This Saturday’s Zinneke Parade is a Brussels highlight. There's a real sense of fun as people of all ages get dressed up in weird and wonderful outfits and get to bash a drum as they troop through the city centre.
Beyond the city centre, Schaerbeek, Koekelberg and Jette are all buzzing with festivals this weekend. Schaerbeek opens a new cultural centre and a playground, Koekelberg parties at Elisabeth Park and Jette has the opening of its children’s farm as part of an environmental festival. Also check out circus activities, another farm day and a rainbow family festival below.
Out and about
Zinneke Parade, Brussels city centre – Saturday, 15:00 to 17:00
Zinneke is Brussels slang for a mongrel dog and here it also refers to the city’s diverse inhabitants. Up to 2,500 people, many of them children, dress up in homemade costumes and dance through the streets of the city centre, making their own music with drums as they go.
Credit: Zinneke Parade
The Zinneke Parade is the culmination of months of work by volunteers to craft floats and costumes to illustrate a theme (this year's is 'dreams'). Take a spot anywhere along the route. It's a circular parade so it doesn’t matter where – you’ll see it all.
Find more information here.
SKA opening party, Chaussée de Haecht 300, Schaerbeek – Saturday, 11.00
Schaerbeek’s cultural centre has a new home and a big housewarming party on Saturday. It will be showing short films and putting on dance and theatrical performances and concerts. There’ll also be multilingual storytelling, a live podcast, a choir and a jam session. It’s all for free.
Credit: SKA
Find more information here.
Rainbow families festival, Rue de Danemark 70, Saint-Gilles – Saturday, 10:00 to 18:00
LGBTQIA+ families celebrate “making family differently” with parallel events for parents and children in Saint-Gilles. Children can spend the morning watching an animated film while adults are invited to watch a documentary about single-sex parenting.
Credit: Rainbow Families Festival
In the afternoon, adults can go to a talk while children work on a diorama. There’ll also be a free lunch and a family story time.
Find more information here.
Parc de la Jeunesse inauguration, Avenue Louis Bertrand, Schaerbeek – Saturday 13:00 to 18:00
Schaerbeek’s youth park has an official opening on Saturday to show off a new pump track, treetop rope course and a playground for children up to 4 years of age. There’ll be music, activities, food and games. You’re asked to come to the entrance between Boulevard Lambermont and Avenue du Suffrage Universel.
Credit: Schaerbeek 1030
Find more information here.
Circus tricks
Circus De Sven family day, De Lijsterbes, Kraainem – Sunday, 14:00 to 17:00
Kraainem’s Dutch-speaking cultural centre has a circus village family day where children can try out circus acts, check out a fire display and watch an interactive show with jugglers, unicyclers and huge penny farthing bicycles. Tickets are €7 each.
Find more information here.
École de Cirque open day, Tour & Taxis – Saturday from 13:00 to 17:00 & Sunday from 11:00 to 18:00
The French-speaking circus school at Tour & Taxis has an open-door weekend for children to try some of the classes they offer during the year. Classes on offer include psychomotricity movement, circus skills, juggling, acrobatics, tightrope, and aerial skills.
Credit: Ecole de Cirque
There’s no charge for the classes and there’ll be food stalls if you want to make a day of it.
Find more information here.
Koekelberg Spring Festival, Elisabeth Park – Saturday, 14:00 to 01:00
This Koekelberg community festival opens with a drink for neighbours at 14:00 on Saturday before a steel drum concert and a circus show that’s followed by an evening of food and entertainment.
The Sunday activities will be more restrained as organisers have cancelled part of the programme out of respect for a memorial service the same day for the 11-year-old boy hit by a police car in the park last year.
Find more information here.
Family farms
Ferme pour enfants, Petite Rue Sainte-Anne 172, Jette – Sunday, 10:00 to 18:00
Jette is opening up its children’s farm to the public on Sunday – it’s usually only for school groups - as part of an environmental festival in the Poelbos and Laerbeek woods.
Credit: Children's Farm Jette
This year focuses on flying creatures, so there’ll be a visit to a bee garden and a craft workshop focused on birds. There’ll also be a storytelling walk, concerts, food and drink and many information stalls and activities to encourage you to compost and think about nature.
Find more information here.
La Ferme du Chant des Cailles, ave des Cailles 12, Watermael-Boitsfort – Sunday, 14:30 to 17:30
Calm goats you can cuddle? Watermael-Boitsfort’s urban farm invites you to meet them and its sheep, chickens and rabbits every Sunday afternoon until October. There’s also ice cream on offer from their own goat milk and you can pay to pick flowers.
Find more information here.
