Keep in touch with the Dutch
News, announcements and activities for Dutch-Canadians
Postbode Issue 2013-04-20
Crowd sourcing with Eva
International student mobility
My name is Eva Mohrmann, I am an intern at the Netherlands Embassy in Ottawa. I am a conducting a research on student mobility between the Netherlands and Canada.
I am looking for students who have participated in a study abroad program in the Netherlands in recent years and would like to take part in our survey on student mobility.
If you are interested, please e-mail me at Evaluna.mohrmann@minbuza.nl
If anyone knows somebody in either Canada or the Netherlands that has any further information on exchange program’s or general information on student mobility, please contact me.
All help is welcome!
A Touch of Dutch
Listing Spring 2013
Spring is the best time to celebrate the close bonds of friendship between the Netherlands and Canada. Each May the city of Ottawa is coloured by the Canadian Tulip Festival as a sign of gratitude for hospitality that was extended to the Dutch Royal Family during the Second World War. This year is a special year. On 30 April 2013 the Netherlands will mark the abdication of Queen Beatrix and celebrate the investiture of King Willem-Alexander. The investiture will be celebrated across Canada as well.
Since 2011 the month of May has been declared Dutch Heritage Month in Ontario. The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Consulates General in Toronto and Vancouver organize activities with a Touch of Dutch in partnership with local organizations throughout Canada. These public events – listed in this booklet – all celebrate and renew the lasting bonds of friendship between Canada and the Netherlands.
We hope you will join us celebrating the rock-solid relations between Canada and the Netherlands.
Dutch Heritage Month in Ontario
Through the month of May, Ontario celebrates its Dutch heritage and pays tribute to the close bonds of friendship our two countries have developed since 1945, when Canadian Forces played a pivotal role in liberating the Netherlands. After the Second World War Canada became a popular destination for Dutch immigrants and many settled in Ontario.
Canada and the Netherlands at the Int’ Airport Ottawa
Throughout May at Ottawa International Airport, you can watch the flash film “Canada and the Netherlands – Two countries, One spirit” on the big TV screens, every hour. This 90-second feature, telling the story of the friendship between our two countries, can also be viewed at youtube.com/thenetherlandsincanada.
April 13 – June 13
Dutch Design at the Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver
The Lloyd Hotel & Cultural Embassy in Amsterdam is one of the primary hotels selected for the exhibition Grand Hotel: Redesigning Modern Life organized by the Vancouver Art Gallery. This exhibition charts the evolution of the hotel from an isolated and utilitarian structure to a cultural phenomenon that figures prominently around the world. The exhibition will show work of Dutch designers Christoph Hutten and Richard Hutten.
April 13 – September 15
Vancouver Art Gallery, 750 Hornby St, Vancouver, BC
Dutch Docs @ Hot Docs 2013, Toronto
North America’s largest documentary film festival is back with over 170 films representing more than 35 countries. This year three documentaries from the Netherlands have been selected for the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival.
-Hill of Pleasures, director Maria Ramos: Set against one of the world’s most stunning views, a slum community in Rio de Janeiro stands divided between 30 years of lawlessness and the newly appointed police unit that’s tasked with taking control back from drug dealers and criminals
-Wrong Time Wrong Place, director John Appel: Young survivors of the 2011 terrorist attacks in Norway recall the tragic events and the role that chance played in placing them in harm’s way, but also in their ultimate survival.
-Only Son, director Simonka de Jong: A Tibetan family is reunited when its only son returns to honour his parents’ wish to see him married, but he struggles between pursuing his Westernized dreams and respecting their dying traditions
April 25 – May 5, various venues throughout Toronto
Dutch Dance at Assemblée Internationale Dance Festival, Toronto
Canada’s National Ballet School is hosting the Assemblée Internationale, a dance festival bringing together nineteen professional ballet schools from around the world, including the Dutch National Ballet Academy (Amsterdam) and Codarts (Rotterdam), to participate in a weeklong celebration of dance education and performance.
