Welcome to the web site of the Dutch Connection of Arizona! If this is your first visit to our site, we're glad you found us! The Dutch Connection is a non-profit organization dedicated to getting people with a Dutch heritage in Arizona connected. Don't worry if you don't speak Dutch or if you've never been to Holland - we welcome everyone who has an interest in celebrating the Dutch culture with us! The club organizes several popular events throughout the year, including Koninginnedag, Dutch-American Heritage day and Sinterklaas. Interested in joining the Connection? You can register right here on-line!
Eric Vandewater,
Webmaster
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The Sinterklaas celebration was a great success this year once again. Many members with children and grandchildren came together to make a Pieten- or Sinterklaasmuts, sample the delicious Dutch food made by the participants and of course, welcome Sinterklaas  and his two Pieten. With so many wonderful dishes like erwtensoep, boterkoek, appeltaart, hazelnoot schuimtaart and many others, we should really look into making a Dutch recipe page available on the site real soon! On behalf of all the children and their (grand)parents, we would like to express a special thank you to Benno Kuipers and Bert te Velde for their time and effort to organize another typical Dutch event to remember. We'd also like to thank Maaike de Weerd for arranging the great location.
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As every year the Dutch Connection of Arizona is required to have its annual board meeting; it presents an opportunity to meet the board, socialize, and to participate in the official proceedings of the organization. For the last couple of years Mimis café has been the chosen location for this event, good food and excellent times as our participating members well know. After some introductions and informalities, our VP Bert te Velde took the opportunity to welcome everybody in lieu of the absence of our President Drew de Weerd. During the opening words, Bert thanked the outgoing board for its efforts in making 2010 another great year, and inspired to make 2011 even better. He also reminded everybody that the Dutch Connection of Arizona is an organization that facilitates a platform for its members to connect and organize events.
The previous year has seen a steady attendance at our traditional events, Pannekoeken-in-het-Park, Koninginnedag, Dutch-American Heritage Day and of course Sinterklaas. Also the member organized events were popular and seemed to gain more momentum this year. Dutch movie night created an intimate setting for “Alles is Liefde”, the Belgian Brunch enjoyed great weather, good attendance and even better coffee. Unfortunately the planned Indische Rijstafel dinner was postponed this year due to some unforeseen obstacles. I would like to add that the overall responds for this event was great and therefore would like to challenge any of the member to step up to the plate and take the lead in organizing this event. The big overall winner was the World Championship Soccer with hundreds of fellow Netherlanders attending the qualifiers and the final game at Versus Sports Bar in Scottsdale. Thanks to Eric for promoting this event and making arrangements for all to gather and watch.
A formal part of the evening is the approval of the organization’s finances, these were presented by the treasurer Benno Kuipers. After evaluation, Mr. Siebe van der Zee offered a motion to approve which got seconded by Eric VandeWater.
At this point the meeting redirected its focus to a wonderful dinner presented by the staff at Mimis Café. This always presents a good opportunity for social chatter, questions, suggestions and ideas for the incoming board.
This year we have two members leaving the Board: Drew de Weerd, our President, and Peter Hofland, a director. New opportunities in both Drew and Peter’s professional lives have created hectic schedules, limiting their abilities to be part of the Board. Therefore we would like to thank each one of them for their service and wish them good luck. Two members have come forward to fill the void, Kees Crezee and Eric van de Water. The new 2011 board was presented at the annual board meeting as is listed below. A motion to approve the new board was offered and accepted, this concluded the official part of the evening
As mentioned before, the Dutch Connection of Arizona would like to encourage its members to come forward with member organized/sponsored events which can be promoted through the DCAZ. The DCAZ is also looking for a member who is willing to take on our Library. The organization has numerous Dutch books available to lend but a coordinated effort is required to make this happen.
Benno Kuipers, Treasurer
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We're happy to introduce the board of directors for the Dutch Connection of Arizona. We welcome their energy and dedication to help make this organization a great success.
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President
VP
Secretary
Treasurer
Director
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Bert te Velde
Eric Vandewater
Marceline VandeWater
Benno Kuipers
Kees Crezee |
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Click here for if you would like to email the board.
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Check out the latest messages posted by our members. You can respond or write your own. |
| Topic | Reply |
| Passport renewal | 0 |
| Dutch Physical Therapist in AZ | 0 |
| staatsburgerschap / dubbel paspoort | 2 |
| De Palingboer | 4 |
| Dutch & Frisian DVDs for sale | 1 |
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Our website is constantly updated with articles related to Holland, the US in general and Arizona in particular. Below is a list of the most recent news links. You can also browse our archive for articles we've posted earlier. Please help us keep our news up to date. Send us an email if you come accross any interesting links or articles on the Internet.
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| Latest News |
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| Dutch Prime Minister Rutte Meets with President Obama |
 Nov 29, 2011 - Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, was welcomed by U.S. President Barack Obama at the White House in Washington on Tuesday. This is the Dutch leader's first visit to the White House.
At the beginning of the meeting in the Oval Office, President Obama said that the Netherlands is America's "most important ally." |
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| Geen dubbel paspoort... |
 22 November, 2011 - A vote in the Dutch parliament opposed the plans of Interior Minister Donner to allow Dutch citizens abroad to keep two passports. The decision is not yet final as the Raad van State still needs to issue advice. At this point, though, the petition that also circulated among our members does not seem to have had effect. To be continued.
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| Sinterklaas komt bijna... |
 Hallo ouders,
Morgen kom ik aan in Nederland. Jullie kunnen nu al kijken naar het Sinterklaas journaal. Op 4 December ben ik van plan een snel bezoek te brengen aan Scottsdale. Dit jaar wil ik eerst mijn Amerikaanse kinderen zien. Zoals ik vorig jaar al zei, breng ik mijn nieuwe iSintPad mee. Ik zou graag van de ouders horen waar de kinderen zoal mee bezig zijn. Hoogtepunten van het afgelopen jaar, hobby's, speciale berichten and favoriete liedjes. Email svp naar bvelde@mac.com zodat we e.e.a. kunnen "uploaden" in het nieuwe boek. Dank! Vergeet niet om de familie op te geven voor 4 December. |
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| Language research |
We received a request from Nyssa Bulkes, a graduate student at the Linguistics Department of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign: I am conducting a linguistics study about a particular speech phenomenon that occurs in Dutch. I am looking for participants to fill out two questionnaires; total time should be around 30 minutes. The study poses no risk to participants, and while I cannot offer financial compensation, I will be happy to share with participants the report of the findings that come about from the study.
Speakers are welcome and encouraged to participate if they fit one of two categories: 1) Dutch immigrants whose native language is Dutch; they do not necessarily need to be living in The Netherlands at this time; or 2) American-born speakers who learned Dutch from one or both parents growing up in the home.
Please contact me at nyssabulkes@gmail.com if you'd like any more information or if you would like to participate in the study.
Thank you for your time! (Dank u wel!) |
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| In theatres: Winter in Wartime (book: Oorlogswinter by Jan Terlouw) |
 April 27, 2011 Playing this week at Shea 14: Winter in Wartime. During the last winter of World War II, Nazi occupied Holland lies under a blanket of snow. Living in a village near the town of Zwolle is 13 year old Michiel. Defiant in his hatred for the Nazis, he is eager to do something for the growing underground Resistance. His father, however, is anxious for Michiel to stay out of trouble. Michiel's chance to prove himself arrives when neighbor Dirk asks him to deliver an envelope on behalf of the Resistance. Michiel discovers how precious trust is and how close together good and evil can sit side by side without anyone ever noticing. He also learns that to become a man, he must abandon childish beliefs and face the truth head on. |
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