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Dutch Days Theme for 2008
Sporting Fun - the Dutch Way
"Sporting Fun - the Dutch Way" will be 2008's Dutch Days Theme. The 34th Annual Dutch Days Festival will be held on May 2nd and 3rd.
As within the United States, sports play a major role in the culture of the Netherlands. Approximately 4.5 million of the 16 million people in the Netherlands are registered to one of the 35,000 sports clubs in the country.
To help celebrate the theme, Tom Melville, a cricket enthusiast from Milwaukee, will be in Fulton during Dutch Days to demonstrate the sport of Cricket and to coordinate games. One of the most popular sports in the Netherlands, the concept of the game of Cricket is similar to that of baseball. The game play and rules however are very different.
Another traditional Dutch sport that will be demonstrated during this year's Dutch Days Festival is Fierljeppen. Ljeppen is "to leap" in English. Similar to pole vaulting, the sport involves a long pole and a body of water. A jump consists of an intense sprint to the pole (polsstok), jumping and grabbing it, then climbing to the top of the pole while trying to control its forward and lateral movements over a body of water, and finishing with a graceful landing on a sand bed opposite to the starting point.
More information on how to participate in these Dutch Sports activities will be available in upcoming articles of The Fulton Journal.
Of course, the traditional activities that have come to define Dutch Days will also be taking place including the arts and crafts booths, the food and concession stands, the antique tractor display, Klompen dancing, the traditional Dutch Dinner, and much, much more. The 7:00 pm concert on Friday night at the 2nd Reformed Church will feature a musical performance by Rich Criss, and the Saturday night concert at 1st Reformed Church will feature the Clintones and The Chosen Ones.
A detailed schedule of all of this year's Dutch Days activities is coming soon!
Courtesy of Fulton Journal
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