The fifth edition of the future-focused Let’s Gro festival will be held across Groningen from the 31st of October through the 3rd of November. While many of the events are held in Dutch, there are plenty of things happening in English for everyone to get involved in.
What is Let’s Gro?
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There are quite a few activities in this year’s edition of the festival, ranging from group meals, a crash course in local politics, city accessibility and, above all else, the pursuit of happiness. You can check out the full English-language programme at the Let’s Gro site.
Happy Meal
Location: Salmagundi’s, Oosterhamrikkade 8C
Time: 31 October – 2 November, 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.
Cost: 15 euros for a three course meal
Registration: required
It’s not a McDonald’s-style happy meal, but rather an occasion bringing people together to “eat and meet” together. Besides serving food, including a three course meal prepared by a refugee chef every Friday, Salmagundi’s also sells vintage and industrial furniture. The eatery also deliberately strives to create a space for people who would otherwise struggle to find work or a place to feel at home.
Meik Wiking
Location: Let’s Gro tent, Grote Markt
Time: 31 October, 9 to 10 p.m.
Cost: Free
Registration: not required
Meik Wiking is the CEO of the Happiness Research Institute in Copenhagen and author of “The Little Book of Hygge”. During Let’s Gro, Wiking will be sharing what he has learned about happiness, well-being and quality of life with Groningen.
City Hall Tour
Time: 1 November, 5 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Location: Starts at Cubestee Inclusive on the Grote Markt
Cost: Free
Registration: required
D66 city councillor Fleur Woudstra will host a tour of Groningen’s city hall.
Crash course in local politics
Time: 1 November, 8 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Location: Oude Raadszaal at City Hall on the Grote Markt
Cost: free
Registration: required
The municipality of Groningen will be voting in local election in November, and while many first generation residents here can technically vote, not everyone knows how or has access to information on what is on the ballot. City Central and SIB-Groningen have created a “crash course on local (Groningen) politics” during Let’s Gro, including a breakdown of the different levels of Dutch politics, how the system works, and what the biggest local issues are.
City Central events
How inclusive is the university?
This session will bring together researchers from the University of Groningen’s department of psychology who have looked into ways to improve integration between Dutch and international students.
Time: 1 November, 11 a.m.
Location: Central City Cubestee, Grote Markt
How inclusive is the city?
Over the past few months, a team of students and municipal trainees have been examining how satisfied locals are with the changes happening in the city to determine how they feel about the increasingly international population. This interactive sessions will present their findings.
Time: 2 November, 12:30 p.m.
Location: City Central Cubestee, Grote Markt
Registration: contact City Central
Surflogh Start Conference
Time: 1 November, 1:30 to 5 p.m.
Location: Grand Theatre, Grote Markt
Cost: free
Registration: required
As Groningen moves more toward making its city centre truly car-free, how does that impact the logistics of deliveries and supplying businesses? During the Surflogh conference, local politicians, leaders of the largest delivery companies in the Netherlands and regional business owners will discuss how to keep business going without coming at the expense of the environment.
Let’s Grone International
Time: 2 November, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Location: Starts at Let’s Gro bus stop on the Grote Markt
Cost: free
Registration: required
On a bus tour through the province of Groningen, locals and visitors alike will learn more about the stories behind the region’s hidden gems and have the chance to give feedback on what they think would make the ideal tourist experience in the north.
How to build a happy city
Time: 2 November, 8 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Location: Grand Theatre
Cost: free
Registration: not required
Birgitte Bundesen Svarre of the Danish bureau Gehl Architects, Peter Vanden Abeele, city architect of Ghent in Belgium and Paty Rios, a Mexican expert on Happy Cities, will share their insights on what works (and doesn’t) in Groningen when it comes to public space, happiness and urban planning.
Our Story – Jan Gehl and Gehl Architects from Gehl – Making Cities for People on Vimeo.
Alternative Groningen Tour
Time: 3 November, 4:30 p.m. until 5:30 p.m.
Location: Starts at Let’s Gro tent on the Grote Markt
Cost: free
Registration: required
Alternative Tour Groningen will lead a bike tour through the city to meet and hear from people who are working hard to improve the city in various ways, as well as sharing lesser known spots in town where people have chosen to prioritise “freedom, community, cooperation and creativity above money, status and what people might think of you.”
Django Girls
Time: 3 November, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Location: Oude Raadszaal at City Hall on the Grote Markt
Cost: free
Registration: required
Django is an open-source web framework, and this event is focused on getting more women involved in programming (and eventually working in the city’s growing tech industry). The workshop is focused on helping beginners learn more about IT: all participants need is a laptop.
Django Girls – friendly events that teach women build websites using Django from Django Girls on Vimeo.
“Finding Hygge” screening
Time: 1 November, 8 p.m.; 3 November, 4 p.m.
Location: Groninger Forum
Cost: free
Registration: not required, but there are a limited number of seats
Hygge, the Danish concept of cosiness, became a trendy buzzword last year, and this film explores the warm and fuzzy upside and the elusive, exclusionary downside of the idea.
Other cool stuff
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EDIT: This story has bene updated to include City Central’s events during Let’s Gro.
