Colors of Oostende - traditions, festivals, mentality and lifestyle

The picturesque seaside town serves as a permanent venue for many interesting festivals dedicated to various areas of local culture and contemporary art. One of the locals' favorite annual holidays is the Beer Festival taking place in late summer. Locals consider beer to be their main national drink. Some varieties of the foamy drink have been brewed at local factories for hundreds of years. The Beer Festival is participated by Belgium's 30 best breweries presenting over 150 beers to the audience.

Such a large-scale event always attracts many foreign guests. Its main part is tastings of various types of craft beers. Street stalls are set up right on the territory of city parks and squares. At each one, visitors can taste the beer of a certain brand. Along with beer tents, they open open-air cafes serving the most popular regional dishes and traditional beer snacks. Within the framework of the Beer Festival, Ostend holds a variety of entertainment programs, open-air concerts, folk group performances, and themed tours of the region's historic breweries.

One of the most unusual holidays in Ostend's cultural calendar is the Sand Sculpture Festival. The main venues for this festival are city beaches, which are actively supplied with sand before the big day. Talented artists and sculptors use it to create amazingly beautiful sand figures. The theme of the festival changes from year to year. Every year, more than forty artists come here from all over the world to take part in the festival. Copyright www.orangesmile.com

During the event period, they manage to create more than 150 sculptures. The main city beach turns into an open-air art gallery in a just few days. Guests of the city can admire the incredible sculptures for free, as well as take great memorable pictures against the background of sandy structures. Some figures reach a height of over 5 meters. About 7,000 tons of sand are brought to Ostend Beach annually to create sand compositions. This festival usually starts in the second half of summer and lasts until September. The area of 10,000 square meters is reserved on the coast for the festival.

August is one of the most eventful months of the year, and the Sand Sculpting Competition falls on August too. In the last week of August, Ostend hosts the traditional Fireworks Festival, which in recent years has attracted pyrotechnics from many foreign countries. Travelers who visit the city in August will have the opportunity to watch the Retro Car Parade. It passes along the central city streets, after which participants park their rare cars in the main square allowing spectators to see them in all their glory.

Ostend is also a great destination for fans of sports. In summer it holds annual beach volleyball competitions on the coast, as well as triathlon championships. The Christmas and New Year holidays promise to be no less exciting. In Ostend, traditional entertainment programs usually start a month before Christmas. In early December, lanterns and garlands, colorful fairs full of souvenirs and popular treats appear in the streets and squares.

For locals, Christmas is a traditional family holiday, which should be celebrated at home with the observance of beautiful historical traditions. The New Year's celebration is taken less seriously, most of the citizens prefer to spend the first minutes of the coming year in the streets, in the company of friends and relatives. On the occasion of the winter holidays, beautiful firework displays and street performances, as well as gastronomic events, are also organized in Ostend.

Easter is celebrated on an equally large scale. Since the majority of the city's population is very religious and keeps a fast, Easter is always accompanied by lush gastronomic celebrations. Shopping stalls open right on city streets and squares to sell popular regional dishes and the best local delicacies. On Easter, Ostend holds colorful street processions and parades, fun competitions, and children's entertainment activities.