There's a Hat for That

At the end of my recent trip to the US, I visited New York City for the first time.  And what a city it was.  Let's be frank.  New York is weird.  Wonderfully weird.  There are a ton of "Only in New York" moments I will share with you over the next few days.

I was in New York City for Easter.  One of the big events is the "Easter Bonnet Parade", which is less of a parade, and more of a gathering of people who wear the most interesting, absurd, or just plain weird hats.

Some people dressed up very nicely, in clothes you would expect if, say, you spent the weekend in the 1920's.

This guy went back even farther, and dressed up in the style of the 1620's.

Other people did Easter themes.  These folks were true "egg-heads".

All sorts of Easter bonnets, replete with tons of flowers.

 

To the point it was hard to hold on their heads anymore...

Some got quite large.

And quite complex.

Even the dogs got in on the action.

This little fella was died blue!

The classic beehive.

He has trolls sprouting from his head!!!

And some people didn't stop at only a hat.  I have no idea what fashion statement this guy is going for.

Not caring at all about the cold weather.

Fashionable fur?

The little known "Easter Robot".

One of my favorite hats - it was animated, with spinning eggs and dancing people.

This lady's hat was so lively it attacked an onlooker.

Feeling Orange

This last Tuesday was Queen's Day (or King's Day?) here in the Netherlands.  Normally a day to celebrate the monarchy, this year was special, because Queen Beatrix passed down the crown to her son, (the now) King Willem.

In general, it's a day to wear orange, dance, listen to music, drink... but mostly, wear orange.  For the occasion, I got an orange wig.  Yes, that's me (on the left) with my friend Chiara.

Looking smashing.

People took the opportunity to wear all different types of orange.

Even the dogs get into it!

If you forgot your orange, you could always buy some on-site.

The other option, if you don't like orange, is to deck yourself in the colors of the Dutch flag - red, white, and blue.

This was what Chiara's friend chose to do - he refused to wear orange, but ended up buying a red, white, and blue cowboy hat.  I told him he was all set to visit Texas now.

Another big part of the day is the "sales".  This is the one day a year that people are allowed to have "garage sales" (without garages, of course).  People line up on the streets starting at 6 AM to hawk all sorts of junk to anyone who is willing to fork over a euro or two.

Of course, the other part of Queen/Kings day is the chance to get drunk in the middle of the day.  This student house (sort of like the Dutch equivalent of the frat house) was decked out in orange for the day. The guys dragged out their sofas to sit in front, drink, listen to music, and get totally wasted.

The DJ, with a table made out of beer crates.

Other activities, more oriented to the kids.

We headed to the city square, where we watched the coronation on TV.  Sadly, the new king did not actually wear a  crown.  A point if you can say why.

Even the buildings around town take the opportunity to "wear orange".

Music provided by the most dynamic DJ I've ever seen.

Finally! Someone takes the obvious marketing strategy of selling orange juice on Queen/Kings Day!

Listening to music, of a more lively band.

Near the end of the afternoon, the poor square is showing signs of massive partying.

Hanging out the window to listen to the music.

Various businesses take the chance for some marketing.  The local grocery store was handing out orange fuzzy guys, wearing crowns.

While my yarn shop knitted up some orange tree cozies, complete with crowns.

Sitting on the canal at the end of a long day of partying.