Good Old Dutch Fun!
Lots of yummie treats... En Koekhappen!
On Saturday, 27 April, in Foxton.
Come and celebrate Koningsdag (Dutch King's Day) with colourful family festivities - in arts and heritage town Foxton, on Saturday 27 April - right next to Windmill De Molen.
As part of the official opening of Dutch Week, the Oranjehof museum will unveil its 'new' Flying Dutchman - a model of Abel Tasman's flagship De Heemskerck - which brought him and 110 sailors to Aotearoa New Zealand in 1642. Eric Hill from Cambridge created the 2m by 2m ship, and generously donated it to the Dutch Community. It's now floating in the Tasman Room, right above Abel's other ship De Zeehaen.
So bring the kids or grandchildren, and join the family fun. We have an 'Origins' Art Competition with no less than 10 generous prizes to give away. So sit down and create an art work that shows De Molen, combined with something iconic from your own personal ethnic culture - your whakapapa, your ethnic origins.
But wait, there's muuuuch more... Try out Oud-Hollandse Spelen like clog throwing, sack jumping, steltlopen (stilt walking), blikkengooien or rope-skipping. Let the keen little voetballers, shoot a voetbal at a target goal with holes in it. And listen to the cheerful tunes of two old street organs - De Lieve Stem from 1880 and De Papagaai from the 1960s.
Big Dutch Day Out
An Orange Bike Ride, Yummie Foods, Castle Games, Old Odd Dutch Games, Straatorgel Muziek, Art Competition
- Kunst voor de Kinders!
Sit down with the family on an orange blanket, and create some Art Pieces - kunstwerken. Win a Prize!
Your artworks will be judged, and displayed in our Foyer - next to stunning 'Origins' artworks by 'real' artists in our Mapuna - Kabinet art gallery.
10.00 am Stage Outside WELCOME: MC, Arjan van der Boon + De Molen Host, Judy Langen
OFFICIAL START: Big Dutch Day Out + Dutch Week
MIHI: Mana Whenua / SPEECH: Ambassador Ard v. d. Vorst + Mayor Bernie Wanden
OPENING: Judy + Ard – Street Organ ‘De Lieve Stem’ Plays ‘Daar bij die Molen’
10.30 am PUBLIC ART COMPETITION Starts in Park ‘n Paddock: Plus Castle Games / Oud-Hollandse Spelen / Voetbal / Street organ De Lieve Stem / Traditional Costume Photo Booth
11.00 am ‘Origins’ ART EXHIBITION Opening: Māpuna - Kabinet Art Gallery, Te Awahou Nieuwe Stroom. Ceremony: Oranjehof Co-Chair + Judges
11. 30pm UNVEILING of De Heemskerck: VIPs reveal 2m*2m model ship: Flying Dutchman
12. 00pm PUBLIC ART brought into Foyer: VIP Judges decide Winners /
Art Pieces put on display
1.00 pm Māpuna - Kabinet art gallery
Prize-Givings: ARTIST Prizes + PUBLIC Prizes, announced,
handed out by the VIP Judges
Speakers: Dutch + Local MPs explain their Art Works / Ambassador / Judges Chair
3.00 pm BIG DUTCH DAY OUT FINISHED
Saturday 27 April, 2023 – 10.00am to 3.00pm
Te Awahou Nieuwe Stroom / De Molen / Te Awahou Riverside Cultural Park
92 Main Street, Foxton
Origins: Directions of Our Cultural Winds
An Art Exhibition that Reflects Our Ethnic Roots
Art Competition and Exhibition that shows De Molen, in ways never seen before...
Which wind direction turns your cultural ‘sails’? We've asked artists to create an art work: Combine Foxton’s imposing windmill De Molen – and its four sails – with your whakapapa,
your ethnic origins.
The Wind... A symbol of the forces that brought waka, sailing ships and airplanes across wild oceans to Aotearoa New Zealand – over many centuries.
The Four Sails of De Molen… Foxton’s windmill is a symbol of cultural identity, built by migrants from Nederland with a deep longing to create a reminder of ‘home’.
Exhibition Schedule
Origins - The Directions of our Cultural Winds
27 April to 23 June 2024
Te Awahou Nieuwe Stroom
Māpuna Kabinet Art Gallery. 92 Main Street, Foxton
Free entry. Open daily. Saturdays and Sundays: 10am to 4pm. Mondays to Fridays: 9am to 5pm Learn more about this exhibition »
Draaiorgel De Papegaai
Come and admire Draaiorgel De Papegaai! And have a turn at the wheel that makes it sing! The Kea always used to be played - with great pride - by the late Bill Beetz, at the Hamilton Tulip Festival and elsewhere in the Waikato.
The Oranjehof museum trust bought the organ and had it completely restored to its former glory. It is now properly tuned, and the drum, cymbal and tambourine happily play along with 32 cheerful pipes. An adorable puppet conductor waves his arm and is in charge of it all...
The Big Dutch Day Out will be very, very Nederlands. Join in the musical fun. Have a turn at orgeldraaien - turn the big wheel!
Things don't come more Double-Dutch than that...!
Windmill De Molen has successfully organised our annual Big Dutch Day Out for 10 years now,” says Arjan van der Boon, Co-Chair of the local Oranjehof Dutch Connection museum.
“But this time, we're adding a special show, with plenty of kids' activities on the day. The Oranjehof Museum is organising a first ever Origins Art Competition. Kids and adults can create into Art Works - with all materials provided. And there are ten generous arty prizes to be won.
"Plus, we’ll let youngsters from all over the country play in a competition of traditional Old Odd Games: Oud-Hollandse Spelen. We have clog-throwing, stilt-walking and jumping around in coffee sacks. "Ad for the first time: Voetbal target shooting, skipping and can-throwing.
The Oranjehof museum tells the story of the Dutch immigrants in New Zealand – right next to the 30m high icon of Dutchness, the flour-grinding windmill De Molen. An 1880 Perlee street organ - De Lieve Stem - will also pump its tunes, and there will be typically Dutch Treats to eat…
"Things don’t get much more Double-Dutch than that," says Arjan.
Thanks where 'Thanks' are due
Support for Dutch Week 2024 - across Aotearoa New Zealand, and in Foxton is provided by the Office of Ethnic Communities, Horowhenua District and other Councils and a raft of ‘Dutch’ individuals, organisations and businesses. Foxton's Art Prizes are sponsored by Higgings civil engineering.