A Dutch Day at the Santa Monica Pier

By JARED HAMM | Junior Reporter

On April 26, 2015 the Dutch King’s Day Festival was held at the Santa Monica pier. I was invited by my Oom Harry Brender á Brandis. He plays guitar for a rock and roll band called Family Affair. His band opened the festival. Kings Day is one of the biggest holidays in the Netherlands celebrating the birthday of King Willem, the first King following three generations of just queens.

I learned that wood shoes were better than leather when dealing with the moist watery land. The poplar wood is the best kind to make the shoes because it was cheap and plentiful. I saw  a man dressed as the artist Rembrandt painting his masterpiece the Night Watch.

My friend Julian Fayman and I got to sample many different foods from the Dutch food booths. There were croquettes and the stroop wafels . Actor Ivan Sergei who is half Dutch said we had to order frites. Frites are actually Dutch French fries and Ivan said we should order them with Dutch mayonnaise. It’s a spicier than American-style mayonnaise. We liked the mayo but we preferred ketchup.

Next stop was the herring stand. We met Marcel Knoesler in line who was actually visiting from Holland. He said to order the Paling which is expensive eel, but we chose the pickled herring. Marcel demonstrated how to eat the fish by swallowing the herring whole by holding its tail. I enjoyed the herring.. It was a bit salty. Oom Harry joined us after finishing his set. Children from a Dutch school sang Holland’s National Anthem and as we were leaving everyone was singing Happy Birthday to King Willem. It was a special day.