Queen’s Day festivities celebration of Dutch roots and identity

One day fair at Toronto

TORONTO, Ontario - Tulips, cheese, windmills and wooden shoes: these are just some of the symbols North Americans often associate with the Netherlands. But there is much more to know and cherish about Dutch culture.

The Toronto-area based Royal Dutch Treat organization - founded by more recent arrivals from the Nether-lands - wants to help broaden this knowledge through its Queen’s Day event to be held at the Liberty Grand, Ex-hibition Place, Toronto, on Friday, April 30th 2004. The Toronto event coincides with the official and hugely popular celebration of Koninginnedag in the Netherlands.

The Toronto Queen’s Day portends to showcase Dutch identity and roots. Social and cultural activities will include a traditional Dutch flea market, live cabaret, a silent auction and raffles, a jazz club, a Dutch DJ and much more. The ‘Philips Lights on Holland’ pavilion will showcase some of the famous aspects of Holland including a Madurodam miniature village and a mini Keukenhof (flower display). Visitors also will be able to sample some of the many authentic Dutch foods including herring and cheese.

Proceeds to aid Brazil project

The Royal Dutch Treat hopes that the Queen’s Day celebration on April 30th in Canada will become as popular and widely celebrated as St. Patrick’s Day, the Irish event. Queen’s Day in the Netherlands in recent decades has blossomed into the largest national celebration of the year.

Tickets for Queen’s Day are only available online on www.royaldutchtreat.ca, at $35.00 per person, which includes a buffet dinner and all entertainment. All funds raised by the silent auction and the raffles will be used to purchase equipment and medical supplies for a hospital in Brazil, an initiative continued in memory of the late Robert de Jager of VanHof & Blokker, a Dutch-owned supplier of the Canadian horticultural industry.

The hosting group, The Dutch Treat Organization Inc., is a not-for-profit networking organization. Its objectives are to enhance the awareness of the Dutch people in Canada through social, business and cultural events.