Greater Ridgewood Historical Society and House of Yes invite their cherished communities to a celebration of Dutch culture at The New Amsterdam Festival. The event took place at the historic Vander Ende-Onderdonk House in Ridgewood, Queens. It was filled with tons of family-friendly actives for everyone of all ages. The outdoor open-air space transformed into an outdoor Dutch wonderland with food trucks and vendors, a Heineken beer garden, local artisan markets, live bands, DJs, and circus performances. In celebration of Holland’s King’s Day, the Vander Ende-Onderdonk House was transformed into the Dutch holy land with the orange-themed decor and accompanying performer outfits.
Photo credit: Kenny Rodriguez
Attendees took part in lots of fun-filled all-age actives including lawn games like bocce and cornhole. Interactive art, live painting, hula hooping, face painting, circus performances, and lots of arts and crafts, there was no way that someone could be bored. The two-day festival’s offerings making this the perfect weekend activity for parents and their kids wanting to escape the hustle and bustle of New York without leaving the borough of Queens.
Photo credit: Studio VMP
House of Yes did an incredible job in taking a bite out of Holland’s cuisine and enjoy delicious Dutch treats including sweet stroopwafel waffles, thick and crispy fries with mayo, and more as well as otherworldly food options from a selection of vendors including Queen of Falafel. For the people who are 21 and over, were be able to cool off from the springtime sun under a tented beer garden with a smooth and flavorful serving of Holland’s first premium beer, Heineken.
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A live Dutch bluegrass band was a great way to keep the festival energy high and have everyone from children to parents and adults shaking it on the dancefloor. As well as the House of Yes resident DJs such as DJ Bruce and Zephyr, will bring their radiating dance party beats to the festival alongside their signature eccentric, and good vibes with Brooklyn’s favorite nightlife spot.
House of Yes resident DJ Bruce said in an interview, “As of House of Yes producer I don’t really show up with any expectations because I know always going to be surprised, most of the time it’s a pleasant surprise, other times it's like wildly exceeds anything I would never expect it but this is nice, family-friendly thing I’ve always been a big fan of, I was introduced to house music through a family-friendly event in Philly, it’s called The Sunday Party, yeah I’ve always been a fan of family-friendly events especially now that most of my DJ friends are parents.”
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DJ Bruce stated “I’ve been very fortunate and been given the opportunities I've been given as a DJ, specifically with House of Yes they didn’t have to ask me to be one of their residents, I’m very grateful for that, they given me a lot of work and a lot of good looks as they say but for me what I learned, I find it a lot more gratifying to provide opportunities for other artists, DJs, dancers, musicians and anybody creating things, it makes my heart warm to be able to give back and provide somewhat of a platform to elevate their craft.”
“This year House of Yes graciously gave me a party of my own called ‘Funk You’ its once a month, it’s a funk themed party, the first two went very well and I think they trusted me with that, I’m looking forward to that this summer, their programming is stellar, it’s a beautiful thing I’m just excited to see their calendar as everybody else.” — DJ Bruce
As the sun sets in Queens, people are grooving and vibing along to soothing beats that were provided by the DJs from House of Yes. For a moment you forget about how hard life may be between the fantastic food, awesome crowd, and fun-filled actives. It was beautiful how people came together for the event, families, and people of all ages, everyone was happy with no worries. It was an absolutely perfect weather weekend. “It’s happy, light and breezy today.” – DJ Bruce
