June 16, 2026 | Supply: The Guardian | by Hannah Docter-Loeb

I shouldn’t have been shocked that the rain didn’t cease the Dutch youngsters. All day it had been thunderstorming, and the forecast didn’t look so nice for the night. And but at 5pm, a whole lot of youngsters began arriving – many by bike – with their dad and mom to Amsterdam’s Westerpark, a beloved metropolis park that caters to a extra residential space of the capital. In the present day, it features as a place to begin: volunteers coordinate registration, and teams of youngsters collect, decked out in raincoats and desirous to embark on both a 5km or a 10km tour across the surrounding neighbourhoods.

It’s the second night time of Avondvierdaagse (which accurately means “four-day night stroll”) , organised by a group of neighbourhood volunteers. It’s not a race, but when youngsters full each night time, they get medals, a bouquet of flowers and, in the event that they’re fortunate, a number of sweets. It’s not simply Amsterdam; throughout villages, cities and cities within the Netherlands, a whole lot of 1000’s of Dutch individuals are doing the identical: yearly, youngsters spend 4 evenings in early summer time exploring their neighbourhoods with their faculty mates and oldsters as a part of the Week van de Avond4daagse. Some locations had celebrated earlier; others had been strolling the next week. A variation of the custom has even made its solution to Suriname, one of many Dutch former colonies. There are additionally four-day biking and swimming occasions. In keeping with the Royal Dutch Strolling Affiliation (KWbN), which helps coordinate the occasions, half one million folks participate yearly, in 700 places throughout the nation, powered by tens of 1000’s of volunteers.