WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES MAY 2, 2019 21
Celebrating spring at New Amsterdam fest
BY MAX PARROTT
MPARROTT@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
@RIDGEWOODTIMES
In celebrating the New Amsterdam
Festival on Saturday, the historic
Onderdonk House in Ridgewood
gave the community a taste of what it
does best: Dutch folk art.
During the festival, the Greater
Ridgewood Historical Society opened
the farmhouse museum’s grounds
up to community with music, games,
homemade Dutch doughnuts and
a slice of New York City’s Dutch
colonial history.
The festival coincided with the date
of King’s Day, a celebration of the
Dutch royal family, which the Dutch
celebrate by holding fl ea markets to sell
their used items.
In the spirit of the Dutch tradition,
the farmhouse unveiled a vintage item
of its own: a new set of Hindeloopen
furniture. The bed and accompanying
Photos: Max Parrott/RIDGEWOOD TIMES
pieces painted in the traditional style of
the northern Netherlands, were donated
by the estate of Elizabeth Keller Kagan
aft er her death.
Kagan’s granddaughter Elsie, who
lives with her family in South Park Slope,
was present at the unveiling.
“It feels so special that it found a place
where we can see it,” said Elsie, who lived
in The Hague for a year when she was 9.
Elsie’s grandparents acquired the
furniture when they lived in Holland
aft er World War II while her grandfather
Alexander Keller was working to
implement the Marshall Plan. He was
given Dutch collectibles by the families
that he helped.
In addition to the new furniture, the
celebration featured two colonial reenactors
demonstrating wampum- and
spoon-making. It also featured the
smooth sounds of the Francis Lewis Jazz
Ensemble, a custom Onderdonk House
brew by Bridge and Tunnel Brewery and
pony rides for the children.
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