NYC And The Kingdom Of The Netherlands Announce NY400 Week

NEW YORK CITY AND THE KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS ANNOUNCE NY400 WEEK AND INVITE RESIDENTS AND VISITORS TO PARTICIPATE IN SIX DAYS OF FESTIVALS AND EVENTS SEPTEMBER 8 TO 13

�NYC & Company Unveils New NY400 Holland on the Hudson Visitor Guide and Debuts New Taxicab Ads to Commemorate NY400 Week�

�NY 400 Week Culminates with Fist-Ever Harbor Day on Sunday,September 13 with Celebrations on Six Scenic Waterfront Sites�

New York City (September 3, 2009) � Ambassador of the Netherlands Ren�e Jones-Bos and NYC & Company CEO George Fertitta were today joined by partners of the City�s tourism industry to preview NY400 Week, a weeklong calendar of festivals and events taking place Sept. 8-13 in New York City. The week will be highlighted by a unique six-day visit of Their Royal Highnesses the Prince of Orange and Princess M�xima of the Netherlands. Officials also today unveiled a new official NY400 Holland on the Hudson visitor guide and screened a new taxicab ad that will be used to further promote the activities surrounding NY400 Week to residents and visitors. The week-long celebration marks the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson�s arrival on the Dutch ship �Half Moon� to the shores of what is now New York City. It celebrates the free spirit, openness, entrepreneurship and tolerance of those Dutch-American pioneers and their continued relevance today and beyond. A full listing of events can be found at nycgo.com/nyc400 or ny400.org.

On Tuesday, September 8 at 9am onboard the Intrepid, NY400 Week will kick off with a 21-gun salute and a parade of Dutch ships and a 75-piece Royal Navy band. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg will be joined by Their Royal Highnesses the Prince of Orange and Princess M�xima of the Netherlands, officially marking the start of the week. The royal couple will participate in NY400 events including the week�s culminating event, Harbor Day, on Sunday, September 13.

�We are proud to host NY400 Week, a weeklong celebration to commemorate the strong cultural and commercial ties between New York City and the Netherlands�both now and into the future,� said George Fertitta, NYC & Company�s CEO. �New York City and the City of Amsterdam have created a unique opportunity for cultural exchange, and NY400 Week is the perfect avenue for visitors and residents to experience this connection first hand.�

�We very much look forward to the week�s festivities" said Dutch Ambassador Ren�e Jones-Bos. �I encourage all New Yorkers to join in the celebrations as we showcase our shared history and vision of the future. This week will bring to New York City some of the best that we have to offer in architecture, theatre, design, food and on water. The United States and the Netherlands: two countries, one spirit, united by values, history and a vision of the future."

The week includes events and activities across the five boroughs and along New York City�s waterfront that focus on Dutch arts, design, performing arts and architecture, and Dutch expertise in water management, maritime industries, finance and clean energy. New Yorkers and visitors alike can enjoy access to free NY400 bikes and water taxis, as well as multiple outdoor activities and live performances, including the first-ever New Island Festival.

The new NY400 Holland on the Hudson visitor guide provides comprehensive information on the week�s festivals and events. It also highlights ongoing events at cultural attractions throughout the City, including the Brooklyn Museum, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Arts and Design, the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA), the Museum of the City of New York, and the Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden.

A new :30 second taxicab ad will debut in taxicabs throughout New York City to further highlight NY400 Week, Harbor Day, and the roster of free events and entertainment taking place throughout the week.

Additionally, NYC & Company will deploy street teams throughout the City to further encourage residents and visitors to take part in NY400 Week. Street teams will be in Manhattan on Sept. 3, Sept. 9 and Sept. 10 at the following locations: Grand Central, Times Square, Penn Station, World Trade Center PATH station, Union Square, Staten Island Ferry (Manhattan side), and South Street Seaport.

A list of some of the highlights of the week�s festivals and events follow (please refer to the NY400 guide for complete details).

FESTIVALS:

Harbor Day Sun., Sept. 13
Citywide
Festivities span six major waterfront sites -- The Battery, Battery Park City, Hudson River Park, Governors Island, Brooklyn Bridge Park and Snug Harbor � all linked by free rental bikes and hop-on/hop-off boat service. At each site, food, drink, entertainment and activities will commemorate this special moment in New York City history. Highlights include: a flotilla of modern and historic Dutch and American yachts and sailing vessels (the Holland on the Hudson flotilla will include a colorful assortment of historic Dutch and American yachts and sailboats, with Dutch flat-bottomed boats, the replicas of the Halve Maen (the Dutch ship that moored off Manhattan in 1609) and Onrust (the first European ship to be built in North America, in 1614), two Dutch naval frigates HNLMS �Tromp' and �Van Speijk', and �Flying Dutchman' sailboats. Visitors will be able to catch all the action on video screens set up at the Battery); the Hudson River Park Oyster Festival; Harmony on the Hudson � a family music festival; children�s bike clinics at Brooklyn Bridge Plaza; Brooklyn Flea under the Manhattan Archway; kayaking; paddle boating; and much more. Check www.nycgo.com/harborday for times and updates.