April 28 – May 4
The Betty Oliphant Theatre, 404 Jarvis St, Toronto
www.nbs-enb.ca; www.ahk.nl; www.codarts.nl
Peace Tower Carillon Plays “Orange Rhapsody”, Ottawa
In honour of Willem-Alexander’s investiture as King of the Netherlands on April 30, Dominion Carillonneur Dr. Andrea McCrady will play the Peace Tower Carillon, performing “Oranjerapsodie” (“The Orange Rhapsody”), by Joop Stokkermans. Commissioned by the Nederlandse Klokkenspelvereniging (the Dutch Carillon Association) in honour of the wedding of Willem-Alexander and Máxima in 2002, this splendid work is played by carillons across the world today. The program will also include “Sweelinck-Fantasie voor de Westertoren (Amsterdam),” by Albert De Klerk, and three hymns by Adriaen Valerius.
April 30, 11:50 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
Listen to the carillon on the Parliament Hill lawn. For carillon history and annual programming: www.Parl.gc.ca/collections/carillon-e.htm
Queen’s Day celebrations, Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver
During the Second World War Queen Beatrix lived in Ottawa as a young Princess. To pay tribute to this great hospitality the Netherlands Embassy will host the annual Queen’s Day reception in Ottawa’s City Hall. Also the Consulates General in Vancouver and Toronto orange celebrations will be organized, in some cases with live music and video footage of the events in Amsterdam. The Dutch network of Honorary Consulates is bringing together the Dutch in their regions as well. Bring out the orange in your attire.
-Ottawa – Reception: April 30, 6:00 – 8:30 p.m.
City Hall (Jean Pigott Hall), 110 Laurier Avenue West, Ottawa
-Toronto – Dinner and Party: April 30, Registration & cash bar 6 – 7 p.m.; 4-course dinner 7 – 8:30 p.m.
Hyatt Regency Toronto, King Ballroom, 370 King Street West, Toronto
-Vancouver, April 30, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. For more details contact CG Vancouver directly.
Operation Manna at Aviation Museum, Ottawa
In the spring of 1945, a team of dedicated airmen took part in the famous Operation Manna. In Lancaster and Mosquito bombers, they flew the skies of the Nazi-occupied Netherlands to drop food supplies over Dutch towns and villages. In celebration of the courage of these Allied aircrews in one of the greatest humanitarian efforts of the Second World War, the Aviation Museum will organize themed family activities, including storytelling, print making workshops, and the popular parachute candy drops.
May, every Saturday and Sunday in May
Canada Aviation and Space Museum, 11 Aviation Parkway, Ottawa
The Dutch at the Canadian Tulip Festival, Ottawa
In 1945, the Dutch Royal Family sent the Canadian people 100,000 tulip bulbs in gratitude for providing safe harbour to the Dutch Royal Family in the Second World War and for their involvement in the liberation of the Netherlands. This laid the foundation for the Canadian Tulip Festival, which has since become the largest Tulip Festival in the world, featuring over a million tulips. From the beginning in 1953, the Dutch Embassy has enthusiastically joined the annual celebration of the Festival. A Dutch Heritage House will be set up at the Festival Plaza (at Ottawa City Hall). Ambassador Wim Geerts will deliver a friendship speech on May 3rd at noon, upon arrival in a Vintage Vehicle.
May 3 Festival Plaza, 110 Laurier W, Ottawa
May 3-20, throughout Ottawa’s central core
Tulips at St. Andrew’s, Ottawa and at Holland Christian Homes, Brampton
Tulips are the national pride of the Dutch, and they have become symbols of the friendship between Canada and the Netherlands. Special gifts of tulips were given to the gardens of St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church on Kent in Ottawa and to the Holland Christian Homes in Brampton (ON). St. Andrew’s is the church Princess Juliana and her family attended when they stayed in Rockcliffe during the Second World War. At the Holland Christian Homes many Dutch Canadians are enjoying their retirement.
