Parade alternatives

Rotterdam boasts itself as a city of festivals. And rightfully so. There are so many it's impossible to go to them all. But which ones to skip??

Next weekend do go to Metropolis - a FREE music festival where you can catch the likes of Les Savy Fav and The Vaccines, as well as tons of other bands that you never heard of but who will (possibly) be famous next year.

This weekend, June 24-26, travel South to the Wolphaertstraat to visit Bazar Bizar. Over 60 (!!) artists will sell their prints, drawings, jewelery, clothing, zines, toys and what not. Plus there will be good food and music (including from our own Geeske).

And/or you could go up North to the bustling neighborhood of Het Oude Noorden for Route du Nord. This route will take you along all the galleries, shops, cafes, restaurants and temporary art spaces that are tucked away in the narrow streets of "The Old North".

A festival you certainly should not miss (unlike me..) is the Open Dans festival. Jan Misker and our friend Janne Eraker hand picked the best, fresh and exciting dance acts that are out there in Rotterdam today. The program is just as divers as the city itself: there will be everything from modern to urban, from tap to tango, there will be video-installations and turntables, there will be more established dance makers as well as young and upcoming ones, plus workshops, live music and parties! And all this for just € 25 (3-day passepartout - separate tickets available too). Skip De Parade, I'd say!

Blanche is on a roll!

So after a successful test ride through the parks and streets of Berlin we found out that Blanche’s tweeters were a little antique... 1991 wasn’t a good year for speakers and therefor we blew ‘em up! But revamped with two Excalibur cone speakers with a maximum power capability of 540 watt she's now ready to roll down the streets of Rotterdam!

This Friday, September 17th, you can find us with Blanche at Rotown, Rotterdam. We will be warming up for the band Bombay Show Pig and we will even be joining them during their performance. JAIKS!! Entrance is free!


The next day, September 18th, we will be DJ'ing with Blanche during the opening of minishop Bazar Bizar at de Meent, Rotterdam. The party won’t be so very mini, because we’re also celebrating the fact that Bazar Bizar won the Gouden Grasspriet award!

There is also a rumour going around that on October 9th and 10th Dutch Dolls are wheeling Blanche over to AHOY, Rotterdam to play some bassful tracks at the 100% Tuning fair while taking in a lovely blend of hairgel, Hugo Boss and exhaustion fumes. And we’ll be doing some promo for our main dude Remco and his Shop 4 Cars. This rumour is yet to be confirmed so keep checking back here for the latest news!

Everybody was there, even Swamp Thing!

So last Saturday it was the day that all the 'crafties' headed south; for Bazar Bizar. I packed all the Dutch Dolls stuff and my market-essentials tried to carry myself, my sweat and my stuff to the busstop. I think I lost about 2 pounds in that little stroll. Still looking cool with the sunglasses though, hell yeah. I arrived almost an hour late... but all that was bad about that was that I needed coffee. After unpacking and decorating all the addictions were taken care of.

I like this market. All the participants worked really hard and brought the coolest homemade stuff ever. I found shrimp made of felch, comics, vinyl, pluchies, shirts, jewellery and much, much more. There are loads of squatters with half-shaven heads, dogs and crusty-babies. There are old people, big black mamas with cute kids and artsy folks all over the place. The Dstruct DJ-team provides just the right soundtrack with dubstep, hiphop, jazz and italodisco. The sun is out, there's beer, good food and lots of people that I know. Even Swamp Thing (picture above) came, with his megaphone.. being the ultimate vendor. I had so much fun that I kinda forgot to sell stuff. Whoops!

Bazar Bizar!!

After last year's HUGE success, there had to be a sequel to Rotterdam's coolest (crafty)market: BAZAR BIZAR! It takes place on Saturday June 27th between 12.00 and 18.00 in the Wolphaertstraat (that's in the southern part of Rotterdam). This is the place to buy original gifts for your friends or for yourself! Or just indulge yourself in food, music, alcohol and lots of artsy people. We’re telling you, this will be cool... so go cross that Erasmus Bridge and hang out with us! Check www.bazarbizar.hyves.nl and/or www.myspace.com/bazarbizarrotterdam.