
Dutch Treat
Canada (Toronto/GTA) We keep working on our new website. In the meantime, you
can reach us at info@dutchtreat.ca
Are you interested in the Dutch, or Dutch Canadians?
Do
you like Dutch events?
Would you like to
stay informed about all things Dutch and Dutch-Candian in Toronto and the GTA?
Further info about Dutch Treat
is at the very bottom
of this page. Sign up for the membership: simply send address
info and e-mail to info@dutchtreat.ca (it’s free!)
Updated: February 21, 2012
NEXT BORREL:
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 24
WINTER SPORTS: SATURDAY/SUNDAY, MARCH 3/4
Many More New Dates!
IMPORTANT
PETITION ABOUT DUTCH CITIZENSHIP
DUTCH LANGUAGE EDUCATION UPDATE – OCTOBER
27
REGISTRATIONS CONTINUE - TEACHERS WANTED
1 *
Upcoming Dutch Treat events
·
Friday, February 24thd: Dutch Treat Borrel
·
Saturday/Sunday, March 3/4th: 6th Dutch
Treat
Winter Sports
·
Saturday, March 31st: Dutch Treat Billiards Evening!
·
Saturday, April 7th: Dutch Treat Paasfeest
/ Easter Party
·
Friday, April 27th: Dutch Treat Koninginnedagfeest
/ Queen’s Day Party
·
Friday, May 25th: Dutch Treat Borrel
·
June 9 (11am) – June 13 (1:45pm) – June 17 (1:45): EURO
SOCCER GAMES
·
Friday, June 29th: Dutch Treat Borrel
2* Upcoming other Dutch-Canadian events
·
Fridays March 2, April 13, May 25: CAANS
events
·
March 9 – April 14: Woodstock Dutch Theatre
Group: Wie kaatst … die Wint.
·
Friday, April 13: CNBPA Economic Outlook
·
Wednesday, April 18: DUCA AGM
3 * Dutch Language Education / Nederlandse lessen
(IMPORTANT UPDATES)
·
No more Dual Dutch Citizenship for Canadians???
· MacLean’s Article about Dutch Women and part-time work
Saturday,
February 18th: DUTCH TREAT SKATING
To insert some extra winter fun before the Dutch Treat
Winter Sports Weekend (March 3/4), we thought it would be nice to go for an
afternoon of skating - you can’t
get it much more Dutch of course!
We therefore invite you for Saturday, February 18, from 2 to 4 pm on the
skating rink at the Harbourfront Centre in Toronto. Admission to that, BTW, is free!
If you do not have a pair, you can rent skates on location. We hope to
set up some races, but the main goal is having fun, skating together in the
outdoors with our Dutch club (it would be fun if we can recognize you from real
Dutch colours).
Will you join us?? Please let us know - reactions to janny.mike@gmail.com.
More information on the location and facilities can be found on the website www.harbourfrontcentre.com/skating.
Please come and join us for the next Dutch Treat Borrel!
For this occasion once again: with some
Bitterballen!
There are many fun reasons to attend the Dutch Treat borrels! There is of course no better occasion to meet new friends, or share a drink with old ones. For many people, it is a nice opportunity to speak some Dutch, to meet some Dutch and Dutch-Canadians, or to simply celebrate the Dutch heritage.
Location: Duke of
York (39 Prince Arthur Avenue)
Time: from
6:00pm.
Note: Confirming for
Dutch Treat Borrels is of course not necessary, as
everybody is welcome. We do appreciate a heads up very much though
See you at the Borrel!
Saturday/Sunday, March 3/4: 6th DUTCH TREAT
WINTER SPORTS
Are you a ski or snowboard
enthusiast? Do you like cross country
skiing, or do snow shoeing and
the spectacular snow tubing sound
interesting? Then the Dutch Treat Winter Sports is
definitely for you!
On Sunday, March
4th, Dutch Treat organizes its sixth annual
trip to Horseshoe Valley. The resort just North of Barrie has something for
everybody: besides beforementioned activities you can swim, enjoin the spa, or
hop on a snow mobile!
