Genste Feesteen is a 10-day long festival that happens in Gent, Belgium. The entire city centre of Gent turns into a party. In one area they had a Mardis Gras area, which is where I spent most of my time, it played mostly jazz and blues music through the day and at night they had some interesting shows. There was also Trefpunt which had some good bands. One stage had rock music quite often. Another stage had some more poppy bands. There was also many other countless stages The variety of music at this festival was phenomenal.
Mardis Gras Area
This was where I spent a considerable amount of my time. During the day I went there a few times and was able to see some very small jazz/blues bands. This was also where a lot of the IAESTE people came during the night.
One time when I was here I got a mask for doing the limbo. There was a kind of circus performance going on, and for part of it they did a limbo competition. There was only one prize, it was for participation, and it was a Mardis Gras mask. I was drinking a beer while I did it, but I was still able to accomplish the task.
Some Photos of the smaller jazz/blues bands
Trash Beatz
There was a street band called Trash Beatz, and they play music with trash. The music they made was surprisingly good and very upbeat. The band members were dressed up in a chemical safety suit, and all played various 'instruments'. None of the instruments were easily recognizable since it was all built with trash. The reason they do this is that they want to bring attention to wastefulness and to encourage recycling. It was probably the best street band I saw at the festival.
Sint-Baafs Cathedral
During the Gentse Feesteen Sint-Baafs Cathedral is open to be climbed! IAESTE arranged an event where a bunch of us climbed the Cathedral. At 1 or so everyone met to go climb it. I already had a beer which some people bugged me about 😕. There was only one set of stairs, so it was a bit awkward to traverse it since quite a few people were climbing it. The top had a very nice view which, I believe, is the tallest in Gent.
Here are some photos of that view
Trefpunt
This stage had a few good bands that I saw. There was one from Zimbabwe that was called Mokoomba. This band had lots of energy. They were also very good dancers. Another thing I liked is that every song they have has a meaning. There were a few other bands that played here that was also good.
At and around this stage there were many options for drinks and food. Irish coffee could be obtained here. There was also pizza, pasta, burgers nearby. It was a nice place to be overall.
These photos were of the band Mokoomba
Food
There was a varied selection of food all across the Genste Feesteen. Waffles and fries could easily be found almost anywhere in the festival. There was some Indian food close to the stage by the Sint-Baafs Cathedral. A few places had pasta and pizza. Many other foods could be found but that is a couple of the best.
Beer and Drinks
It seemed that a lot of the stages were selling different beers, and this made for a decent selection. The only thing was is that each of the stages had a different glass, so each time you changed stages you had to return your glass. There were also many other drinks you could buy like Irish Coffee. If none of these were apetizing the many bars in the city centre were happy to serve with their outstanding selection of beer
The Dragon
Gent has a tower that overlooks the city called the Belfry and it has a dragon on top of it. This dragon usually just sits there and doesn't do much, but during Gentse Feesteen it spits fire. For many years it did not do this because it was deemed a fire hazard, but this year it did for the first time in a long time. At 10 pm each night of Gentse Feesteen it spit three shots of fire. It was very cool and the photo below should convince you of that.
Vrijdagmarkt
This is a square in Gent, and it hosted some festivities during the festival. It mostly hosted games and some rides. There was also some classic fair style gambling games. It was also possible to get some nice food here.
Conclusion
There were many other stages than the few mentioned here and there was lots of other stuff going on. There was a good selection of food and beer. The atmosphere varied depending on which part of the festival you are at, but it was always very good. If chance to go back someday I definetly will.
No comments:
Post a Comment