With the new school year in full swing, Brussels' events calendar is once again buzzing.
With two coinciding beer events and a comic strip festival, this weekend encapsulates Belgium. But there are also plenty of other activities going on to cater for all tastes, including the three-day Feria Flamenca offering an Andalusian atmosphere and a celebration of urban street art. Find all our favourite events below.
Beer bonanza
Belgian Beer Weekend, Grand Place, until Sunday 8 September
Around 50 breweries are setting out their stalls on Grand Place for the 24th edition of Belgian Beer Weekend, a unique three-day tasting festival celebrating Belgium's beer culture and heritage.
Cornelis beers at the 19th edition of the Belgian Beer Weekend in 2017. Credit: Belga / Laurie Dieffembacq
Entry to the festival is free and booking is not required. Most beers will be served in 15 cl tasting glasses, and must be purchased with a payment card which can be obtained at the entrance.
Find more information here.
Wanderlust Festival, Place du Vismet, Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 September
Brussels Beer Project is also organising another unrelated beer festival at Place du Vismet this weekend. Featuring 14 artisanal breweries from across Europe, Wanderlust festival hopes to break a world record for the biggest beer tasting ever organised.
Credit: Brussels Beer Project
Wanderlust is expecting around 3,000 visitors, and does not aim to overshadow the beer tasting festival at Grand Place: the overlapping of the festivals is purely calendrical coincidence, a spokesperson told Belga.
Find more information here.
Not a fan of beer? Check out our guide of delicious Belgian alternatives.
Festival fever
Feria Flamenca, Place Cardinal Mercier, until Sunday 8 September
After a successful first edition with 4,000 visitors, Feria Flamenca is back in Brussels for a second time, bringing three days of Andalusian atmosphere to Jette.
Credit: Feria Flamenca
From professional flamenco concerts and a flamenco fashion show, dance schools performances, a non-professional Sevillanas dance competition and classes and tapas restaurants, as well as a children's village with fairground entertainers, bouncy castles, craft workshops and more, this is not one to miss!
Find more information here.
Woodblocks Festival, Vaux Hall, until Sunday 8 September
The second edition of Kiosk Radio's Woodblocks Festival is taking place in Parc Royal this weekend, just a stone's throw away from the kiosk itself at the stunning Vaux Hall venue.
Woodblocks Festival 2023. Credit: Kiosk Radio
With diverse artists representing the different styles and subcultures which have shaped the radio's community, Woodblocks' line-up will feature the likes of Iceboy Violet on Friday, DJ Marcelle, Les Cyclades and O Ghettão on Saturday and Lord Tusk and Mala on Sunday, among many others.
Friday's line-up is curated by Belgian record label Stroom, and is the perfect opportunity to discover new artists.
Find more information here.
FestiWHalll, Woluwe-Saint-Pierre, Sunday 8 September
The municipality of Woluwe-Saint-Pierre is celebrating the opening of its cultural season with a festive afternoon of concerts, shows and workshops in the different rooms of its cultural centre WHalll.
Credit: WHalll
Visitors can participate in bookbinding and repair workshops, face painting, games, stock up on CDs, DVDs, video games and audio books, and sample the food trucks on offer. Entry is free but registration is required.
Find more information here.
Racines Festival, Evere, until Sunday 15 September
This graffiti and street art festival first came about in September 2022 but is now one of the biggest street art events in Belgium. It is a joint project run by renowned artist Fouad Hachmi (HMI), L'Entrela' cultural centre and the urban arts-friendly municipality of Evere.
Credit: Racines Festival
For ten days this month, around 50 Belgian and international artists (from Benin and Morocco to Switzerland and Germany) are creating unique murals of the highest artistic quality. The festival programme also includes a closing open-air concert, a graffiti jam, meetings with the artists and guided graffiti tours.
Find more information here.
Out and about
BD Comic Strip Festival, Gare Maritime, until Sunday 8 September
A staple of Brussels' annual events calendar, the BD Comic Strip festival is back again this weekend, welcoming 50 exhibitors. On the programme this year are talks and signing sessions for adults, children's games and entertainment, exhibitions, workshops, indie comics, an area dedicated to manga and the popular international pavilion.
BD Comic Strip Festival 2023. Credit: visit.brussels / Jean-Simon Gérard
The 2024 Atomium Awards will also take place –
Find more information here.