Note: lift tickets and trail passes at a spectacular
discount!
Of course we
conclude the day with another great Dutch
Treat Après-Ski – always a highlight of the day, but according to some of
the whole Dutch Treat year!
·
Friday, February 17: Horseshoe
Resort Deadline! A limited amount of rooms is blocked, so
act fast. First come, first served!
·
Friday, February 17: Carriage
Ridge Deadline! A limited amount of rooms is blocked, so
act fast. First come, first served!
·
Monday, February 27: Deadline to register with Dutch
Treat
·
A.s.a.p.: Kids
Korral (see invite) had availability for March 3 & 4. Space is limited
here as well, so book a.s.a.p.
Saturday, March 31st: Dutch Treat Billiards Evening!
Stay tuned, information to
follow!
Saturday, April 7th: Dutch Treat Paasfeest / Easter Party
Stay tuned, information to
follow!
Friday, April 27th: Dutch Treat Koninginnedagfeest
/ Queen’s Day Party
Stay tuned, information to
follow!
Friday, May 25th: Dutch Treat Borrel
June 9 (11am) – June 13 (1:45pm) – June 17
(1:45): EURO SOCCER GAMES
Dutch Treat will once again
organize some fabulous Soccer Parties!
Friday, June 29th: Dutch Treat Borrel
Until February 19: Huibert Sabelis painting
exhibition: Eye of the Beholder.
Fridays March 2, April 13, May 25: CAANS
events
CAANS Meetings are held at 8:00 pm at the
usual location, Alumni Hall, 121 St. Joseph Street (near Queen’s Park
Crescent), room 400 – the small auditorium on the 4th floor
More CAANS information at www.caans-acaen.ca/Chapters/toronto.html.
March 9 – April 14: Woodstock Dutch Theatre
Group: Wie kaatst … die Wint.
In Dutch: Een komisch blijspel in drie bedrijven door
Hans van Wijngaarden. Regie: Gerard Hamoen.
Market Centre Theatre in Woodstock
Friday March 9th 2012 at 8.00 PM
Saturday March 10th 2012 at 2.30 PM
Saturday March 10th 2012 at 8.00 PM
Blyth Memorial Community Hall in Blyth
Saturday March 17th 2012 at 8.00 PM
London Dutch Canadian Hall in London
Friday March 23rd 2012 at 8.00 PM
Great Lakes Christian College in Beamsville
Saturday April 14th 2012 at 2.30 PM
Tickets en info:
Ankie van Haastert - 519 424 2985
Adrian Rodenburg - 519 283 6285
Of email
Woodstockdutchtheatre@yahoo.ca
Friday, April 13: CNBPA Economic Outlook
At KMPG, Suite 4600, Bay Adelaide Centre, 333 Bay
St, Toronto. 8 – 10 a.m.
Details to follow, event date tentative.
See www.cnbpa.ca.
Wednesday, April 18: DUCA AGM
At Le Parc Conference and Banquet Centre, 8432 Leslie
Street. From 7 p.m.
See www.duca.com.
June
23, Luncheon Club: Summer event
Indonesian Buffet, with Golden Swing Band. At the Unitarian
Church, 84 South Service Road at Highway 10. From 6 p.m.
Stay
tuned!
For more events - also those further away
from the GTA - in then Dutch Canadian Community please visit: www.dutchcommunitycalendar.ca.
The Dutch language classes, initiated by Dutch Treat, have started simultaneously in Toronto (provided by the
Toronto District School Board) and Oakville (Halton District School Board).
