Red Cathedral

Elfia 2023 : rain. Fotofair 2023 : heatwave. El Mundo Fantasia 2023 : heatwave. Castlefest 2023 : rain. Seeing a pattern? In recent visits to the Netherlands the weather has been rather unwelcoming.. Luckily the volunteers, the visitors, the creatures & the inhabitants of Castlefest are a véry welcoming crowd of wandering ( may I say: festive ) souls. There needs to be some balance, right? . Admittedly, on Sunday there was less rain, less super-hard rainshowers and less stormwind than previously announced and as in other parts of this region of Europe ( as I noticed when retuning to Belgium ). And a few times the sun even peeked out of the clouds for a moment. Still; it had been raining for weeks without end so there was only so much much the organisation could do in lands which are 5m below the sea surface.  . It was wet: RUBBERBOOTS!   There was rain: PONCHOS! The crew I strolled around with were suffering excruciating pain: PLENTY OF PITSTOPS! The mead was selling out q

Every 7 years over 10% of the population in the oldest city in Belgium participates in a week of reenactments, processions & after dark shows, all dedicated to the biblical Mary. ( Background story ) and they're aged between 89 years and 1 month old. In 2023, for the 19th edition since 1890 , there are over 3000 participants and they attracted 65000 spectators on the 1st day. 3 More days to go, I said after that 1st Sunday You can just feel a symbiotic connection, some strange form of unity between the citizens. Yes, it's a religious evocation of biblical stories and many participate out of pure heartfelt beliefs, but it's also more than that. It trancends simple religious zealousness both as a spectacle and as a way to create bridges & forge bonds between the citizens. The final day still lured over 50000 visitors to the town ( a day during which it was live-streamed ànd most events for that day were cancelled due to a code red storm warning ) Very impressive