The news of so many musical performances being cancelled around Maastricht was hugely sad for both performers and audiences but there is hope in the form of Struinen in de Tuinen. A festival on the 5th September in various outdoor locations around the city. 

It is a festival where you can enjoy nature and performance arts of a variety of different forms and genres. (For the Brits out there, imagine a mini Edinburgh festival).

So there really is something for everyone. 

I spoke with Isabelle Wiegersma who explained some more about the festival:

Could you explain the concept of Struinen in de Tuinen?

It’s on the 5th September. The idea is that people from different areas of Maastricht can register with their gardens so it can be your own private garden or a shared garden with the neighbourhood, or sometimes people from a neighbourhood register with a little park. On the other side, artists can register to perform. They can be musicians, dancers, spoken word, actors.. anything you can see on a stage. We programme the artists in the gardens and there are mini performances which are free to the public. 

So you can really spend the day ‘mixing it up’ and seeing lots of different things?

Yes! So the festival is 12-5pm and we try to programme the artists in a way that if locations are close together, you have time to travel between them and see a variety of different things. Each performance is around 30 minutes. 

You have really a wide variety of art forms?

We mainly have music but there are also people from theatre, dance and spoken word. Every year is different and each year new people join but we don’t favour one genre and really everyone is welcome. 

It sounds like a great concept and a well needed lift for people who are craving live performance again. 

For full information:

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Regarding corona regulations: Struinen in de Tuinen is corona proof. Performances are outdoors, with small audiences and lots of space so appropriate distance can be maintained. As always, it is advised to stay at home if you have any symptoms.