1. CHILDREN (4-14y)
Toronto District
School Board (Location: Toronto)
|
Saturday, September
17th was the official registration for the Dutch Language Classes for
children at the Toronto District School Board. We, as co-organizers of this
initiative, are happy that many children have been registered. At the same time, we
have heard from several people that they still want to register (their
children), and that is indeed possible! We welcome all additional
registrations, as these increase the possibility of
splitting the group (currently in two) perhaps even further. We have also
received a number of questions regarding the lessons. We have created a brief
overview of important things to know. Please see the sheet of Frequently Asked Questions. If you have any
further questions, please feel free to send us an email. So if you did not
have a chance to register yet, you can still attend and register at the
Saturday morning classes. Classes started on September 24, 2011 at 9:00 AM Location: Woodbine Junior Highschool (Don Mills subway
station) Address: 2900 Don Mills Rd, North York, ON M2J3B6 bit.ly/o2u0Ah To register your
child(ren) you will need: - $20.00 - Health card of
your children - Any information
about allergies We wish you all a
very successful and ‘gezellig’ school year. Tot ziens op school. Dutch Treat Language
Initiative Committee |
Halton District School
Board (Location: Oakville)
|
On Saturday
September 17th 2011 we started our first day at the Dutch school
in Oakville on Blakelock High School. 38 enthusiast kids (even
more now) were divided in 2 classes. We expect that we will have a 3rd class
very soon. This will give an even better divided group so that we can have
even better classes for each group. Our goal is learning Dutch but in a fun
way! The International Language (Elementary) Program
of the HDSB takes place in Oakville Classes will be held
on Saturdays, for 2.5 hours, from 9:30am – 12:00am. |
TEACHERS WANTED!
As interest for both locations is
very encouraging, we foresee both School Boards will need multiple teachers,
plus back-ups and/or supply teachers. They have asked us to suggest teachers,
so we invite people with interest and qualifications to contact Janny de
Bresser at janny.mike@gmail.com
for Halton (Oakville), and/or Marjan Lahuis at m.lahuis14@gmail.com
for Toronto.
2. ADULTS
|
University of
Toronto School of Continuing Studies See the Full 2011/2012 schedule (PDF) Fall 2011 Dutch Level III
starting September 15, 2011 on Thursdays (6:30 – 9 p.m.) Also possibilities
for private classes or semi-private Costs: $ 395/course
plus HST (any level) More information can
be obtained from Ms. Marianne Verheyen mverheyen@sympatico.ca |
Durham College in
Oshawa: PM |
Lastly, for those who are interested in learning Dutch as a
second language through selfstudy, there are online courses offered by LOI (Leidse
Onderwijsinstellingen) For more information please visit: www.loi.nl
or go directly to: www.loi.nl/talen/nt2/nt2_dutch_as_a_second_language/index.htm
Best regards,
Janny de Bresser & Marjan Lahuis
Dutch Treat Board of Management
No more Dual Dutch Citizenship for Dutch-Canadians???
Many members have alerted us to
important protests that are being organized against Dutch plans to make major
changes to Dutch citizenship laws. These changes promise to severely handicap
the options for Dutch citizens to keep their (Dual) Citizenship if they apply
for other nationalities (like Canadian).
As read in the Ottawa Postbode:
There is some worry about dual
citizenship as the Netherlands government is proposing to change the rules on
dual Dutch citizenship. Those who are nervous about it have set up an on line
petition: nederlandersoverzee.petities.nl.
Usually,
those who possess dual nationality now do not have to worry, but if the proposal
becomes law it will be much harder to become Canadian while keeping your Dutch
passport. If you are still planning to start the process, it might be worth to
1) check the rules and 2) check how long the process for becoming a Canadian
is. In the end, the date that you receive citizenship counts, not the day you
start the procedure. But again, it is only a proposal now.
See
for more info on dual citizenship here: www.minbuza.nl/producten-en-diensten/burgerzaken/nederlandse-nationaliteit
So, the link for that petition
is nederlandersoverzee.petities.nl (in Dutch)
Much more information has been posted on the website
www.NederlanderBlijven.com
(mostly in Dutch), with links to
- an article in the Volkskrant;
- an article in Dutchnews.nl;
- a
clip with an interview with the Martin van Denzen radio program Dutch Touch
(!);
- and
much, much more.
