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When your hardest decision to make is which music festival to attend, you know you are in the midst of a typical Belgium summer. This coming weekend is no exception with a glut of options, from the hippie folk festival of Dranouter featuring Joan as Police Woman and the Pogues or the equally popular Lokerse Feesten with such diverse names as AIR and the Wu Tang Clan.

But if the crush of crowds, the blast of speakers and the wash of plastic beer cups has become too much, escape to the sea. Ostend offers a welcome respite from all the noisy musical festivals, with something equally entertaining but perhaps more enlightening. Theater Aan Zee (TAZ) is an eclectic mix of theatre, exhibitions, children’s programmes and live music, spread over various venues across Ostend.

Courtney Davis
(August 3, 2010)

Urban agriculture

How one organisation is changing Brussels from concrete jungle to communal garden

Just six months ago the pretty and flourishing garden on Dauwstraat in Anderlecht was a barren wasteland of rubbish and filth. Now it is equipped with a greenhouse, 60 different specimens of fruit trees, a selection of mouth-watering berries and a smorgasbord of veggies. Frédéric Morand, secretary of Eco Innovation (and green thumb enthusiast), tells us that, “in February the site was barely accessible and very dirty.”

He continues, “With the help of the Anderlecht municipally staff we cleared tonnes of dirt and waste. We started bringing manure, compost and special equipment along with the materials for the greenhouse. Slowly and gradually we started planting. The soil is good and the plants are very healthy.”

Katy Holliday
(July 20, 2010)

Summer of science

There’s no need to fly your kids to a faraway land to discover exotic creatures and cultures
© Technopolis

Along with sunshine, down time and the sound of ice cream vans, come long – very long – days. Two months of mostly free time for children means two months of potential boredom. If development psychologists agree that “unstructured time” can be a salutary and creative respite for children, parents are often at a loss for ideas of activities that kids enjoy and that don't involve any kind of screen.

Technopolis

This colourful science centre in Mechelen offers more than 280 interactive exhibits that help kids (and adults) grasp the scientific concepts behind everyday objects and phenomena. The interactive activities are grouped around seven themes, such as Air/Wind, Space Travel and Waterside. The newest exhibits allow children to fly a solar-powered plane and to collect, sort, shred and process waste.

Tania Rabesandratana
(July 14, 2010)

Where nature meets history

With an exciting past and special attention to today’s outdoor enthusiasts, Wijnendale is a West Flanders highlight

Wijnendale Castle is a stunning piece of architecture in the heart of West Flanders that occupies a prominent place in Belgian history.

Just three kilometres from the village of Torhout, Wijnendale is a stereotypical fairy tale castle: Neo-Gothic, a moat and a drawbridge. Half of the building is private, as it is still occupied by the owners, but half has been made into an excellent museum about the castle’s history.

The original castle was built by Robrecht de Fries, Count of Flanders, towards the end of the 11th century. Successive rounds of nobility occupied the castle, and it saw numerous battles. It was finally mostly destroyed by Napoleon’s troops in 1811.

Melissa Maki
(June 30, 2010)

Ode to a bee

Everything you ever wanted to know about pollinators but were afraid to ask
© Shutterstock

Brussels’ Natural Sciences Museum throws a jolly Bee Party in its garden on Wednesday, 7 July. All the family is invited to honour the Queen Bee and the vital importance of pollination by insects, birds and bats.

This is your chance to see beehives up close and to taste honey, chocolate, fruit and vegetables – all products that we wouldn’t have if it weren’t for bees and other pollinators.

The museum hosts a range of games and activities, and in-house experts will be at hand to answer questions. The younger ones will appreciate the bouncy castle and getting a face of “happy bee” make-up.

(June 30, 2010)

Flemish sunglasses protect delicate eyes

If you were lying awake at night worried that Flanders was left out of the exercise in product placement that is Sex and the City 2, put on that nightcap and turn out the lights because one of the ladies in the photo below sports sunglasses designed by Tim Van Steenbergen for Antwerp’s theo. It’s actress Kim Cattrall (Samantha, in the middle), and she’s wearing the “Commodore” model, a line based on American classic cars. In fact, Cattrall also wore a pair of theos in the first SATC film, too.

So even if you think the movie is tasteless, at least one of these self-absorbed women has the sense enough to wear the right frames. LB

www.theo.be

(June 9, 2010)

Gardening wild

Political, social and utilitarian, guerrilla gardening is gaining ground in Flanders
© Brussels Farmer

Under the cover of night, groups of guerrillas roam the streets, hiding from the authorities and boycotting the existing rules of society. But don’t be frightened, these are not terrorists so much as terroir-ists: they come to plant gardens. “Guerrilla gardeners” seeking to beautify and utilise public spaces with flowers, vegetables and plants.

In Belgium, there are handful of independent groups that believe abandoned lots and other unused public land can be claimed back by the general population. The reason for the tag “guerrilla” is because these rogue gardeners do not own the land, so the acts are technically illegal. This doesn’t seem to deter the participants but in fact motivates them.

Courtney Davis
(June 9, 2010)

Roll with it

The Roller Bike Parade is the summer party that never stops
© Reporters

Say what you want about Brussels, you’d be hard-pressed to find a city that would deal with an event like the Roller Bike Parade. Every Friday night for four solid months, thousands strap on a pair of skates – quad or inline – and wheel through the streets from the Justice Palace, down Louizalaan, through Elsene and on to Sint-Gillis. They are preceded by vans blasting dance music and followed by hundreds of bicycles. The police block traffic and keep the skaters safe – and sometimes strap on a pair of skates and do a little boogying at the head of the parade.

Although it’s not something that exactly draws spectators, heads do turn and innocent bystanders watch while the skaters scream and shout, dance and grab at each other, like little kids in a skating rink. Couples hold hands, parents hover over their kids, a truck picks up those who overestimated their skating stamina. Sometimes there’s an impromptu break dance.

It’s the kind of imposition and traffic stopper that people just don’t really seem to mind and that bemused authorities can’t find reason to restrict. But you wouldn’t get that attitude in just any capital.

Lisa Bradshaw
(June 9, 2010)

Boccherini festival

Luigi Boccherini is often overshadowed by that of his contemporaries Mozart and Haydn, which is the reason Bruges’ Concertgebouw dedicating an entire weekend to the 18th-century composer and cellist. You’ll find concerts of chamber music, orchestral pieces and vocal works as well as lectures, debates and an exhibition all about the musician. Boccherini was born in the Italian town of Lucca in 1743 but spent most of his life in Spain, where he worked for patrons such as Don Luis and Kings Carlos III and IV.

Add to that a concert of Spanish chamber music, where a Boccherini sonata for violin and guitar are on a programme that also includes music by his Spanish contemporaries Pablo Vidal and Fernando Sor.

Anna Jenkinson
(June 2, 2010)

bite: Oostrozebeke Farm

When you are looking for farm-fresh produce – so fresh and farmy that you actually head to the countryside for it – West Flanders is the place to be. I was out there last autumn to conquer a pumpkin patch, and returned for yet another adventure this month.

Our trip meandered past various signs for fresh produce, with one farm advertising prei (leeks), another selling witloof (chicory). A highlight was undoubtedly the roadside aardbeienautomaat, with baskets of fresh strawberries waiting for purchase behind the small glass windows of a vending machine.

Sharon Light
(May 25, 2010)