What is the gondola parade
A gondola parade is a procession on the water, with spectators standing along the route. The boats are decorated or lit up, often around a theme. Despite the name, they are usually not gondolas like those in Venice. Gondola parades are held mainly in the watery west and north of the Netherlands.
In Giethoorn the gondolas sail through the village in the evening. They are built to pass under the many low bridges and are therefore smaller than gondolas in some other places in the region. They are propelled with punting poles or electric motors. Many gondolas are playful and funny in design. During the gondola parade the village is lit up, with illuminated gardens, bridges and houses. You watch from the bank or from one of the terraces along the route.
How the gondola parade began
The gondola parade goes back to the early twentieth century. On the first school day after the summer holidays, children went to school in costume, in decorated, lit-up boats. That was the first, modest form of the gondola parade.
In 1929 the canals were dredged. A year later, in 1930, the gondola parade became a competition between villagers. That competition forms the basis of the gondola parade as it exists today. An association was formed to organise the gondola parade, and in the 1980s the children’s gondola parade was added. Originally the gondola parade marked the start of the school year, later the end of the tourist season.
Who makes the gondolas
The gondolas are made by volunteers. They are often groups of friends who work on them for years. A jury assesses, among other things, the lighting, the finish and the creativity. For children there is their own children’s gondola parade, in which participants up to 15 years old take part. The Vereniging Gondelvaart Giethoorn (Giethoorn Gondola Parade Association), based in the village, is the organiser.
The gondola parade as intangible heritage
Since August 2018, the Gondelvaart Giethoorn has been listed in the Inventory of Intangible Heritage of the Netwerk Immaterieel Erfgoed Nederland (Network for Intangible Heritage in the Netherlands). That inventory lists traditions that are passed on by communities in the Netherlands, such as customs, festivals and crafts.
Current information about the gondola parade
The gondola parade is held every year in summer. Which evening, what time and with what programme can differ from year to year. So for current information, see the Giethoorn.com events calendar. If you want to be in Giethoorn on that evening, also see parking in Giethoorn and read in the article about when Giethoorn is the quietest when it is busier or quieter there.
Would you also like to see Giethoorn from the water in the daytime? Then see the options for boating in Giethoorn.
