Home » City Guide » , , ,

One of SF’s Giant Windmills is Turning Back on Today

Golden Gate Park’s Murphy Windmill (the largest in the world when it was built in 1908) will be turned back on for the Dutch “Kings Day” celebration on April 30th.
By - posted 4/30/2022 No Comment

Normally the Murphy Windmill (the largest in the world when it was built in 1908) sits majestically, but silently watching over the southwest corner of Golden Gate Park which no longer needs it to pump the 40,000 gallons of water a day it used to before electric pumps took all the glory.

But on April 30, 2022 the brakes come off and the windmill will turn once again in honor of “Kings Day,” an annual festival celebrating Dutch culture and traditions.

It all starts (of course) with an orange-clad bike ride through the park starting at 10:30 a.m. and ends with a big picnic underneath the windmill with vendors selling Dutch beer, stroopwafels and pickled herring, a kid’s toy exchange (called a “Vrijmarkt”) and traditional Dutch children’s games like zaklopen, spijkerpoepen and kroonwerpen.

Saturday, April 30, Noon – 5 p.m., Murphy Windmill, Golden Gate Park, S.F., Free. sforanjecomite.com

The Dutch community in San Francisco invites you to celebrate King’s Day 2022 near the Murphy Windmill on the south end of Golden Gate Park to celebrate Dutch culture and traditions, including traditional Dutch games, flea market, Dutch food, beer, music & more.

2022 King’s Day
Saturday, April 30, 2022 | Noon – 5 pm
Murphy Windmill, Golden Gate Park
FREE – donations are appreciated

The festival is located at the Murphy Windmill in the south west corner of Golden Gate Park near MLK Jr. Drive and Lincoln Way.

RSVP on Facebook

Wear Orange: The Netherlands’ national color is orange because the Dutch monarchy is the “House of Orange.” You will see it in abundance on King’s Day, so grab all of the orange you have in your closet (dust off that Halloween and Giants gear).

Dutch King’s Day San Francisco is a day to celebrate the birthday of the Dutch King, Willem Alexander van Oranje. You can call it a phenomenal street party where a crowd of over 3,000 young and old, has “orange fever.”

There is music, multiple ‘Typically Dutch’ activities and food trucks that offer Dutch delicacies. Dutch King’s Day San Francisco is a day not just for Dutch expats or Dutch Americans, but a celebration to share with the Dutch San Francisco Bay Area community and beyond.

2022 Dutch King’s Day Activities

Ride Your Bike!

10.30am-noon: Orange Bicycle Ride
REGISTER NOW!

Celebrate Dutch King’s Day and join this free group bike ride. Wear orange, bring your bicycle, and be ready for a fun group ride in celebration of King’s Day! This FREE event is for ages 12 and up. 

  • 10.30 AM: Gather at Queen Wilhelmina Windmill (Dutch Windmill)
  • 12.30 PM: Ride ends at the Murphy Windmill

Children’s Toy Exchange!

noon-5pm: Vrijmarkt
REGISTER NOW!

Email us if your kids want to put down a blanket on the grass at the foot of the windmill and showcase their used books, toys, games, and more at this Dutch-style toy exchange, called “Vrijmarkt”? The kids a are also invited to perform singing or playing an instrument.

Volunteer!

Help make it happen and volunteer for an hour or more!
REGISTER NOW!

Decoration/Set up Crew, King’s Day Ambassador, Photographer, Clean up crew

Play!

1pm-3pm: Dutch Children’s Games

The Dutch School Silicon Valley coordinates Traditional Dutch Children’s Games from 1-3pm. Prepare for some traditional Dutch games like: zaklopen, spijkerpoepen, kroonwerpen, kloslopen, ezeltje prik and memory.

Eat!

Enjoy Dutch favorites at the various food trucks:

  • · Oma’s Puffers – Micro pancakes (poffertjes)
  • · Dutchman’s Stroopwafels – syrup waffles
  • · Efi’s Dutch-indo kitchen – ‘bitterballen’, Kroketten
  • · ZoomCaffee – Coffee
  • · Mobowl – sateh, pickled herring

And more to come…..