WE Festival
The Gashouder and the former radium factory will be the place to be from 12 to 19 May for anyone who wants to learn something new, sample some good food, meet other people or just enjoy the party. The eighth WE Festival has a full programme with a wide variety of activities. Better yet, admission is free.
The festival’s key themes are creativity and sustainability. “I see it as a kind of hippie festival”, says Julia Calaf, a member of the organising committee. “Everyone can do what they like, as long as they do it with respect for other people and the environment.”
In addition to the core team of around 30 people, many volunteers lent a hand again this year with the programme, marketing, cuisine and decorations. A special feature of the WE Festival is that anyone can contribute to the programme. This year there are yoga lessons and music performances, but also workshops ranging from poetry to beer brewing, Irish dancing and juggling. The exhibition ‘Looking beyond the glass’, with artworks by students from UM, the art academy (MAFAD) and Kumulus, will be presented in a special room in the Gashouder.
Meeting Place
Although it is mainly organised by students, the WE Festival is open to everyone. “Our aim is to provide a cultural event for the city, where – because it’s free – students also feel welcome”, Calaf explains. While UM students are now familiar with the festival, it is not yet widely known among local residents. “We have around 3000 participants per year. We don’t need to grow any more, but we do want to be a festival for the local community. Our goal is to bring students and residents together to get to know one another better. But in practice it’s difficult to reach the local population.”
Calaf, a biomedical sciences student from Spain, can’t explain this. “Maybe because all the workshops are in English. And because the festival is mainly organised by foreign students. Dutch students often have their student association and don’t have time for other things as well. But we do get a lot of Dutch people attending.”
Barbecue
In recent years the focus of the WE Festival has shifted. “Initially we were purely vegan; now we have more variety. Our barbecues always attract a lot of people, and most of them want meat. So on the last day we’ll have a barbecue with sustainable local meat.” For the vegans, on Wednesday 16 May there will be a ‘food sharing’ dinner with products left over from various shops in the city. To be on the safe side, visitors are also asked to bring a vegan meal themselves, as it is not clear in advance how much food the shops will provide.
The WE Festival has a unique setup, Calaf says. “In Spain there’s no event like this. There you always have to pay. We’re happy to receive donations, but it’s not required. That’s what I like so much about the WE Festival: we’re giving something to the community without asking for anything in return.”
The WE Festival will last until 19 May. For the programme, please visit we-festival.org