The Zinneke Parade

Created for Brussels European Capital of Culture in 2000, the Zinneke Parade has become a mainstay of the city's cultural landscape. Every two years two dozen Zinnodes (think of the Krewes of New Orleans' Mardi Gras) rally around a theme (after such themes as Water, Disorder and Temptation, this year's theme is Fragility) and create an unforgettable, entrancing, striking and magical spectacle that combines elements of Belgium's very rich carnival folklore with a contemporary multicultural twist . The participants are of all ages, all ethnicities, and all walks of life. We hear from a Syrian newly arrived in Belgium, a long time English expat and a native-born Belgian. www.zinneke.org