The Frisian capital might just be the starting point of a nationwide spreading of Fair Saturday: the cultural answer to Black Friday
Translated by Thomas Ansell
As reported in the Omrop Fryslân, the Basque founder of the Fair Saturday movement, Jordi Albareda suggested that Leeuwarden might be the first step in a global movement, when he addressed crowds at the IepenUP Live event on Thursday. The Frisian capital is the first and (until now) the only city in the Netherlands that is taking part in ‘fair saturday’.
Fair Saturday, it is hoped, will become the answer to companies that focus only on profit. Products the contribute to mental well-being among people must be placed centrally during the festivities- says the organisation. It is therefore the polar opposite to Black Friday, which is a true symbol of excess and decadence. The yearly hunt for cheap products epitomises materialism and the idea of ‘having’.
The response to Black Friday is taking place in a number of diverse places around the world, this Satuday 30 November (the day after Black Friday). In cites like Lisbon, Cardiff, Helsinki; and Atlanta, as well as Leeuwarden, thousands of artists and cultural organisations will work together to showcase a more socially-conscious society. Fair Saturday is being held in collaboration with LF2028 in Leeuwarden, and so they will be making sure that all events have a strong focus on arts and culture.
From Thursday through to Saturday, across ten locations in the city-centre of Leeuwarden, a series of artists will be custom-painting a number of pianos, which will then be sold. The proceeds will be given to charities and other good causes, but before then the organisation is keen for everyone in the city to play the pianos and fill the streets with music (at varying levels of quality). Saturday evening will see a huge closing party at the De Harmonie theatre.
The idea of having a more sustainable and fair alternative to Black Friday seems quite popular in the Netherlands, reports the Friesch Dagblad. They draw attention to results from the Sustainability Monitor survey carried out by ABM AMRO and PanelWizard every quarter- the survey reveals that 84 percent of Dutch people won’t be making any impulse buys on Friday. According to the bank, Dutch people are generally taking the first step towards more aware shopping habits: in the last quarter around 55 percent of respondents have said that they are trying to lower their consumption.
Image via Fair Saturday Leeuwarden
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