bring your soil!
The ground beneath our feet tells stories. Stories of origin, connection, and change.
Arcadia is all about collaboration, and that’s at the heart of the Grûnfestival. Your soil, your story, becomes part of a great shared artwork. Bring a handful of earth, sand, clay, or peat and hand it in at the Ground Lab. Here, together, we’ll explore the stories hidden in the soil. Every grain of sand and every clod of clay holds a piece of history. By adding your soil, you become part of a living installation that makes the mienskip visible, tangible and deeply felt.
what awaits you at the Grûnfestival?
Be surprised, moved, and inspired during an afternoon filled with amazing art and powerful performances:
- The Grûnparade: A colourful parade brings the earth to the heart of the festival. Skûtsjes dock in the Prinsentuin, where the Grûnparade begins: a stream of people, young and old, carrying buckets and bags, and pushing carts full of soil. From solid lumps of clay to fine sand, everything converges at the Oldehoofsterkerkhof. Here, stories unite to form a living artwork made of earth, sand, and shared encounters.
- Dancing Diggers: Three excavators perform a choreographed dance, an endless rhythm of digging and filling. They move earth, create and erase tracks, always in motion. Just like the world itself, which never stands still. A captivating performance of man, machine, and earth.
- The Great Polarization Show: A theatrical exploration of balance, where ideas shift like sand and beliefs begin to waver. Are you firmly rooted in your viewpoint, or are you swayed by the voices of others? With each grain of sand, a new perspective emerges. Can we find Common Ground together?
- The Ground Lab: Here, the soil we’ve gathered is examined and brought together. Each handful of soil carries its own story, creating a living archive of places and people.
- The Kind Human: Led by Natasja Bennink, sculptors work with clay to create portraits of visitors. Slowly, faces take shape from the earth. An ode to the community, to one another, and to the stories we share.
- And Much More: Expect spectacle, meet remarkable people, and be surprised. Come along, experience it for yourself and don’t forget to bring your grûn!
de grûn beweecht: De mienskip gets moving
The opening of Arcadia 2025 is more than just a festival: it’s the beginning of a movement. In the lead-up to May 17, Fryslân starts to shift. With the help of skûtsjes and more, people, grûn (earth), and stories from across the province journey toward the capital. Slowly, a living landscape of soil, memories, and hope takes shape.
The Grûn Beweecht is a movement that brings people together. From villages, neighborhoods, and cities, the mienskip travels toward the heart of Fryslân. Along the way, stories are collected and shared — stories of origin and future, of loss and longing. The result is a procession full of color, questions, encounters, and ideas. No route is the same, but all roads lead to the Oldehoofsterkerkhof.
What can you expect? A flowing stream of people and materials. A parade of beppes, farmers, children, and artists. A festive journey that culminates in a growing artwork made of soil — shaped by everyone who takes part. And that’s what it’s all about: creating together, dreaming together, and building something bigger than ourselves.
why grûn?
Grûn is where everything begins. It is the soil beneath our feet, the history that shapes us, and the foundation we build on. Clay, peat, and sand have made Fryslân what it is today. Met De Grûn Beweecht geven we beweging aan verhalen en verbinden we dorpen, wijken en generaties. Onderweg door Fryslân halen we niet alleen grond op, maar ook perspectieven. Van boeren tot kinderen, van rollators tot skateboards, bewegen doen we samen.
Grûn feeds us, protects us, and connects us. It is both a tangible landscape and a shared past. But how do we engage with it? What do we leave behind, and what do we carry forward? During Arcadia 2025, we’ll dig deeper into these questions and let grûn speak.
don’t miss it?
An opening you can feel, see, and experience. Together, we celebrate our land. Bring your soil, become part of something bigger, and be surprised by the power of community. Together, we kick off 100 days full of imagination, wonder, and connection.