On Sunday 5th February 2017, The Feel at Home in The Hague Fair will be celebrating its 10th edition. More than 4000 visitors attended the event in the Hague City Hall in February 2016 and appreciated the unique ambiance created by the combination of over 150 diverse exhibitors with a dynamic programme of activities and entertainment, workshops and seminars.
A meeting point for the whole community
No other expat event in the Netherlands engenders quite the same sense of community as the Hague Feel at Home Fair, where nearly a half of the stands are local sports and social clubs or volunteer organisations. These groups exhibit free of charge and relish the opportunity to network, advertise their activities and recruit new members.
Showcase for small businesses
Alongside these community groups are dozens of small business stands, many of them run by internationals who themselves moved to the Netherlands as an expat, but have since made the Hague their home. These multicultural entrepreneurs have a special insight into the products and services that we as internationals abroad are looking for (and are perhaps missing from home) and take great pleasure in animating the Fair with activities, tastings and performances which help them to connect with fellow internationals.
Entertainment, Seminars and Food
The day is made richer through a lively entertainment programme provided by our international schools, amateur clubs and local professional cultural organizations. These performances are complemented by a diverse seminar programme, designed to answer real questions posed through our visitor survey. A central theme will be education, with speakers from a range of local and international schools and universities covering educational choices from pre-school to further education, adult and vocational training. Visitors will have the chance to question a specially selected panel of education experts and meet them informally in our education zone. The icing on the cake is an international food court representing culinary traditions from across our community. The combination of these elements gives the Feel at Home in The Hague Fair a unique flavour, and explain why the event plays such a special role as a meeting point for the entire international community.
Not just for newcomers
As you might expect, around a fifth of our visitors last year were newcomers to the Netherlands, but perhaps more surprisingly, over a third had lived here more than 10 years! What these two groups had in common was a desire to learn more about things to do and events and activities happening in their region.
Special focus on Art & Culture
This year The Feel at Home Fair will be at the heart of an exciting offering of cultural events, promotions and performances, chosen specifically to Welcome Internationals to the Hague. These special events will all take place in the 36 hours surrounding the Fair and will be a showcase of the great variety of entertainment the Hague has to offer to all sections of our diverse community. They range from Children’s Museum night on Saturday to Beats and Beethoven, a special contemporary performance by the Hague’s Residential Orchestra at the Paard, The Hague’s hip concert venue. On Sunday there will be a Radio West Concert in the Nieuwe Kerk while The CaDance Modern Dance Festival will run the whole weekend alongside English Theatre productions and special international performances and shows in some of The Hague’s best known shops, galleries and squares.
A weekend in The Hague
The Feel at Home Fair will also be working with some of the Hague’s top hotels and restaurants to Welcome Internationals from outside the region who wish to make The Hague a destination for that weekend to discover the city or meet with friends and family living locally to share in their pleasure of this great city.
Register for Free Tickets
Entrance for visitors is free if you register in advance on our website: www.feelathomeinthehague.com You can also keep up to date with developments on the Fair on our Facebook page
Mark your calendar now: 5th February 2017: come meet with friends and share the pleasure of the great city of The Hague.
See the online responsive of the article in The XPat Journal Winter Issue