MacLean’s
Article about Dutch Women and part-time work
Dutch Treat Member Claire Ward send us this link to an article she wrote for Magazine MacLean’s about Dutch women and part-time work. Enjoy: www2.macleans.ca/2011/08/19/the-feminismhappiness-axis.
(May 29, 2011:) What a fabulous day: GO GREEN – GO DUTCH – GO BIKE!
100s upon 100s of
riders joined the organizers from the Dutch Consulate-General at the 5th
instalment of the Go Green – Go Dutch – Go Bike event. Supported by main
sponsor ING Direct, Eco-Wheels, The City of Toronto, Branding for Good, the
Cyclists Union, and others, we cycled from King’s Mill Park along the Lakeshore
to the Distillery District. Not only was the interesting Eco-Wheels Show on
there, we had a great Dutch Market with Poffertjes, fresh (!) Stroopwafels,
Dutch products from Niemeyer’s Imports, and much, much more.
It was a great success
as a fundraiser as well: no less than $15,000 was raised. This will to towards
the purchase of new bicycles, helmets, and locks for deserving Toronto youth.
See for more general information also at www.gogreengodutchgobike.com.
Board Member Wilmar
Kortleever took snapshots along the way, courtesy Dutch Treat.
Feel free to check them out at flickr.com/gp/wilmar/49M7Uo.
Besides the group shot, they are in
chronological order. For your convenience:
#1-12: start & first ride
#13-74: Park: 1st batch of pictures
with ‘everybody’
#75-88: On our way to the pedestrian
bridge
#89-116: Lakeshore: 2nd batch of pictures with ‘everybody’
#117-129: Along the Lakeshore & in the city
#130-162: At the Distillery
District
NB For your information &
enjoyment, pictures of Go Green – Go Dutch – Go Bike:
2010: flickr.com/gp/wilmar/064Nr.
2009: flickr.com/gp/wilmar/Q969sh.
2008: flickr.com/gp/wilmar/S04LE0.
2007: flickr.com/gp/wilmar/463Ea6.
(May 5, 2011:)
Flag Raising marks the first Annual Dutch Heritage Month!
What a great event today at Queen’s Park!
It was as if the
weather knew that the flags, the beautiful scenery outside Queen’s Park, as
well as the colour Orange come out best when basked in sunlight.
Thanks to everybody
who made the Flag Raising, celebrating the first Dutch Heritage Month in
Ontario, possible - chiefly of course Mrs. Witmer. Thanks also goes out to the
co-sponsors of her Bill - Ms’s Van Bommel and DiNovo, as well as all others who
spoke in favour of the Legislation or supported it (like Mr. Hardeman, Mr.
Gerretsen, Mr. Wilson, Mr. Prue, Mr. Shurman, Mr. Marchese, Mr. Arnott, and Mr.
Klees).
Mr. Horbach, the
Consul-General of The Netherlands, spoke eloquent words of appreciation on the
South Lawn of Queen’s Park. He was accompanied by his wife Sonja, Consul Arie
Plieger, and a number of other colleagues from the Consulate (like Ms’s Empson
& McLaughlin, Mr.’s Tejani & Siezenga).
In attendance were
many people from the Dutch community, like Martin van Denzen (announcer Dutch
Touch radio), a number of his colleagues from the Dutch Canadian Association
(like Mrs. Spaans, Mrs. Van den Heuvel, Mr. Nienhuis, and Mrs. Casseres), Mrs.
Henny Baljet-Groenendijk, Mrs. Frits Begeman (vice-presidents, Netherlands
Luncheon Club), Mr. Brabers, and Jack VanderKooy & Evert Akkerman (DUCA
Credit Union).
A very special guest
was Mr. Sam Ross, who was accompanied by his son Stewart. Mr. Ross is a veteran
who proudly served with the Forces that liberated The Netherlands in 1944/1945.
It was an honour and privilege to meet him today.
