More than 3,000 kilograms of pepernoten and strooigoed were packed into individual bags by dozens of volunteers on a Thursday evening in Amsterdam, ensuring the annual Sinterklaas entry proceeds despite recent setbacks, De Telegraaf reported.
Kim directed the packing effort, noting that volunteers tied every bag securely. “There shouldn’t be a knot in it, because we won’t be able to open it with our gloves during the arrival,” Kim told De Telegraaf. The volunteer team packed 3,300 kilos of treats in just 90 minutes for children watching the route. Municipal cleaning costs prevent traditional street scattering, prompting the Pieten to carry landing nets for spectators standing in the back rows, De Telegraaf reported.
An additional 500 kilos of strooigoed is designated for hospitals, emergency shelters, and social institutions across the capital. A total of 1,000 volunteers support the Amsterdam Sinterklaas tradition, including 200 Pieten scheduled for Sunday. These performers required emergency replacement costumes after a laundry facility fire destroyed their custom-made, hand-detailed outfits, De Telegraaf reported. Donations exceeding 10,000 euros funded the replacement garments, which included a 1,500-euro contribution from a pot of mayor Femke Halsema.
The official arrival begins Sunday at 10:15 when the steamboat navigates the Amstel toward the Scheepvaartmuseum, where Sinterklaas steps ashore at 11:30, according to De Telegraaf. A city procession runs from 13:00 to 17:00. Ahead of the main city event, Sinterklaas and the Pieten arrived by boat at Appelweg on Saturday morning before holding a procession through Tuindorp Oostzaan, NH Nieuws reported.
That neighborhood tour concluded at Zonneplein around 14:00, followed by a children’s disco at 15:00. “I can tell you that all the presents came along,” Sinterklaas told NH Nieuws, adding that local children behaved exceptionally well this year. AT5 said that regional programming also covered local municipal developments alongside the weekend festivities. “As long as we keep believing in it, the children will keep believing in it,” Kim told De Telegraaf.
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