the calendar is particularly generous this year and already offers us yet another long weekend!

with may 1 this thursday and dutch liberation day this coming monday, we are basically looking at a bountiful 5-day-extravaganza. the weather is bound to improve as well, so there are no excuses for being lame! here are several suggestions… you know where to find me!

• let’s start with what i consider the highlight of the weekend: the amsterdam coffee festival, two days of celebrating the art that is coming up with a nice mug-full to kickstart your day. however, the schedule does not consist of brewing workshops and tastings alone, but also serves a full slate of musical performances. have a look at the full line-up here!

  
  Alessandro Bonuzzi

  ps along with the official party from 8 to 10 pm, there is also an inofficial get-together at third-wave espresso bar white label coffee (7 pm). i met one of the owners recently at an espressotini workshop and will definitely stop by for a close look.

• several exhibition openings (tentoonstellings they call them here), two of which sound particularly interesting, both of them taking place in noord: marcus koppen’s “cityscape project” at toren (facebook event) and the first exhibition by cross-disciplinary platform framer framed at tolhuistuin.
• also on friday: the first ever “field day” outside the uk! four tet & jamie xx – need i say more!?

• saturday sees the latest edition of the super-chilled out party lounge “de ruiskamer” at ot301. the people running this fine place also just announced the publication of “autonomy by dissent”, a beautifully designed book about the history of the location. this is what a designer / illustrator friend of mine said about it out of the hat:
  

  The first impression is deceptive. Behind the anthracite-colored cover graced with precious embossing waits a surprise of fresh colorful substance. The three chapters make use of everything the toolkit has to offer: monochrome pictures, colored typography on colored paper integrated into a casual layout.

  

• there is a sushi thing taking place at toren, but i somehow couldn’t care less. i might as well just chill…

• …and take a deep breath for liberation day on monday. the huge “bevrijdingsfestival” with countless bands will take over the westergasfabriek, and along the ij a gigantic dinner for everybody kind of thing appears to be the thing to do.

plenty of options. thank god it’s amsterdam, right!?