Opening Arcadia 2025 - Grûnfestival

On May 17, Arcadia 2025 opens with the Grûnfestival! A party where we bring culture, community and Frisian green together. Together we explore the future and share stories. This is not just an opening, party or spectacle. Be surprised by various performances, from dancing cranes to an hourglass filled with Frisian Green. Join in, celebrate or let yourself be carried away! Even as a spectator it will be an experience you will never forget. The choice is yours!

Bring your soil!

The soil beneath our feet tells stories – about origin, connectedness and change. Arcadia is all about working together and this is also central during the Grûnfestival. Your soil, your history, becomes part of a great shared work of art. Bring a handful of soil, sand or clay and hand it in at the Soil Lab. Here we will investigate the stories hidden in the earth together. Every grain of sand, clod and stone carries a piece of history with it. By adding your land, you become part of an art installation that makes the community visible, tangible and palpable.

What awaits you?

Be surprised, moved and inspired during an afternoon full of great art and impressive performances:

• The Grûnparade: A colourful procession brings the earth to the heart of the festival. Skûtsjes moor in the Prinsentuin, where the Grûnparade departs: a stream of people, young and old, with buckets, bags and carts full of soil. From solid clods of clay to fine sand, everything comes together at the Oldehoofsterkerkhof. Here, stories come together and a living work of art of earth, sand and encounter is created.

• Dancing excavators: Three excavators perform a choreography together, an endless dance of digging and filling. They move earth, create and erase tracks and are constantly in motion. Just like the world that never stands still. An impressive game of man, machine and grûn.

• The Great Polarization Show: A theatrical search for balance, in which ideas shift like sand and beliefs waver. Do you stand rock-solid in your position or do you let yourself be carried away by the voices of others? With every grain of sand we build a new perspective. Will we find 'Common Ground' together?

• The Soil Lab: Here, the soil brought along is examined and brought together. Every handful of soil carries a story with it. This creates a living archive of places and people.

• The Nice Person: Under the guidance of Natasja Bennink, sculptors work with Frisian clay on portraits of visitors. Faces slowly emerge from the earth. An ode to the community, each other and the stories we share.

• And much more: Expect spectacle, meet special people and be surprised. Come along, experience it for yourself and bring your grûn!Waarom Grûn?

Grûn is where everything begins. It is the soil beneath our feet, the history that shapes us and the foundation on which we build. Clay soil, peat and sand have made Friesland what it is. Grûn nourishes us, protects us and connects us with each other. It is a tangible foundation and a shared history. But how do we deal with it? What do we leave behind, what do we take with us? During Arcadia 2025 we dig deeper into these questions and let grûn speak.

Don't miss it!

An opening that you feel, see and experience. Together we celebrate our Frisian grûn. Take your soil with you, be part of something bigger and be surprised by the power of mienskip. Together we kick off and set the tone for 1