May 2013
www.standrewsottawa.ca; www.hch.ca
Dutch Designer Marcel Wanders talk, Toronto
Come and join us for a lunch talk with internationally acclaimed designer Marcel Wanders. Wanders is a Dutch product and interior designer who drew recognition for his Knotted Chair produced by Droog Design in 1996. In addition to running his studio, Wanders is co-founder and Artistic Director of the successful design label Moooi. This presentation is part of the “Hair of the Dog Brunch”series. Tickets include lunch.
May 4, 11:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Design Exchange, 234 Bay Street, Toronto
www.dx.org/index.cfm?pagepath=Talks_Events&id=4285
Dutch Remembrance Day, Ottawa
May 4th — Remembrance Day in the Netherlands — is a day of reflection, a day to honour all victims of war wherever they may have fallen. It is customary in the Netherlands to observe two minutes of silence. Rochus Pronk, Deputy Head of Mission, will lay a wreath and pay homage to those who gave their lives for our freedom. At 2:00 pm — at the same time the Netherlands falls silent – we will observe a moment of silence as well. There will be a reception with light refreshments afterwards.
May 4, 1:45 – 2:15 p.m.
Beechwood National Cemetery, 280 Beechwood Avenue, Ottawa
Dutch Remembrance Day, Burlington
The Canada Netherlands Friendship Day ceremony will be held at the City Hall of Burlington. Consul General Hans Horbach will lay a wreath as well as Mayor Rick Goldring, former MPP and current Chair of the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board Elizabeth Witmer and Canadian veteran Ken Phillips.
May 4, 12:00 – 13:30 p.m.
Burlington City Hall, 426 Brant Street, Burlington (ON)
Touch of Dutch Weekends at the Canadian War Museum, Ottawa
The Canadian War Museum will offer three weekends of public programs that shine a light on the past, present, and future of the special relationship between Canada and the Netherlands.
-Friendship Family Activity
Learn about the origins of the Tulips in the capital – Canada’s role in sheltering members of the Dutch Royal Family and in liberating the Netherlands in the Second World War. In the spirit of friendship, make a beaded zipper pull in the colours of the Canadian and Dutch flags, and create a Friendship Card.
-Sussie’s Coat
A kind gesture by Canadian gunner Robert Elliott in the Second World War, to a 10-year-old Dutch girl named Everdina (“Sussie”) Cretier, became a beautiful love story that endures today. Come see the coat that symbolizes the national and personal bonds arising from Canada’s liberation of the Netherlands in the Second World War.
-Second World War Kit
Discover the clothing worn and the equipment used by Canadian Soldiers who participated in the Normandy Invasion and the liberation of the Netherlands in 1944-45.
May 4-5, 11-12, 18-19-20
10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Canadian War Museum, lobby, 1 Vimy Place, Ottawa
Liberation Day, Hamilton
The Dutch Canadian Veteran Association ‘Wapenbroeders’ will celebrate the Dutch Liberation Day with a Church service and a reception afterwards. Frits Stam, Defence Attaché of the Netherlands to Canada and Hans Horbach, Consul General will both be present to thank our Canadian liberators.
May 5, 11.15 a.m.
Church Service at St. Elizabeth Village, 393 Rymal Road West, Hamilton (ON)
Reception after the Church service at The Edelweis (on the same property)
www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/partner/2010-2/southwestern-ontario; www.stelizabethhomesociety.org
Dutch Flag Raising Ceremony at Legislative Assembly Ontario, Toronto
The Dutch flag will be raised on the Grounds of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario at Queen’s Park to celebrate Dutch Heritage Month, with messages of friendship and singing of the national anthem. Please join us.
May 6, 11:30 a.m. – 12:00 noon
Queen’s Park, Toronto
Mother’s Day and Tulip Festival Tribute, Ottawa
The Canadian War Museum is pleased to invite you to a Mother’s Day and Tulip Festival tribute, celebrating the 90th anniversary of the Royal Canadian Sea Cadet Corps Falkland Military Band featuring the Main and Abbott Dance Band. This Mother’s Day, treat your mom to an afternoon of great entertainment and let her sit back and relax!
