For the past few years Brazilian samba bands have become an increasingly popular feature of our Maastricht carnival and can no longer be dissociated from it. But what exactly are samba bands? Where do they come from? And how did they reach our city? To learn more about this phenomenon Marleen Vara speaks with three members of Passatempo, her favourite samba band in Maastricht. [continued…]

“Nowhere in the world have I come across the magic that is Carnival in Maastricht. The people, the music, the atmosphere, the sheer joy of life make it a magical celebration”, says British expat Maxine Self, who is also the first international member of ProBeerDers, one of Maastricht’s many Carnival ‘drunk’ bands. [continued…]

Date: Thursday 17 January, at 20.11
Location: Foyer Kumulustheater, Herbenusstraat 89
Admission free
Drum rhythms are rolling up the ancient city walls, announcing the upcoming carnival. Carnival fever has hit our town. Three days and nights of celebrating in crowded streets and bars promise to turn Maastricht upside down. The entire city filled with fancy dresses, masks […]

For many Maastrichters, the Tempeleers go hand in hand with the Maastricht carnival. But how many of us know who are the Tempeleers exactly, and what does it mean to be a Tempeleer in Maastricht? Marleen Vara takes a closer look into the inner workings of the city’s most important carnival association. [continued…]

How are we to define a true inhabitant of Maastricht or “Mestreechteneer“? The following poem by the Maastricht poet Bèr Essers (31 August 1926 – 28 October 1995) reveals all:

“De Mestreechteneer“

When God - with quite a joyful cheer
thought out the Mestreechteneer
He said: this will be a work of creation
that will give myself great satisfaction;
I will give him, as my most important gift
a complete understanding of the art to live.

[continued…]

The name of this year’s carnival song is “Dao kump Maria” (“There comes Maria”).

“Maria is simply a woman from Maastricht. The song describes how she celebrates carnival: all by herself, but having fun with all the people around her,” explains carnival enthusiast Marleen Vara, who has kindly translated the song into English for Crossroads readers. [continued…]

Very soon you will understand the special meaning of the number eleven in Maastricht and all the joyous madness and silliness that go with it. [continued…]

I ventured into the centre of Maastricht for opening day of Carnival last Sunday and managed to snap some photos of the colourful party. Here’s just a few of the amazing costumes that were on display. [more photographs…]

When we moved to South Limburg and heard that Maastricht was THE capital of carnival, we were initially more worried than excited.

I had not particularly enjoyed my first encounter with carnival in the Netherlands back in 1992. At the time, my Dutch husband and I lived above a pub in Hoogland, a village near Amersfoort in the centre of the country, and I remember how the stench of stale beer had permeated the air for weeks after the three days of madness. [continued…]

During my childhood years in the late 1950’s, carnival didn’t start earlier than one week before Ash Wednesday. Our schoolmaster at the Saint Francis primary school, in the Maastricht district of Nazareth, would set out to teach us the new carnival song in Mestreechs, the dialect of Maastricht. [continued…]

Maastricht Carnival song 2006: My bike

Refrain:
What a misery, such a bad luck
My brand new bike is gone
It wasn’t nicked, it wasn’t stolen
But the municipality has taken my bike away
Is that good? Is that nice?
What am I to do without a bike?
Oh dear, I have such grief
Can someone tell me where my bicycle is?

[continued…]

The three-day annual festival of carnival is about to start, but its traditions may still be a bit of a mystery to foreigners. Here is a lexicon to understand one of Maastricht’s biggest events. [continued…]