Between May 7 and August 14, 2022, every day during the 100-day Arcadia cultural program, Happiness delayed of Leeuwarden UNESCO City of Literature brings a new story to a different, paradisiacal spot in Fryslân.
100 days, 100 stories, 100 locations
The central theme: the search for beauty during and after the pandemic. What gives us courage, what seeds do we sow for the future?
Annelies Verbeke, Elke Geurts, Etgar Keret (Israel), Gerda Blees, Joke van Leeuwen, Koos Tiemersma, Marek Šindelka (Czech Republic), Nyk de Vries, Pilar Quintana (Colombia), Thomas Verbogt and ninety other authors have all written a new short story about their idea of paradise.
The stories are being told by fifteen professional storytellers. In the backyards of the Frisians, in vegetable gardens, in gardens of states and ‘stinzen’, in tea- and flowergardens and in festival sites. They read the stories in Dutch, Frisian or English.
The source of inspiration is the fourteenth-century masterpiece by the Italian poet and scholar Boccaccio: the Decameron. A collection of one hundred stories, told in ten days by ten young people fleeing the plague.
Just as they did then, we now tell each other stories to pass the time, to entertain each other, to reflect on the misery. But also – and above all – to find some beauty and happiness again.
Information
* Happiness delayed is freely accessible;
* Come spontaneously, we do not work with reservations or registration
* Full is full;
* Bring your own garden chair or blanket;
* Dress for the occasion: an outside event;
* With welcome, introduction, the story, discussion and a garden tour the duration of the programme is about one hour (at festivals the programme takes less time);
* After the live readings, the stories can also be read and listened to on the website.