May 12, 2:00 – 5:00 p.m.
Canadian War Museum, LeBreton Gallery, 1 Vimy Place, Ottawa
Dutch Digital Media Experts at Canada 3.0, Toronto
The Canada 3.0 digital media conference focuses on the commercialization of innovation. A Dutch trade mission of fifteen companies -active in Information Technology and digital media -will participate in this year’s conference. An event not to be missed by anyone interested in leveraging innovation for commercial success!
May 14-15
Metro Toronto Convention Centre, 255 Front St W, Toronto
Amsterdam Staff Band back in Ottawa
This spring, the premier Dutch band of the Salvation Army, the Amsterdam Staff Band, will be touring Canada. In 1992 the band made their first tour of Canada, performing in the Nation’s Capital. The band will be coming to Ottawa once again!
May 23, 7:30 p.m.
Parkdale United Church, 249 Parkdale Ave, Ottawa
Hotel Modern Theatre plays “Kamp,” Toronto
Established in 1997, Dutch theatre company Hotel Modern blends visual arts, puppetry, music and film in evocative productions, representing harsh reality in a refined poetic manner. With an enormous scale model of the purpose-built city and thousands of eight-centimeter-tall handmade puppets that represent the prisoners and their executioners, Hotel Modern attempts to imagine the unimaginable: the Holocaust in Auschwitz. Suggested age: 12+.
May 23-26
Harbourfront Centre, 235 Queens Quay W, Toronto
www.harbourfrontcentre.com; www.hotelmodern.nl
Bread Artists Showcase “Dutch Settlement,” Ottawa
Located in a former bread factory, Ottawa-based Enriched Bread Artists (EBA), in cooperation with the Quartair Arts Collective from The Hague, will host a special exhibition entitled “Dutch Settlement.” The participants are inspired by the meaning of the word “settlement” and all it entails. This coming August fifteen Canadian bread artists travel to the Netherlands for the opening of their exhibition “Interference” at the Quartair Gallery in The Hague.
May 31, 7:00 p.m. (opening night) & June 1 -10
951 Gladstone Avenue, Ottawa
Dutch Swing at Jazz Festival, Ottawa
The Ottawa Jazz Festival reaffirms its place as the event for discerning music fans in the Capital. This year the festival has a great line-up, including Dutch artists Boi Akih, Tin Men & the Telephone, and Traeben. Boi Akih is a jazz music trio based in Amsterdam that fuses musical styles from the Moluccas Islands and Bali with Dutch jazz, to create their own unique sound. The musicians of Tin Men & the Telephone present jazz in a new guise by incorporating everyday life sounds into a show that combines theatrical and visuals aspects with music. The chemistry between the musicians of Traeben produces music that is energetic, dynamic, and playful: everything that fits the definition of jazz!
June 20 – July 1
Confederation Park, Elgin St, Ottawa
Dutch Speaker at Urban Ecologies, Toronto
The Ontario College of Art and Design presents Urban Ecologies 2013. This conference will examine the impact of various intersecting practice-based research themes that are shaping the future of design in our cities. Adriaan Geuze, founder of Dutch West 8 urban design & landscape architecture, is the keynote speaker. West 8 architects provided Toronto with its Simcoe Wave Deck, a whimsical timber boardwalk inspired by the shorelines of Ontario’s Great Lake.
June 20-21
OCAD University, 100 McCaul St, Toronto
www.urbanecologies.ca; www.west8.nl
Send-off “Nijmegen Vierdaagse”, Ottawa
Every year a large contingent of Canadian Forces personnel participate in the “Vierdaagse.” This march, known as “The King of Walks,” takes place in the area around the city of Nijmegen. Participants from all over the world fly to the Netherlands to walk 40 kilometers on each of four days. Last year, 40,630 participants started and 38,144 finished. The 2013 walk is from July 16 to 19. Everyone who undertakes such a challenge deserves our respect, so join us in cheering on this year’s Canadian contingent at their official send-off!
July 3, 11:30 a.m.
