Brussels in English

The barracks in Ixelles have opened up to the public this weekend for the first time ever. See U is the largest temporary use project in Brussels. It features a movie theatre, organic market, exhibition spaces, workshops and much more. This weekend was the big opening party. Organiser Jonathan Ectors tells us more.

You might not associate the Schuman roundabout with the smell of freshly baked bread.  But that’ll be different next Saturday as the Bread Festival returns to the heart of the European quarter. It is happening simultaneously with Europe Day when the EU institutions open their doors to public. Marion Wolfers of Schuman Square tells us about this year’s edition.

Relay for Life is a global movement to raise money for the fight against cancer.  Team members of all ages take it in turns to run or walk around a track for 24 hours. Brussels’ international community organises one in Waterloo every year  - and Roberto Martinez, coach of the Belgian Red Devils, will be the patron of this year’s event and will be present for the opening ceremony on Saturday at 14....

Marking 450 years since his death, a year-long programme of events is celebrating the life and times of Renaissance artist Pieter Bruegel the Elder. Lisa Bradshaw from Flanders Today has the details.

The 22nd Brussels Short Film festival arrives with films in competition from 32 countries on six continents, as well as new programs and old favorites. Co-founder Celine Masset tells us all about it and we also hear excerpts from nine movies. www.bsff.be

While the Hallerbos in Halle, Flemish Brabant, is the most famous place in Flanders to see bluebells every spring, there are several other forests that are home to the beautiful bright blooms. Lisa from Flanders Today explains more.

The Art et Marges Museum, Brussels' Outsider Art museum is presenting Intergalactic Encounters by artists Serge Delaunay and AndréRobillard. Museum Director Coline De Reymaeker tells us what to expect. Musical excerpts are from the exhibition soundtrack by Robillard et les Endimanchés. Through 9 June www.artetmarges.be

On Saturday 11 May at 5.00 in the morning, thousands of people around the world will walk through the darkness of night towards the dawning light of day. Mental health is the theme of the Darkness into Light walk. The money raised will benefit three suicide and self-harm prevention charities. And the aim of Darkness into Light is to allow everyone to play a part in removing the stigma around suici...

If you would like to get your weekly food supply from small organic businesses: farmers, bakers, sweet-makers, mustard and vinegar-makers, fishermen and butchers, eFarmz can be your fresh connection. You order online and they deliver to your door. Muriel Bernard, founder, explains how it works. www.efarmz.be

A special edition of the world’s most popular board game will be launching in September. This Brussels version of Monopoly will feature new street names, venues and squares to match those of Brussels. The game will be made in French, Dutch and English.

We visit the little Montmartre of Brussels. You would be forgiven for not noticing the Ateliers Mommen, a beautiful ensemble of 19th century buildings, in Saint Josse. The Ateliers Mommen is the last of the 19th century cité des artistes still active in Brussels. We hear going to hear from three of its residents, starting with British artist Anthony Oliver.

Brussels by Designers is a guidebook unlike any other: it is not time sensitive and the content is entirely different every year. For each edition four designers are asked to give us their favorite places to eat, drink, visit, shop and sleep in Brussels. Once a place is mentioned it can’t reappear in later editions so each guide is all new. Philippine Nicaise, in charge of fashion and design for V...

Talk Cosmic to Me wants to show you that learning about space does not have to be rocket science.  It’s a free bimonthly discussion about space -each time in a different Brussels pub. We meet Celine Baillieux, one of the organisers, to find out more. https://www.facebook.com/talkcosmictome/

Part of the Klara Music Festival , the Klara Festival Box is a 15m² glass cube which holds one or two musicians, a piano and up to three spectators. The cube is set up in outdoor public spaces during the festival and offers fifteen minute mini-concerts including time to speak with the performers. We recorded one of the concerts, spoke with cellist Sara Gabalawi and with the audience: American expa...

The directors of La Monnaie, KVS and Théâtre National are jumping the political and linguistic barriers to get their audiences mingling. Lisa from Flanders Today explains more.

The Banad (Brussels Art Nouveau & Art Deco) festival gets you through the doors of some of those impressive facades you pass on the street every day. Tours of these private homes are just the beginning; there are also talks, workshops and family activities around these historical interiors, their architects and their original residents, much of it in English. Melanie Saussez of Explore Brussel...

Noah's Train, the longest mobile artwork in the world, has arrived at its last stop on its inaugural tour, the Schaerbeek Station. Geert Pauwels, CEO of Lineas explains the message that is being conveyed by this special freight train. Belgian artists Rise One (Yvon Tordoir) and SMOK (Bart Boudewijns) tell us what they painted and why. The train was on display for the public to visit in Schaerbeek...

Brussels expat Sarah Ehrlich has started a campaign to ask Belgium's cafés and restaurants to let their customers choose between bottled water and free tap water. In UK, France and Italy, this is done without question at any catering establishment. But after living in Belgium for 16 years, Ehrlich says she has only been to one place where this simple request has been obliged. https://www.facebook....

For the second time round, Black History Month is coming to Belgium. This celebration of all things black is concentrated on Antwerp, with more than 20 events organised at cultural venues across the city, but select events are also planned in Brussels, Vilvoorde and Mechelen.  One of the event’s organisers, Animata Ndow tells us more.

Belgian animator Britt Raes, whose short film Catherine (see it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8--ssYxXjvQ&t=4s ) has been selected by over 200 festivals and garnered over 50 awards, explains the delicate balance she had to maintain to make a funny movie about a dark subject. She will be participating in a seminar at Anima Festival Tuesday March 5th on how to turn one's education into a...

Ride-share bike and scooter companies have been popping up all over Brussels recently. Although they might seem like a good idea, and a lot of fun, they’re causing problems for people with disabilities. We spoke with Alejandro Moledo from the European Disability Forum to find out more.

The Dominican Republic is proud of its organic, free trade, high quality chocolate. Chocolate is the republic's number two export to the EU, 30% of which is imported into Belgium. Abel Fernandez, Commercial Manager of Grupo Conacado, and Leonel Mateo Hernandez, Counsellor for Economic and Commercial Affairs at the Dominican Embassy give us the details on the industry and their participation in thi...

One of the most heartening moments visiting Choco Story, the new iteration of Brussels' oldest chocolate museum, is when we find out how good chocolate is for our health. It diminishes the risk of a stroke, stimulates vigilance, slows fatigue and works as an anti-depressant, decreases the risk of cardiac attack, ensures optimal circulation in the vascular system, keeps the heart in good condition,...

Refugees for Refugees is made up of 10 experienced musicians from six different countries - Syria, Tibet, Pakistan, Iraq, Afghanistan and Belgium. The majority of them are refugees who have been displaced by disasters or conflicts in their home countries. They’ve just released their second album with a concert at the AB - and we went along to meet them.

Mondo Cane was a scandalous Italian documentary movie of the early 1960s which consisted of totally unrelated segments ranging from pet cemeteries in California to ornamentally arranged monk's bones in Rome to women in New Guinea nursing piglets. Flemish artists Jos de Gruyter and Harald Thys and curator Anne-Claire Schmitz have now used the Mondo Cane concept as a basis for this year’s Belgian Pa...