Tienen is preparing for the tenth edition of Kweikersdag on Saturday 10 October, with this year’s celebrations expanded by the return of the five-yearly Kweikers Parade.
The city’s annual festival will begin during the day with a regional produce market at Veemarkt, a street market in the shopping streets, children’s entertainment and heritage activities.
At 16:00, the Grote Markt will host Lazuur, a relay race, before the Kweikers Parade moves through the city centre at 19:00 with more than 700 participants. The day will end at 20:30 with a final show on the Grote Markt.
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The parade has been created through a participatory process involving residents, schools, associations and local organisations, who have worked together on a series of creative scenes.
Hundreds of people from Tienen have contributed to the event through workshops, rehearsals and meetings in the run-up to the festival.
“Kweikersdag is the moment when the whole of Tienen celebrates its identity, and you can already feel that in the city,” said Gijsbrecht Huts, councillor for leisure. “Many associations, neighbourhoods and volunteers have been working for months to make this five-yearly edition something special. That commitment and sense of togetherness are exactly what Kweikersdag is about.”
Ahead of Kweikersdag, the Heritage Site on the Grote Markt is also hosting an exhibition on Tienen’s giants, highlighting the history and traditions behind the giants’ procession.
The 10th edition has received €39,999 in European LEADER funding through LEADER Hageland+, backed by the European Union, Flanders and the province of Flemish Brabant.
