Recently expanded into a four-day event, Zeeheldenfestival is a lovely free community festival in The Hague with a varied lineup of music, street theatre and a strong programme for children and families.
The Zeeheldenfestival started in 1981 as a small event organised by the local neighbourhood association to celebrate its community. It has grown and grown since then and is now one of the key dates on the event calendar of The Hague. While the name does literally mean the Sea Heroes Festival, it is named after the Zeehelden quarter of the city where it is held, rather than being a naval-themed festival in itself.
The festival is an explosion of creativity and positivity, and the programme is bursting with all kinds of acts. The daytime is aimed squarely at families, with face painting, kids theatre, puppet shows and crafting activities to take part in. From about 6pm, musicians and bands take centre-stage, with an astonishing diverse range of genres. Rock, folk, samba, brass bands, jazz, funk, rap - anything and everything that people can dance to gets a turn here!
While you are already surrounded by some of the best restaurants in the Netherlands by being in The Hague, the festival itself also provides several different options so you don't have to leave the festival at all. Pancakes, Surinamese delicacies, kibbeling and herring, and tasty Italian dishes are all on offer this year.
In order to reduce waste, all food stalls will use reusable plates and cutlery with a deposit system to encourage people to clean up after themselves. There will also be a water tap for you to refill your own bottles, in case a whole day of drinking beer from the bar is a bit too much!
The good news is that the whole festival is completely free, so you don't need to worry about it selling out or choosing in advance which day you want to attend, meaning you can wait and see what the weather has in store for the day! You can see the whole lineup and more information on the Zeeheldenfestival website.
The Zeehelden quarter is right by the city centre of The Hague, and is a really beautiful and interesting neighbourhood to visit, even when the festival isn't happening. Public transport keeps it well connected to the rest of the city with trams one, three and 16 running through it, and there will be a bike park next to the bar (very convenient!) for the cyclists.