Amsterdam Festivals
Festivals in Amsterdam
Festivals in Amsterdam are lots of fun, especially in summertime of course. Chilling on the grass watching some great artist do his stuff, while you roll another fat joint or grab a cold Heineken. Throughout the year there are many festivals organized in Amsterdam. Some in the parks, some inside great venues, some for free, some for a fair ticket price. To give you a bit of an overview of what great festivals Amsterdam is hosting this summer, we made you a small list.
Indiestad
Amsterdam is a great city to catch live bands. Places like Melkweg or Paradiso are known as favorite stages for many bands. One of my favorite concerts ever in my life was that of ‘The Queens Of The Stone Age’ in Melkweg, some 10 years ago I think. Paradiso helps transforming Amsterdam to ‘Indiestad’, by giving you discount for gigs playing on several stages all over the city if you buy their “Indiepass”. The pass is valid for a year and costs only 29,-
| What? | Indiestad |
| Where? | Several places in town |
| When? | all year long |
| Free? | No, it’s a pass that gives you discount to several gigs across town in places like Paradiso and Melkweg and many more. |
| More info? | Indiestad website (Dutch) |
| 420 friendly? | Well this depends on which venue or place as all events during the festival take place in different places. Outside smoking is never a problem and most venues have a smoking space where joints are also allowed in most cases. |
London Calling Spring Edition
Twice per year Paradiso, one of Amsterdam’s greatest venues, hosts a music festival called ‘London Calling’. These festivals focus on music from across the canal and brings several great bands and artists from the UK to show the Dutch what’s up!
The Spring Edition of London Calling is part of the Indiestad Festival and will be held at the Tolhuistuin, which seems to be a great place to host a festival. Tolhuistuin is a cute park surrounded by water where artists have ateliers and several events are being hosted throughout the year.
| What? | London Calling Spring Edition |
| Where? | Tolhuistuin |
| When? | 24-25 May |
| Free? | No, tickets for single nights can be bought for only 20 euros and passe-partouts for the whole thing are only 35 euros. |
| More info? | London Calling Website |
| 420 friendly? | This festival will take place outdoors and outside smoking is never a problem. Don’t go and flash you many grams of weed when entering of course and don’t go and smoke around children. |
Holland Festival
For those amongst you that like to go to theater or digg performance art, Amsterdam is hosting the best performance arts festival in the Netherlands for more than 65 years. From 1 t0 15 June, many different performances and theater-pieces will be shown in various locations in the city. Ever wanted to visit the Bimhuis or het Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ? Than this is a great opportunity to visit these great places and experience some serious culture at the same time. From modern dance to opera to drama theater to cabaret to musicals, the Holland Festival has it all!
| What? | Holland Festival |
| Where? | Several Locations |
| When? | 1st 2 weeks of June |
| Free? | No, tickets can be bought for single performances and shows and are usually around 20-30 euros. |
| More info? | Holland Festival website |
| 420 friendly? | This festival will take place in respected theaters and venues so it might not be the best place to light up a big one. But of course you can always smoke up before going to visit a modern dance piece or a nice theater show. Bring on the third dimension! |
Artis ZOOmeravonden
Artis is the local ZOO of Amsterdam and a great place to visit on your visit to Amsterdam. Me myself I am not a big fan of looking at animals in cages, but okay, a festival in the zoo sounds good. Artis Zoomeravonden (Artis summer evenings) is basically a way to see what the animals are up to in the evenings while enjoying some live music and activities. As you can also book a picnic, it might be a great place to take your girlfriend to!
| What? | Artis ZOOmeravonden |
| Where? | Artis Zoo |
| When? | Every Saturday in June, July and August |
| Free? | No, tickets can be bought for around 20 euros. |
| More info? | Artis Zoo Website |
| 420 friendly? | This festival will take place in the zoo of Amsterdam. This means lots of children and families will be around. I haven’t been there but can imagine that smoking joints could be an issue. Of course you can always do it sneaky without anybody seeing it, but I would be a bit careful. |
Amsterdam Open Air
Imagine Amsterdam’s great nightlife in the great outdoors! Amsterdam Open Air is a large scale festival held in Amsterdam’s Gaasperpark and will host several stages and many acts from different parts of the diverse club circuit of Amsterdam. In collaboration with MTV, Club Air and many venues from the Amsterdam Nightlife, this festival will bring it all! Electro, Deep House, Techno, Dubstep and many undefined styles will be represented here, so get your dancing shoes on and let’s shake it!
| What? | Amsterdam Open Air |
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| Where? | Gaasperpark | |
| When? | The 2nd week of June |
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| Free? | No, tickets can be bought for around 40 euros for a single day but also festival passes and camping tickets are available. Prizes vary. |
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| More info? | Amsterdam Open Air | |
| 420 friendly? | This festival is very 420 friendly. Smoking should never be a problem. |
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