – 5:00pm DJ Marc van Brabant http://www.facebook.com/djmarcvanbrabant and http://www.ramcus.com
There will be an extensive market with all kinds of Dutch stuff, Dutch and Indonesian food, arts & crafts and so on. While enjoying your drink in the beer garden (21 and up), taking a stroll through the market, or having a snack at one of the numerous food stands, let us entertain you!
To register as a volunteer or if you have questions regarding the kid's activities please email: queensday@sfdutch.com
