Wednesday, April 27th is King’s
Day (Koningsdag)! If you aren’t sure what that is, it’s sort of
the Dutch equivalent of St. Patrick’s Day. Just like everybody is Irish
and raises a toast to Ireland on St. Patrick’s Day, on King’s Day anybody who
wants to be Dutch, is Dutch. King’s Day is an excuse to wear orange, go
for a spring day bike ride, and gather at a fine local establishment or two
with friends to drink Dutch bier and raise a toast to the Netherlands.
This year, you don’t have to travel to Amsterdam to celebrate King’s Day because Shorewood and Milwaukee are having their very own King’s Day festivities. On Wednesday, April 27th, those celebrating King’s Day are gathering at Three Lions Pub in Shorewood and then Café Hollander on Milwaukee’s Eastside.
Organized by Greater Shorewood Bikers and the Wisconsin Bike Fed, these two cycling advocacy groups are celebrating King’s Day to bring greater awareness to the Netherlands’ leadership in making their communities over the last 50 years much more bike friendly, and less car dependent. Currently, the Dutch have the highest rates of routine, everyday bike use in the World, and many studies indicate those high rates have many benefits for Dutch health, happiness, prosperity and the environment.
Milwaukee’s King’s Day celebration kicks off at Three Lions Pub in Shorewood at 4:00 pm, followed by a celebration at Café Hollander on Downer. Attendees are encouraged to bike to the event, and between the two venues (the two bars are an easy, pleasant 3-mile bike ride apart). Festivities at Three Lions will run from about 4-6, and at Café Hollander from about 5-7. At one or both venues the Dutch National Anthem will be played, and King Willem-Alexander and the House of Oranje will be toasted. Celebrants are encouraged to wear orange (the national color of the Netherlands, and the official color of King’s Day). If you can’t make it to Three Lions, please join us at Hollander. All welcome, invite your friends to join you. You don’t have to be Dutch to bike or join in the celebration on King’s Day!
If you think you may attend, please RSVP to the below email address (so we can give
Three Lions and Café Hollander a rough count as to how many may be stopping by
that day). Proost!
Alexander "Sandie" Pendleton, sandiependleton@gmail.com, 414.418.4469
