Book lovers can indulge themselves, because the Dordtse Boekenmarkt is coming up again. On Sunday 3 July, there will be at least 350 stalls throughout the historic city centre where antiquarian booksellers will be offering their best books. And because it is already the 25th edition, there will be an even bigger splash.
Browsing through thousands of books on a beautiful historical trail
Theme 25th anniversary
The jubilee weekend is kicked off on Saturday evening with a party in the Kunstkerk. The theme this year is - how could it be otherwise - 25 years of the Dordrecht Book Fair. In the past few weeks, I have sifted through thousands of photos to make a beautiful jubilee book. This book will be handed over on Saturday evening to Bart van Dulmen, the founder of the Dordtse Boekenmarkt and also the driving force behind the current edition, after which we will have a nice toast together', says Herman Koekkoek, one of the organisers of the annual event. The party connects seamlessly with the Never Again Word Festival'. All in all, a wonderful literary weekend in the city!
Swing through the city
On Sunday, as always, there will be hundreds of stalls in a garland throughout the city. The success of the market is partly due to its accessibility. If you want, you can walk all around the market and you don't have to go back and forth past the stalls', explains Koekkoek. Along the way, there are all kinds of catering establishments where you can enjoy a snack or a drink and take a break while enjoying live music. The combination of a beautiful historic route and thousands of books to browse through makes the book market a success every time."
At peak 500 stalls
Koekkoek has not had time to browse through the books yet. But that is no problem, I still enjoy organising it. I leave the buying of books to my wife', he says with a laugh. Over the years, he has seen the market grow larger and larger. We started with about 200 stalls and at the peak we had almost 500. That number is decreasing now, but it is not as bad as we expected. Thank goodness for that!
Nice day out!
When the E-readers came, everyone thought that it was the end of the story for books, but this turned out better than expected. Especially during the corona crisis, reading books has had a revival. The popularity of books fluctuates, but people continue to enjoy reading'. And that shows, because every year the Dordrecht Book Fair manages to attract some 75,000 visitors to the city centre. People from the region, but also from far beyond. Of course, it's also just a nice day out.
The Dordtse Boekenmarkt will be held on Sunday 3 July from 10:00 to 17:00 in the beautiful historic city centre of Dordt. More information about the traders present and the route can be found at dordtseboekenmarkt.nl. A limited number of free tickets for the anniversary party on the Saturday prior to the market can also be obtained here.
(25 years) Dordtse Boekenmarkt in pictures