Representing the Board
of Management of Dutch Treat, Wilmar Kortleever was honoured and delighted to
be present with his wife, Glynnis Burt.
At the subsequent
reception, Mr. James B. Love (Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Royal
Canadian Mint) presented a recently released coin, the “Tulip and Lady Bug”, to
Mrs. Witmer. The coin symbolises the enduring friendship between Canada and the
Netherlands.
Dutch Treat Board Member Wilmar took
a number of pictures. For your enjoyment, a number of them are uploaded to a
set on the Photowebsite Flickr: flickr.com/gp/wilmar/04m005. It even
includes a video clip of the Wilhelmus... :-)
Note (I): this batch has undergone
first selection and first edit, but is still sizeable (80 pictures, 1 clip). This way they might be more interesting to many of the people in
attendance - who may find themselves in the pictures (or more favourably in
some than in others ;-).
Note (II): feel free to forward the link or this message. Be advised that
even so, this set is on a ‘private’ part of Flickr, not automatically visible
(yet) to people without this specific link.
Have a great day - an Happy Dutch Heritage Month!
(March 24, 2011:) Dutch Heritage
Month!
Thursday, March 24,
2011 was a great day for the Dutch-Canadian community in Ontario. In the
Legislative Assembly of Ontario today, second and third reading were combined
and concluded with unanimous (!) consent for a real Bill of Law, #166, which
proclaimed the month of May as annual DUTCH HERITAGE MONTH. Royal assent is
expected in the coming weeks.
Dutch Treat was present at Queens Park today, represented by
President Wilmar Kortleever, as was Consul Arie Plieger, to congratulate M.P.P.
Elizabeth Witmer with this successful initiative. Mrs. Witmer, herself
emigrated from The Netherlands at a young age, had found Maria Van Bommel
(likewise) and Cheri DiNovo as co-sponsors for her Private Member Bill. Mrs.
Witmer spoke eloquently about the bond between our two countries, about the
Dutch appreciation for the Canadian Liberators during WWII, and about her
personal experiences. It was a great and touching moment, which Mrs. Witmer
thankfully got to share in the knowledge that her mother (who recently turned
90!) could witness it in front of the television at home.
A number of other
Members of Parliament spoke in favour of Bill 166, some with emotion, because
of their Dutch heritage (like Minister John Gerretsen from Kingston) or because
family fought during the Liberation of The Netherlands in 1944/1945 (like
Michael Prue from Toronto). M.P.P. Frank Klees (himself from Germany) quoted at
length from the words of Evert Akkerman, a member of Dutch Treat,
who last year was Treasurer of the committee that organized the celebration of
65 years since the Dutch Liberation. M.P.P. Rosario Marchese contributed a
humorous moment with his impressive knowledge of Dutch soccer stars (many of
who play or played in his beloved ancestral country Italy).
More information about
this Bill can be found on the website of the Ontario Legislature, or read an
article in the Waterloo region Record at canadianimmigrant.ca.
Hint: Wouldn’t it be
nice if these politicians received congratulatory notes (and thanks) for this
great proclamation? I believe among those involved in the proceedings were (in
no way complete - taking notes is not allowed in the Legislature Gallery ;-):
Elizabeth Witmer (Proposer of the Bill, Dutch heritage), Maria van Bommel
(co-sponsor, Dutch heritage), Cheri DiNovo (co-sponsor), John Gerretsen (Dutch
heritage), Ernie Hardeman (Dutch heritage), Michael Prue, Rosario Marchese, Ted
Arnott, Frank Klees. If you happen to send something, provide
info@dutchtreat.ca with a cc: :-)?
A few pictures
(including the birthday girl) are here: flickr.com/gp/wilmar/90r190.
Building on the great
tradition (established by Nicole, Maartje en Marleen), the current Dutch Treat
Board (represented by Janny, Henriette, and Wilmar) hosted a great event at the
Oakville Conference Centre. In total 200 people attended, including almost 100
kids. For a few early snapshots (including a song clip) check flickr.com/gp/wilmar/d1U340.
