Brandersfeest in Schiedam 2019

After March 2020, most public events in the Netherlands have been cancelled due to the COVID-19 epidemic, including my favorites like the Furiade in Maassluis and the Ladies Run in Rotterdam. When I search for '2020 Brandersfeest', I read that the organizers aren't sure what the situation will be in September, but they're discussing spreading the activities over a whole month instead of one weekend. So I'm glad we went last year and gave our kids a taste of what it's like when the nearby city of Schiedam holds a festival.

In September 2019, the metro line extension from Schiedam towards Hook of Holland had just opened, so our family decided to try it out. The RET had even announced that travel along the new Hoekse Lijn would be free for everyone that day! And there would be refreshments! There was some good-natured grumbling about how all that sounded wonderful, until you considered that the metro renovation was planned to last 5 months (during which commuters like my husband had to take a longer bus route instead). 29 months later, the new line was finally finished, and we boarded with a crowd of other happy travellers, munching free cookies.

Once there, we walked towards the inner city, where the festivities are. Up until the 1700s, Schiedam and its neighboring towns like Vlaardingen and Maassluis depended on fishing. After that, gin distilling became more lucrative in Schiedam, and the Branderswijk, or "burners' neighborhood" is where festival got its name from. There are little hints of the history throughout the area, like the zakkendrager statue of a porter carrying his sack of grain or coal from the ships. Most of the visitors on the street were dressed in every day clothes (and jackets) like us, but I saw a few in costume as well.

The city was decorated with flags and balloons in the Schiedam colors of yellow and black. I'm not sure who came up with the idea of giant puppets, but it seems my children were only lightly traumatized. 

The weather was cool and cloudy, and the festival wasn't as busy as other years. But we still had fun strolling around, seeing our children stare at the street performers, and listening to live music from the shantykoor.

I only had my camera with me to snap photos, and D and I were also occupied with making sure that our two active children didn't fall off a bridge or trip a performer on stilts. It was quite different than my first Brandersfeest in 2011, exploring an unfamiliar city with a high quality camera and fascinated by everything. But for a family outing, and a free metro ride? It was lovely.