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| Glass blowing demonstration at the Holland Village |
Instead of traveling many areas of the Netherlands to make the most of its traditions, arts and specialties, a village will be designed to gather all in one place for a real experience.
The well-known Holland Village is, in the framework of trade promotion and Holland branding, brought to Vietnam by the Consulate General of the Netherlands in HCM City, with the support of the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality.
To bring to visitors the feeling of a real Netherlands on hand, some 12 traditional Dutch houses in various gables will be built; and a life-size windmill which is ten meters high will stand out from the scene.
The village will be embellished with old Dutch attractions, including a fish stand, a cheese stand and street organ, presenting Dutch taste of herring, a Dutch favorite raw fish, plus Dutch syrup wafel cookies and cheese. To liven up and make the scene colorful, traditional Dutch costume shows will take place with explanation by MC, together with floral workshops, accordionists’ play of Dutch music and more.
Aside from a colorful and lively ten-day festival, the village will give visitors a rare opportunity to “touch” the long-lasting traditions through demonstrations of wooden shoe making and glass blowing and discover Dutch floricultural products, made by professional artists who are difficult to meet even when visiting the Netherlands.
Firstly, visitors will have chances to try the specialties with the hereditary old receipts. In a close-up, Poffertjes, a typical Dutch pastry served for many different occasions, will be baked at sight to the original recipe dating back to 1795. The food will be brought by a family member of Lubica van Wijk, who has been operating a Poffertjes cart for more than 25 years. The original recipe has been passed down for generations in her family and is a closely guarded secret.
Frozen fish will be shipped to Vietnam to create Dutch fish specialty sandwiches with herring, shrimp, pickled herring, smoked salmon and smoked eel for visitors to the village.
At the village, glass artist Frans Limpens will give demonstrations of glass blowing. “You can name it and I will produce it. The lungs of a man for a surgeon, music instruments for musicians, mascots for football fans and animals as a collector’s items,” the artist said.
“All of these objects are made with a glass-torch and special equipment made out of glass tubes with different diameter and glass bars. By blowing and handling the melted glass, all kinds of objects can be created,” added Limpens.
In the past 42 years, the artist has created various items for people from all walks of life, notably the hot-air balloon made for King Hussein of Jordan and the windmill that is now the property of Princess Margriet of the Netherlands.
Other in-depth knowledge of Dutch arts, such as making wooden clogs, will also be given through professional artists with tools from the country. Making wooden clogs by hand is considered a hard-to-make technique.
In addition to cultural and traditional performances, sponsors’ interactive programs with visitors will be held to give funs while learning knowledge of Holland cultures. Philips will organize an ironing competition and a short class teaching aerobics.
Probably the most interesting spot for children in Holland Village is to feel a typical Dutch farm through games of doing milking. Moreover, a photo zone with typical Dutch sceneries of photo panels will be set up to help visitors have real pictures of themselves in the Netherlands right in HCM City.
At the opening ceremony on October 22, an orange wave will come to the scene with the gathering of cyclos and bicycles decorated in orange and participants wearing orange shirts. The demonstration will last for about 20 minutes around the September 23 Park then parade through Le Loi Boulevard, turn around the Opera House and return to the park.
Holland Village was built in 1980 to promote Dutch agricultural products in Germany. It was deployed about four times per year in the major cities of Germany. Since 1989 it has been deployed all over the world, starting in Osaka, Japan, and later in Hong Kong, China, Thailand, Malaysia, Canada, France, Austria and the U.S.
The admission to the well-known Holland Village in HCM City is free. The open daily time is from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. About 300,000 visitors are expected at the festival.