Canadian War Museum, Ottawa
Lacrosse World Cup, Toronto
Top Canadian and Dutch women athletes will be competing with teams from around the world for the gold during the Lacrosse World Cup in Oshawa, ON. Fans have a lot to look forward to as some of the world’s best teams are flying in for the event.
July 10-20
Civic Recreation Complex, 99 Thornton Rd South, Oshawa
World Press Photo Exhibition, Ottawa, Montreal and Toronto
World Press Photo, a travelling exhibition of the world’s best press photographs, will once again be exhibited. World Press Photo, an independent, non-profit organization, was founded in 1955 in Amsterdam, where its offices remain to this day. Its main aim is to support and promote internationally the work of professional press photographers. Note: exhibition location/dates in Toronto were not available at the time of printing of this flyer.
July 31 – August 29 (TBC), Ottawa, Canadian War Museum, www.warmuseum.ca
September 4 – 29, Montreal, www.worldpressphotomontreal.ca
Meeting of the Minds, Toronto
Since it was first launched in 2006, Meeting of the Minds has become a premier global leadership summit focused on the development of smarter technologies to enable sustainable economic development. Among the 350 speakers are the following Dutch captains of industry: Nico Tille, landscape architect and European Union liaison at the City of Rotterdam; Rogier van der Heide and Harry Verhaar both of Philips Lighting and Rick Huijbregts, a Cisco Vice President of Industry and Business Transformation.
September 9-11
Evergreen Brickworks, 550 Bayview Ave, Toronto
Dutch Design at DX, Toronto
Dutch Design is known for its strong conceptual posture. It is often referred to as being experimental, humorous, and stubborn. Dutch designers convert their conceptual ideas and projects into national and international brands, proving design can be both exceptionally creative and commercially successful. This fall Canada’s Design Museum, Design Exchange DX, will feature an exhibition on Dutch Design.
October-December
Toronto Stock Exchange Building, 234 Bay Street, Toronto
EU Film Festival, Ottawa, Toronto, and Vancouver
The European Union Film Festival is an annual showcase of the best of contemporary cinema produced in the European Union. The Festival will bring a wide selection of award-winning, never-before-seen films selected by EU member states. Keep an eye on the Festivals website for detailed information of screenings in Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver.
November/December
Ottawa: www.cfi-icf.ca; Toronto: www.eutorontofilmfest.ca; Vancouver: www.eufilmfestival.com
Other News and Events
200th Birthday of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
Time flies! This year the Kingdom of the Netherlands will celebrate her 200th birthday, her past, present, and future! The Netherlands has come a long way in the fields of trade, innovation and internationalization. Official celebrations will start in November 2013 and will continue till 2015. For more information go to:
Dutch Agro & Food “Footprint” in Canada and the US
Interested in an overview of Dutch agriculture and food companies working in Canada and in the United States? Visit:
100 Years Peace Palace, Guest Lectures High Schools, Ottawa and Toronto
This year the Peace Palace in The Hague celebrates its centenary. The Peace Palace, home to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), has become a worldwide symbol of international peace and justice since its inauguration a century ago. In the Netherlands many events will be organized to highlight international peace and justice. The Embassy in Ottawa and the Consulate General in Toronto offer high schools in the Ottawa and Toronto area a lively presentation for their students by a Dutch guest speaker. Interested teachers should contact ott-ppc@minbuza.nl to schedule in a lecture.
May – June at participating high schools in the Ottawa and Toronto area
Burlington and Apeldoorn still Twinning
In the fall an official delegation from the city of Apeldoorn will visit Burlington (ON) to celebrate 10 years of friendship. After the summer more information will become available.
Facebook.com/thenetherlandsincanada
MC Escher at the National Gallery, Ottawa
The National Gallery of Canada will publish a scholarly paper on M.C. Escher, a world famous Dutch graphic, later on this year. A special event will be planned this coming fall. Visit the Gallery’s website after the summer to find out more.
The National Gallery, 380 Sussex Drive, Ottawa
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