Counting down to Carnival

The annual pre-Lent revelry of Carnival hits town this weekend, lasting from parade Sunday through Fat Tuesday, punctuated by the raising and lowering of the Mooswief at the Vrijthof Square.  The local paper carries the daily news about events here (Google will do a rough translation if you are using Chrome).  There have been a lot of articles discussing the cost of it all, but that will fade as the party gets underway.

At street level, the stages are going up and the toilets are being distributed.  Street sweepers have cleared all of the walkways along Kesselskade, and café’s have moved their tables indoors to give space for crowd along the parade route.  The beer trucks have crowded the streets all week.

 

The bands have been dressing up and (sometimes) tuning up inside local bars each evening, occasionally taking to the streets for a practice run across the bridge.  The camel has been hung.

  

It should be fun – No calls until Wednesday, please.