New Island Festival Thurs., Sept. 10 � Sun., Sept. 13 & Thurs., Sept. 17� Sun., Sept. 20.
Governors Island � Take the ferry from the Battery Maritime Building located adjacent to the Staten Island Ferry in lower Manhattan.
Direct from Holland, the festival includes concerts, DJ sets, provocative theatre and dazzling visual arts by world class Dutch performers. Check out the U.S. premiere of Silent Disco � a joyous dance party where all the participants wear headphones. More than 150 artists are expected to perform at the Festival. Visit newislandfestival.com for more details, festival hours and directions.

Pioneers of Change
Governors Island Fri., Sept. 11, 10am-5pm; Sat.-Sun., Sept 12-13, 10am-6:15pm, Fri., Sept. 18, 10am-5pm, Sat.-Sun, Sept 19-20, 10am-6:15pm
Henry Hudson's exploration paved the way for great change, and today's Dutch artists, designers and architects are doing the same. This event�held in and around eleven Officer houses at Nolan Park�highlights the creative repair, recycling and re-use of discarded building materials, along with other innovative approaches to sustainable living. For more details visit pioneersofchange.com.

SPECIAL EVENTS:

New Amsterdam Village Fri., Sept 4 � Mon., Sept. 14, 11am-7pm
Bowling Green Park, at Broadway and Whitehall Streets, Manhattan
Consisting of 12 traditional Dutch houses and a demonstration greenhouse, the New Amsterdam Village will showcase Dutch agricultural products and traditional crafts. Adding a traditional Dutch touch, a life-size windmill will be on hand and a green roof will be erected. Visitors can sample and buy Dutch food, view demonstrations of wooden shoe making and glass blowing and discover Dutch floriculture products. Daily activities on the open air stage will include traditional Dutch costume shows, culinary demonstrations, floral workshops, Dutch music and more.

Bike NYC -- Ride Dutch Bike for Free Tues., Sept. 8 � Sat., Sept. 12, 11am-7pm
Bowling Green Park, between Broadway and Beaver Street, Manhattan
Bright orange NY400 bicycles will be available to the public to ride for free on a limited basis during NY400 week until Saturday evening. Experience the typical Dutch way to get around town and ride your Dutch bike to NY400 week events.

Flying Dutchman Sailing Race Tues., Sept. 8-Thurs., Sept. 10, 11am-5pm & Sat., Sept. 12, 10am-2pm & 3-4pm
South of Governors Island
Best viewed from southern tip picnic area on Governors Island.*
Sixty sailboats, representing 14 countries, compete in championship races. *Course will vary based on wind conditions. Visit ny400.org for daily updates.

Replica of the Half Moon Wed., Sept. 9, 11am-3pm
Battery Park, Manhattan
The only existing replica of Henry Hudson's Halve Maen annually re-traces the ship�s original 1609 voyage�which laid the foundation for the New Netherland colony and modern day New York City. Visit the ship and meet its crew.

Vermeer�s Masterpiece The Milkmaid Opens Thurs., Sept. 10
Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 Fifth Avenue at 82nd Street, Manhattan
In honor of NY400, Amsterdam�s Rijksmuseum has loaned Vermeer�s most admired work�The Milkmaid�to the Met. It's the first time The Milkmaid has been in the U.S since the 1939 New York World's Fair. Several other paintings by Vermeer and fellow Dutch masters round out the exhibition.

Open House - Royal Netherlands Navy and NATO Ships Sat., Sept. 12, 10am-3pm
Brooklyn Marine Terminal, Piers 7 & 8, Brooklyn
Explore royal Netherlands naval frigates and NATO ships and enjoy live music from the Royal Netherlands Navy Band during this �open decks open house.�

Replica of the Onrust Sept. 9 to Sept. 12 , 11am-5pm Hudson River Park at Pier 84 (12th Avenue and 44th Street, Manhattan The Onrust was the first Dutch-built trading and exploration vessel in America, constructed in 1614 by Captain Adriaen Block and his crew after their original ship burned. Volunteers will demonstrate how the crew survived by using local resources and shipbuilding skills.

ING presents Dutch Dance DJ Event Sat. Sept. 12, 2pm-5pm
NY Water Taxi Beach, Governors Island
Dutch DJ supplies the tunes and the Manhattan skyline is the perfect backdrop for an unforgettable day of dancing. Pre-registration is required; check newislandfestival.com for more details beginning September 6.

