Bet van Beeren was a legendary landlady. In a leather coat she would tear across town on her motorbike, sometimes with a new fiancée. Café 't Mandje was one of the first bars where gay men and lesbian women didn't have to hide their sexual orientation. But Bet would not allow kissing in the bar.
There were vice-laws to consider and the liquor license could be at stake. The bar did not have a dance license. There was a custom-made billiard table in the middle of it, no room for dancing. Only on the Queen's birthday (in those days on April 30th) almost anything was permitted, even dancing in a bar without a proper license. So the billiard table was dissasembled for a day and at Bet van Beeren's Café 't Mandje men danced with men and women with women.
Obviously The King's Birthday is an important event at Café 't Mandje. So, the re-opening of the bar in 2008 (after being closed for twenty-six years) happened on what was then still called The Queen's Birthday.
The King's Birthday at Café 't Mandje is about dancing and singing (along) and having fun together, no matter what your gender or preferences may be.
15:45, Linedancing (lesson) with Amsterdam Amigos!
18:00, Linedancing (lesson) with Amsterdam Amigos!
Zeedijk Pride, Amsterdam Pride at Zeedijk!