Next year the Gazette van Detroit will celebrate its 100th anniversary, and for sure it’s a special one. Not only because it will be the centennial jubilee, but also because the Gazette van Detroit is the only Belgian newspaper that still exists in North America, written in a mix of English and Dutch and read on both sides of the Atlantic. Like many other media, the Gazette van Detroit also faces difficult times. As we are approaching the centennial of the Gazette van Detroit a number of projects are planned to celebrate …

The flags that were used for the inauguration ceremony of president Barack Obama were produced at a location you may not have expected: Oostrozebeke, Belgium. The Waelkens flag company employs 40 people.  Small orders are embroided, sometimes by hand, at the production facility in Belgium, while large orders are produced on silkscreen machines in Romania.  Waelkens ships about 2,000 flags a year to the U.S.

On November 11, 1918 at 11:11 AM the guns fell silent between the millions of armed men along the 800 mile-long Western Front. Literally up until that minute on many stretches of the front line, men fought and died. On November 11, 2012 a small group of Belgians and Americans commemorated the sacrifice of these young men.
Through the kind generosity of Gazette van Detroit supporters Dimitri Hoegaerts and Ellen Samyn, the Gazette van Detroit participated in this ceremony. The wreath above was donated by Mr. Hoegaerts and Ms. Samyn to …

Have you ever wondered how U.S. citizens are able to donate money to the Red Star Line Museum in Antwerp and still receive a U.S. tax deduction? Or, how our Belgian friends can donate to the Gazette van Detroit and still receive a tax deduction from the Belgian Government? Or even how North Americans can donate money to help giant rats become heroes in Tanzania? The answer to all three of these questions is the King Baudouin Foundation United States in New York City (“KBFUS”).
The two-person Manhattan office of KBFUS, …

“Het Beste Vlaamsch Blad”/”The Best Flemish Paper”

By David Baeckelandt
As a young Flemish-American growing up in Chicago I earnestly wished to study in the country where my father and grandfather were born. Unfortunately I was unable to find any such program in Flanders or Belgium at the time, and neither did I find any opportunities to study about Flanders as an undergraduate here in the U.S. As a result, I ended up studying abroad in Asia. While not a bad career move, I would have much preferred a chance to study in and about Flanders. Today’s North …

BELGIAN MOVIE opening in Michigan this Friday, March 30, 2012 – exclusively at the Main Art Theatre in Royal Oak:
“THE KID WITH A BIKE” (Le gamin au vélo) by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne.
Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, the deeply moving new film by the Dardenne brothers (L’enfant, Rosetta) delves into the emotional life of troubled 11-year-old Cyril (newcomer Thomas Doret). When his father (Jérémie Renier) abandons him, Cyril obsessively tries to find his bicycle—after all, his father must have cared about him enough …

Like last year, Ashley’s Beer & Grill of Westland is doing its part to beat the winter blahs by organizing a Belgian Beer Festival. Expanded to 11 days (Feb. 9 through Feb. 19), the event will feature over 80 Belgian drafts and over 60 bottled Belgian beers, a special Belgian food menu, a prix-fixe Valentine’s dinner, a Belgian waffle breakfast and more. Most of the offerings require no tickets or advance signup.
However, for the hosted dinners where multiple courses are paired with different beers, as for the beer-blending seminar on …

By David Baeckelandt
The White House has a formal process by which one can petition. It is my belief that the Flemish have long gone unrecognized for their contribution to the discovery and settlement of America. If you share this belief please kindly click on the below hyperlink. If we reach 150 signatures it will allow us to keep the petition live. If we reach 25,000 electronic signatures the White House will formally review our petition. Please spread the word if you believe in this. http://wh.gov/2uD