If it’s May, it must be another long weekend. This time it’s Whitsun – with a public holiday on Monday and some sunshine at long last.
That should allow us to enjoy the many outdoor festivals in the parks and streets of Brussels this weekend. A medieval market will take over Cinquantenaire Park, a Forest park celebrates its birthday and Laeken will host a carnival, about three months after the rest of the country.
Should you want some shelter from the heat, two less well-known Brussels museums have family-focused events and local libraries and bookshops will try to tempt little readers with stories in German, French, and Dutch
Park life and street festivals
Etterbeek medieval market, Cinquantenaire Park – from Friday at 16.00 until Sunday at 20.00
Knights and ladies will be strolling around the Cinquantenaire Park for the medieval market this weekend, which draws 150 exhibitors from across Europe. Archers, axe-throwers and fencers will be showing off their fighting skills, a forge will be making pewter medals and candles, and acrobats will teach juggling and show off circus skills.
Credit: Etterbeek
There’s no entrance fee but there are plenty of stalls to sell you the medieval hairpiece or gauntlet of your dreams, along with live music and medieval food to provide sustenance.
Find more information here.
JapanFes, Sainte-Catherine, Brussels city centre – Friday at 16:00 until Sunday at 20:00
The Japanese-themed festival in the old Brussels fish market promises to be more family friendly than some of the bigger events that focus on manga cosplay. Food is the big attraction, with workshops to make sushi or Japanese candy, wagashi.
Credit: Japanfes
There are also sessions on Taiko drumming, bonsai gardening and calligraphy. The festival is free to enter but you’re asked to book a workshop space ahead of time.
Find more information here.
Fête du Bempt, Forest – Saturday, 13:00 to 18:00
The yearly park festival at Bempt Park is a bumper edition to celebrate its 25th birthday with bouncy castles and games, sports, face-painting, craft workshops, live music and shows. The park’s mini steam train, Le Petit Train à Vapeur, will be running especially for the day from 14:00.
Find more information here.
Carnaval de Laeken – Saturday, 16:00 to 17:30
The good people of Laeken have been making costumes, masks and big heads for this year’s carnival parade, based on the theme “What’s up with your head, Laeken?”
Credit: Fête du Bempt
You can still join for some last minute preparation of heads at 14:00 at Villa Canapé before the parade kicks off from there and makes its way to place Saint-Lambert. The evening will end with a party.
Find more information here.
Voenk street art festival, place Cardinal Mercier, Jette – Sunday, 14:00 to 18:00
Acrobats take to the streets of Jette for the Voenk festival, with four groups demonstrating what they can do. 15 feet 6 reinvent the human cannonball, Bruno & Amour perform with their young sun, Tripotes la compagnie come with tricycles, a seesaw and the urge to climb high, and ADM promise to turn their van into a stage.
Find more information here.
Museum week
Manneken-Pis Studio, Grand Place 8 – Saturday, 13:30 to 16:30
Museums across the country have been trying to tempt people to visit this week and asking them to vote for their favourite exhibit. This weekend, it’s the turn of the Manneken-Pis Museum, which displays all of the little statue’s surprisingly numerous costumes.
Credit: Mannekin Pis Museum
This event encourages visitors to create their own costume for Mannekin Pis, using tissue paper and pom-poms.
Find more information here.
Argos, Rue du Chantier 13 – Sunday, 14:00 to 17:00
The Brussels centre for art and media, Argos, offers families a free workshop to create a huge mural and experiment with light, textiles and projections. This is linked to its exhibition, Becoming Ancestors, which asks visitors to imagine their ancestors and think about what stories they’d like to pass on to their descendants.
Find more information here.
Books and reading for multilingual babies and kids
German storytime, Bib Sans Souci, Ixelles – Saturday, 11.00-12.00
Ixelles’ Dutch-speaking public library makes an extra effort to reach the multilingual children of the city with a monthly story time session in a language that isn’t Dutch (or French). This month, it’s offering German for children aged between 4 and 8 years. Previous editions have covered Darija and Bengali; next month, it will be in Romanian.
Find more information here.
French-Dutch story time, Bibliothèque du Centre, Auderghem – Saturday, 10:00
Language school Kids & Us comes to Auderghem’s French-speaking public library to read stories in French and Dutch for 4 to 7 year-olds this Saturday. The library regularly runs multilingual readings on a Wednesday afternoon too, combining French with another language.
Credit: Auderghem Library
There’s no charge for any of the events but you’re asked to book a spot in advance.
Find more information here.
Kokeroo, Bibliotheek Etterbeek, Saturday, 10:00
Etterbeek’s Dutch-speaking library invites parents to come along with children up to 3 years old to discover books in a special workshop that lets them touch, feel, smell or listen to the books. The event is free but please email to reserve a place.
Find more information here.
Bouquin Câlin, Joli-Bois & Chant d’Oiseau libraries, Woluwe-Saint-Pierre - Saturday, at 09:15 and 10:00
Little French speakers in Woluwe-Saint-Pierre are well served by local libraries which have a very full agenda of regular events for young readers. This Saturday focuses on stories, songs and games in French for children up to the age of 3, with the first session at 9.15 at Chant d’Oiseau and another one at 10.00 at the Joli-Bois library.
Find more information here and here.
SchaerBook, avenue Léon Mahillon 91, Schaerbeek – Saturday, 10:30 to 11:30
Chantal Bornemann will be reading in French at this small bookstore in the Plasky neighbourhood. The session aimed at children between 2 and 5 and parents are asked to leave buggies and scooters at home to allow space for everyone in the shop.
Credit: SchaerBook
Find more information here.
BimbiBooks, Ixelles – Saturday, 16:00
Ixelles is not a hotspot for Dutch-speaking families, but this multilingual bookshop is hoping to encourage children who are learning Dutch as a second or a third language. All children are welcome to come along and listen to native Dutch speaker Thierry, but please tell them you are coming.
Find more information here.
