![Freedom meal 2023 Many visitors came to the freedom meal. The mayor of Aalten, Anton Stapelkamp, and Sonja Wießmeier from Europe Direct Bocholt handed out the soup in good humour.](/en/news/europeedi/germans-and-dutch-invite-you-to-a-freedom-meal/_/260977P.jpg?height=191&width=254)
© Stadt Bocholt
Many visitors came to the freedom meal. The mayor of Aalten, Anton Stapelkamp, and Sonja Wießmeier from Europe Direct Bocholt handed out the soup in good humour.Germans and Dutch invite you to a "freedom meal"
Church service and festive programme on Sunday, 5 May, from 10:00-15:30 in Dinxperlo (NL)
It's that time again: Germans and Dutch are cordially inviting you to the " Freedom Meal", an ecumenical celebration that will take place on Sunday, 5 May, in Dinxperlo (NL). After last year's great success, the organising team is looking forward to the second cross-border Freedom Meal, which will be held on the Prins Clausplein.
The event offers a varied programme for young and old. An ecumenical German-Dutch church service starts at 10.00 am in the Dorpskerk, focusing on the importance of freedom. This will be followed at 11.30 a.m. by a communal meal, during which visitors from Dinxperlo and Suderwick will be able to talk about freedom and lack of freedom. The special "freedom soup", created by successful YouTube chef Nick Toet, is sure to be a topic of conversation. The Freedom Meal will be accompanied by music from the duo Yvonne Tangelder and Willem te Voortwis from Winterswijk.
Tickets for the Freedom Meal are available in the form of placemats for a reservation fee of 2 euros. These can be purchased from various shops and organisations, including JUMBO in Dinxperlo, Bäckerei Gerards in Suderwick and the Volunteer Agency in Bocholt (Langenbergstraße). The volunteer agency will be open during the open Sunday on 28 April from 13:00 to 18:00.
After the meal, visitors can look forward to an additional programme in the Dorpskerk, including personal stories on the theme of "Freedom", the screening of the short film "In the Footsteps of Max" and musical performances by the Vision choir.
The Freedom Meal is an initiative of various organisations and committed citizens, including the Dinxperwick Citizens' Initiative B.I., DinXperience, the Grensland Museum, VVNF, Historisch Dinxperlo and the GrenzBlickAtelier. The event is supported by the INTERREG programme Germany-Nederland and other sponsors and co-financed by the European Union.
"Last year's cross-border Freedom Meal was already a great success. German and Dutch stakeholders are already working closely together during the preparations - a great European project!", says Sonja Wießmeier from EUROPE DIRECT Bocholt.
Programme at a glance:
10 am - 11 am: Ecumenical German-Dutch church service in the village church with the theme of freedom
11.30 - 11.45 a.m.: Official opening of the Freedom Meal
11.45 - 13.30: Social get-together and consumption of freedom soup with sandwiches
Music by Yvonne Tangelder and Willem te Voortwis
13:45 - 15:30: Programme in the village church:
- A German and a Dutch person will each tell a personal story on the theme of "freedom".
- Screening of the short film "In the footsteps of Max". Chor Vision will perform a few songs in between.
Recipe
To get an idea of the flavour of the Freedom Soup-2024 by Nick Toet, click here
About the EUROPE DIRECT Bocholt
EUROPE DIRECT Bocholt is part of the mayor's office of the city of Bocholt and is the local contact point for questions relating to the European Union. Its task is to provide local citizens with information, advice, help and answers to questions about Europe. In addition, EUROPE DIRECT Bocholt aims to promote European involvement and provide information on current European political events.