It is highly probable that you find a festival or event going on at Esplanade every weekend. The final weekend of "summer" in Almere, before the clear skies got covered with dark clouds, and the shiny and sunny weather turned into windy, umbrella-breaking days, a beautiful "Indian Summer Festival" took place.
This is the same location where the "clltural fest" had taken place. You can find more about that fest in my blog.
What can you expect here?
A bombardment of bright and beautiful colors, loud and upbeat music, a culture that is celebrated worldwide, traditional handicraft and clothes, and of course the widely loved indian food.
I arrived to the fest in the afternoon. It was buzzing with people. A lot of people were outside the festival ground sitting at the fountain, and others were socialising with and welcoming new attendees.
I vould already feel the "Indian" vibe from outside the festival area as the loud music was everywhere and the colorful decorations shined brightly.
The festival had one main stage where most of the entertainment took place. I didn't stay long over there as I prefer other parts of the festival than the entertainment.
Nevertheless, there were traditional dance performances done by hobbyists, as well as professional dance schools. These dances were of different styles and the music was also very different from each other.
India is a massive country with many languages coming from the different states. This makes for a very diverse tradition throughout the country.
There were plenty of stalls that were selling typical indian ornaments, handmade artifacts, and decorations.
Most of the stalls were manned by hobbyists. Some of these people are expats who have moved to Netherlands to work, while some are Dutchies with Indian backgrounds.
I was surprised to learn that none of these stalls were from a primary business, but simply to either represent the Indian culture or to raise money that would further be forwarded to a charity.
I spoke to the people at the stalls, and all except one, had shipped the items from India.
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There were also beautiful indian clothes. They look fantastic. I can only think of the flashy bollywood movie songs, and how the actresses wear elaborate gowns in the dances. There were also paintings being sold. Naturally, these paintings have not come all the way from India, but they are inspired by the Indian style.
Esplande also has a beautiful view of the water as it borders the Weerwater. If you're there at the right time, you'll see a lot of swans and fish in the water. Some people like to swim here, while others, like myself, like to dip their feet in the water.
Some time, during the festival, I decided I wanted to relax and enjoy the pleasant view. The water was cool and refreshing. Now, stop staring and trying to picture my feet. Thanks.
Most of the attendees were Indians or people with Indian backgrounds. That goes for the stalls, too. I was hoping to see people from other cultures in the festival since anything Indian can be super interesting. I am very familiar with Indian culture so there was little I could learn.
However, I haven't showed you the busiest place of the festival yet.
Can you guess?
THE FOOD STALLS!
Lekker, ja?
Chai, Samosa, Chutney, Biryani, you name it. The incredibly delicious Indian food! And so much of it!
So many stalls with all sorts of deliciousness! So many choices. Only one stomach. Darn it!
There were stalls from indian restaurants that are based in the Netherlands, as well as homemade food. The prices were not expensive at all. I decided to quickly go see what was in each stall but there were just too many choices.
We had a mango lassi, masala tea, biryani, and pani puri. I haven't had these in ages! Last time I had anything like this was back in Ukraine in a restaurant called "Spice".
It was also the first time my friends had tried pani puri. We took some homemade biryani back home, too!
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And was our Polish Boollywood star there? ;) I don't see her in the pictures.
Haha I completely forgot about that "celebrity"
Polish Boollywood star? 😱 Who's that?
Long story. A girl from Poland pretended to be a Bollywood star and for 10 years she was invited on Polish television as a Bollywood star, even though she was not one. It was only this year that a journalist verified this and it turned out that she had played episodic roles in some very bad films and absolutely no one in India knows her... :D
Holy heaven! I didn't know about this. I guess you can't trust anyone these days 😁
It's a picture of the media. For 10 years, many journalists have talked to her about her films, but no one has ever seen them...
Reading your post I was wondering if there were attendants of other nations as well but you answered my question in your post. Too bad others were not interested in such a colorful event.
😂 you stole my line!!! But you used it in a different way though. Usually there's arguing during holidays and festive seasons when the family wants 12, 24, 36 types of food and I'm telling them that these days are just like the other, regular days and our stomach is the same size as the day before. You can be a pig for a day but not necessarily.
I would be in deep trouble with Indian food to be honest as I don't like spicy food and I know they do. I've seen so many Indian recipes on Hive, with tons of chili 😱 The tea on the other hand would work on me like a magnet 🧲 😄
What was your line? I'm not curious 👀
It is so hard to keep cravings in check during festivals 😆
I stayed away from everything spicy. The tea was absolutely delicious
Then why do you ask? 🤔
It is difficult to keep a healthy balance for sure, especially if you like the food and can afford it. I'm wondering how they serve the tea as I've never had Indian tea.
I'm very curious*
I had a brainfart hah
Indian masala tea is served from large aluminium containers. It is made with milk, black tea, and spices.
Back in the Emirates, Karak Tea is very popular. It is also a type of Masala tea made with milk, black tea, cardamom, and condensed milk.
Lol, I knew you mistyped something, but it was to much fun to just leave it out 😁😜
So my line is You only have once stomach, but I'm using this to convince people not to be a pig. You, on the other hand used the line to express your regret that you only have one stomach. There's a huge difference between the two sir!😂
Now I'm really curious how that Indian tea tastes. Seems rich compared to how I make my tea.
"Only one stomach". Got me smiling and sad at the same time, sad because someone like me won't be able to take much than to just feast my eyes on those lovely food. Geez, the kitchen is always the busiest area, lol.
I love the pictures taken. They all look so inviting. And those clothes of theirs are something I love.
Yes, especially at festivals the food stalls are always busy. There were soany delicious choices!
Geez, my stomach rumbles already 😫. Lol