Okies So this post is the dedicated to the Gentse Feesten.
What is the Gentse Feesten you may ask. Well Basically to explain it in the simplest way possible it runs in July around the 14th and is a 10 day long street party and festival. Literally there is something for everyone. Day time they are a host of children's actives from bouncy castles face painting street performers themed boat rides and Craft Activities. Also running from day well into the night and early hours is a host of other actives that include parades street performers theatre and comedy acts as well as stages out side and around Gent housing many consorts from the famous Poli Poli there is also tents were you can try out Salsa and shopping markets.
Not everything at the Gentse Feesten is free however there is a lot of free activities as well as prices to suit all pockets. I however this year didn't have much money or time so I spend one evening out this year it was Friday 20th of July. I must the the atmosphere was amazing. The weather wasn't the hottest but at lest it was dry. Everyone was really friendly and relaxed. It was indeed a welcome and pleasant change from the sites I am used to in UK were usually alcohol usually leads to fighting not this laid back attitude that I witnessed. It made me feel safe and therefor I was able to enjoy myself more.
I started off my Gentse Feesten experience in one of the Irish bars and from there first had a walk around taking in all the sites and seeing what was down all the different streets as well as grabbing one of my fave waffles and ice cream. From the Australian Waffle stand Yum
We also ran into the odd street performer.
Given that we started to wonder around between 8 and 9 pm all the children's activies were well finished however there was still a largish fair or Kermis around the Vrijdagmarkt. Over my year here I have come to earn the the fair / carnival is a big part of Flemish culture and they have at lest 2 large ones a year. Usually one in summer and one around the fall.
After walking around and getting the tour from my friend we ended up at the reminded of hour night at Poli Poli. The history of Pole Pole is it used to be a music stage for the younger adults and teens that was on the water. However due to safety issues now the stage is at one side of the water. More info is on there website http://www.polepole.be/festivals/pole-pole-gent/. Given one of our fave Irish bars were also we waited at the gates for a hour until we realised everyone was just walking around the side and thus we eventually did so to and then we partied out. Was one of the best night club nights I had had since being a fresher at university.
Now hats off to the police and security at Pole Pole. There was sadly some pushing at the fence at the closed the entrance for a hour or 2 due to it being to full and the police acted very quickly avoiding any real trouble.
Problems with Pole Pole the drinks were expensive but apparently its how they pay for such an amazing event I paid about 8 euro for a cocktail but it was strong. Also I did get caught out with getting a train home to. We stayed out until 6 were the trams started back up however there wasn't a train back to were I live until 8 am. Apparently they do put on more trains for the Gentse Feesten but Saturday morning also was apparently a national holiday so this was perhaps the reason for later trains. But i decided it would be a good idea to walk home from De Pinte Station lol. Yeah the walk is wayyyyyy longer than i thought. But i didn't find someone with a mini sculpture of the Brussels Atom on in there garden.
Please Subscribe and Fallow for updates. Peace xxxxxx
What is the Gentse Feesten you may ask. Well Basically to explain it in the simplest way possible it runs in July around the 14th and is a 10 day long street party and festival. Literally there is something for everyone. Day time they are a host of children's actives from bouncy castles face painting street performers themed boat rides and Craft Activities. Also running from day well into the night and early hours is a host of other actives that include parades street performers theatre and comedy acts as well as stages out side and around Gent housing many consorts from the famous Poli Poli there is also tents were you can try out Salsa and shopping markets.
Not everything at the Gentse Feesten is free however there is a lot of free activities as well as prices to suit all pockets. I however this year didn't have much money or time so I spend one evening out this year it was Friday 20th of July. I must the the atmosphere was amazing. The weather wasn't the hottest but at lest it was dry. Everyone was really friendly and relaxed. It was indeed a welcome and pleasant change from the sites I am used to in UK were usually alcohol usually leads to fighting not this laid back attitude that I witnessed. It made me feel safe and therefor I was able to enjoy myself more.
I started off my Gentse Feesten experience in one of the Irish bars and from there first had a walk around taking in all the sites and seeing what was down all the different streets as well as grabbing one of my fave waffles and ice cream. From the Australian Waffle stand Yum
We also ran into the odd street performer.
Given that we started to wonder around between 8 and 9 pm all the children's activies were well finished however there was still a largish fair or Kermis around the Vrijdagmarkt. Over my year here I have come to earn the the fair / carnival is a big part of Flemish culture and they have at lest 2 large ones a year. Usually one in summer and one around the fall.
After walking around and getting the tour from my friend we ended up at the reminded of hour night at Poli Poli. The history of Pole Pole is it used to be a music stage for the younger adults and teens that was on the water. However due to safety issues now the stage is at one side of the water. More info is on there website http://www.polepole.be/festivals/pole-pole-gent/. Given one of our fave Irish bars were also we waited at the gates for a hour until we realised everyone was just walking around the side and thus we eventually did so to and then we partied out. Was one of the best night club nights I had had since being a fresher at university.Now hats off to the police and security at Pole Pole. There was sadly some pushing at the fence at the closed the entrance for a hour or 2 due to it being to full and the police acted very quickly avoiding any real trouble.
Problems with Pole Pole the drinks were expensive but apparently its how they pay for such an amazing event I paid about 8 euro for a cocktail but it was strong. Also I did get caught out with getting a train home to. We stayed out until 6 were the trams started back up however there wasn't a train back to were I live until 8 am. Apparently they do put on more trains for the Gentse Feesten but Saturday morning also was apparently a national holiday so this was perhaps the reason for later trains. But i decided it would be a good idea to walk home from De Pinte Station lol. Yeah the walk is wayyyyyy longer than i thought. But i didn't find someone with a mini sculpture of the Brussels Atom on in there garden.
Please Subscribe and Fallow for updates. Peace xxxxxx