Thanks for all the
positive feedback, we really appreciate it!
(of course we are carefully drafting a list of
improvements for next year, so feel free to let us know what you liked and/or
would like to improve)
THANKS to Sint, de
Pieten, and the many volunteers - without you this could not have been
possible!
THANKS as well to our
sponsor, DUCA, for their generous contribution - and to our supporter, to John
van Niekerk of Niemeyer’s Imports (check out www.dutchtproducts.ca!),
for the generous supply.
We hope to see
everybody at a next Dutch Treat event
The Party Piets:
Janny, Henriette, and Wilmar
Nov. 27, 2010: DCA St. Nicolaas
Party
For a small set of snapshots of the fabulous Dutch Canadian Association St. Nicolaas Party on Nov.27, surf here: flickr.com/gp/wilmar/u7h49G.
Dutch Collection at the Toronto Reference Library / Nederlandse boeken in
the Toronto Reference Library
A few months ago, Liedewij Hawke, informed us
about the little-known collection of Dutch books at the Toronto Reference
Library. Please read her letter (in Dutch).
Webtips for Facebookers
Toronto: Dutch Treat: facebook.com/group.php?gid=48603067438
Canada: ‘The Netherlands in Canada’: facebook.com/thenetherlandsincanada
Ottawa: Dutch Canadian Association: facebook.com/pages/DCA-Dutch-Canadian-Association
Montréal: ‘Dutch in Montreal and
surroundings’: facebook.com/pages/Nederlanders-in-Montreal-en-omgeving
Webtip: www.hollandtoer.nl (from De Postbode)
Move your mouse over the map and you’ll see
the Dutch touristic highlights with sounds
Note: The Postbode is an electronic
Newsletter from Ottawa, associated with the Dutch Canadian Association. Surf to
www.dutchinottawa.ca
for more information.
Webtip: "Canadian Journal for Netherlandic
Studies" (from Inge Genee & Paul de Laat)
Last year we learned that all back issues of Canadian Journal of Netherlandic
Studies / Revue canadienne des études néerlandaises (a great magazine keeping
the Dutch language alive) are now on-line as machine-readable pdf files. You
can find them here: www.caans-acaen.ca/Journal/index.html
---
Dutch Treat Canada is a (free)
social and cultural organization serving the Dutch-Canadian community in
Toronto and the GTA. We organize a number of activities for various people:
young and old; families, couples and singles; in and outside the city. We
communicate in both Dutch and English.
Dutch
Treat has almost 1400 members (fall 2011), plus
hundreds more on Facebook (which is not always current, please refer to
our e-mail membership) and reaches an estimated 3000+ Dutch-Canadians through
its electronic Newsletter.
It
goes without saying we celebrate national holidays like Queen's Day,
Sinterklaas, and others. We also organize monthly borrels ('drinks',
'pubnights') in the evening (typically on the last Friday of the month) and
regular daytime events. We have Winter Sports Days, Easter Parties, Picnics,
Billiard Evenings, a number of cultural outings and much, much more. In
relevant years we try to organize ‘Soccer Parties’ to watch World or Euro Cup
matches together - the World Cup Final in 2010 attracted 1000s of enthusiastic
fans.
In
our regular newsletters we try to keep our members informed, also about
activities of other Dutch-Canadian events and activities in Toronto and the GTA.
Currently, the membership is free of cost.
If you want information, or are interested in becoming a member (we are Dutch, it is free!), please e-mail info@dutchtreat.ca (and indicate your preference for Dutch or English newsletters!). Feel free to join our Facebook group as well, at www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=48603067438, but please be advised that e-mail and website are our preferred (and more current) means of communication.
Margo Geerts, Janny de Bresser,
Henriette Afonso-Grootenhuis, Correen DiFlorio, Nancy Kloek, Marjan Lahuis en
Wilmar Kortleever,
Board of Management
Dutch Treat Canada, Toronto/GTA
Dutch Treat is a client of OYOP.