New Amsterdam: The Island at the Center of the World Opens Sun. Sept. 13, 10am-6pm
South Street Seaport Museum, 12 Fulton Street, bet. Front and Water Streets, Manhattan
Presented in conjunction with the Dutch National Archives, the exhibit includes the 1626 letter that notes the purchase of Manhattan for goods worth 60 guilders. Also, examine rare maps, plans and watercolors of what would become NYC, many of which have never before been seen in the United States.

In & Out of Amsterdam: Travels in Conceptual Art, 1960�1976
Through Oct. 5
The Museum of Modern Art, 11 West 53rd St, Manhattan
This exhibition examines approximately 120 works by artists of different nationalities relating to travel and the city of Amsterdam, which was the nexus of intense art activities in the 1960s and 1970s, when artists converged there from elsewhere in Europe and from the United States. Hanne Darboven, Gilbert & George, Charlotte Posenenske, Allen Ruppersberg, and Lawrence Weiner, among others, spent considerable amounts of time in Amsterdam and often produced works in direct relation to the city. Reciprocally, some of the most influential Dutch artists traveled extensively abroad before establishing themselves in Amsterdam: Jan Dibbets studied in London, while Ger van Elk trained in Los Angeles, where he paradoxically met his fellow countryman Bas Jan Ader.

Amsterdam/New Amsterdam: The Worlds of Henry Hudson, Through Sept. 27,
Museum of the City of New York, 1220 Fifth Avenue, Manhattan
Explore the Dutch influence on the City's history through documents, images and objects that shed light on the Dutch Republic's embrace of diversity, its complex relationship with the peoples of New Amsterdam and the enduring physical and cultural mark it has left on today's NYC.

Mannahatta/Manhattan: A Natural History of New York City, Through
Oct. 12,
Museum of the City of New York, 1220 Fifth Avenue, Manhattan
Through interactive, digital and photographic means, this exhibition, presented in cooperation with the Wildlife Conservation Society, will take the viewer on a virtual tour of a vision of New York City as Henry Hudson and early Dutch explorers encountered it in 1609.

Dutch Seen: New York Rediscovered, Through Sept. 13
Museum of the City of New York, 1220 Fifth Avenue, Manhattan
Guest curated by Kathy Ryan, photo editor of The New York Times Magazine, this exhibit features stunning contemporary photography by modern Dutch masters working in New York City. The photographs on view will explore diversity, toleration and humanism�the values shared by New York City and its ancestral founder, Holland�while reflecting aesthetic traditions in Dutch art, from the old masters to the contemporary newsmakers.

Lost & Found Sept. 9, 7pm (doors open at 6:30pm)
New Museum, 235 Bowery, Manhattan
Lost & Found is a night of stray images and sounds. The program consists of audio visual presentations by artists, writers, poets and musicians and is compiled from received and selected material by artist Constant Dullaart and curator / editor Julia van Mourik. Submissions to the program are welcome. Please send your material to found@lost.nl

Lost & Found was initiated in Amsterdam in 1997. The idea arose from an urge to show material by artists, writers, poets and musicians which doesn't fit comfortably in the gallery; work which demands more concentration than the usual walk-by, or seems out of place anywhere.

Creative Amsterdam Pop Up Store, Sept. 10-13
Chelsea Market, 75 9th Avenue (Between 15th and 16th Street), Manhattan
A Pop Up Store carrying a selection of Amsterdam Comtemporary Culture
By Streetlab and My Little Underground, curated by Femke Dekker
The Pop Up Store introduces new Dutch counter-culture into the heart of New York City�s creative scene. Functioning as an exhibition space, a shop, studio and an auditorium, the Pop Up Store will exhibit new work by upcoming young Dutch artists, which will be sold to the public but also be presented to businesses and professionals. Artists involved are amongst others fashion designers And Beyond and LEW, illustrator and artist Parra, graphic designers Experimental Jetset, photographers Danielle van Ark and Jolijn Snijders and sneakerbrand Patta.

About NYC & Company:

NYC & Company is the official marketing, tourism and partnership organization for the City of New York, dedicated to maximizing travel and tourism opportunities throughout the five boroughs, building economic prosperity and spreading the positive image of New York City worldwide.

About NY400:
NY400 is the result of an initiative by the Dutch Government in close co-operation with Dutch local and provincial authorities, with New York City and New York State, and with active participation of a great number of organizations from the private, cultural and not-for-profit sectors.

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For Press Inquiries please contact Kimberly Spell/ Chris Heywood (NYC & COmpany) at 212.484.1270 or Marjan Inbar (Consulate General of The Netherlands) at 646.557.2217