Gentse Feesten 2013

I read that a huge outdoor festival was happening in Ghent while we were going to be in Belgium. There wasn’t a lot of information about Gentse Feesten online. Wikipedia does list it as the third largest city festival in Europe after Oktoberfest in Munich and Fallas in Valencia, and I saw some claims that it is Europe’s largest outdoor cultural festival, but there weren’t many specifics. From what I read, I knew that the main festival was free. I knew there were many music stages. And because it’s Belgium, I knew there would be some great beers. And that’s all I needed to know. 

On our second day in Belgium, we weren’t sure if we were going to head out to Ghent that afternoon or wait until Monday. After spending a sunny Sunday morning at some markets in Brussels, we decided we couldn’t pass up the opportunity for that perfect weather day to also include an array of outdoor concerts and festivaling. So we took the train to Ghent. 

A quick search showed the many unique posters and themes of the festival. This is the poster for 2013.

The festival is in the center of the city, so it’s a 10 minute tram ride from the main train station. As soon as we got off of the tram, we immediately entered the land of festival. There were music and theatre stages everywhere, party boats of festival goers floating down the canals and beer and fries booths every few feet. It was full of energy without being overcrowded. The festival was great, and the weather was amazing (80 and sunny all day). We wandered around for hours. The main music stage sits over one of the canals which really impressed us. In the month or so since Gentse Feesten, when Andy and I talk about live, outdoor music, we bring up how great that stage was there. We’re going to have to lower those high standards if we ever plan to enjoy outdoor music again. 

Being a beer lover can be a pain when traveling or going out to the bars, because it means many trips to the bathroom. And as any frequent traveler can testify, being on constant look out for toilets can be a challenge. Festivals and gross porta pottys go hand-in-hand most of the time. So it was a pleasant surprise that there were toilet trailers that had flushing toilets with attendants who cleaned them after each person’s use. It was amazing. It did cost 0.35, but it was a small price to pay to quickly be able to use a clean toilet whenever it was necessary. The only annoying part is that there were public portable urinals everywhere throughout the festival so men were peeing on every corner for free. It made the pay toilet lines much shorter, though, so I was grateful for that.

I consider myself somewhat of an expert on outdoor festivals. I have earned that knowledge from spending many summers in Chicago, the king of summer festival cities. My experience with festivals makes me somewhat of a festival snob, as well. I have really high standards, and am not simply won over by sun and beer (although it is a good start). Length of lines to get beer and food, atmosphere, music, etc. all play a role in my overall festival satisfaction. And Gentse Feesten was a great festival by all standards. I can’t think of a better way in the entire world to spend a sunny Sunday. 

This day was also our 3rd year wedding anniversary. Proost!