Summer Events in Amsterdam
Summer is a truly tourist season in the life of Amsterdam. While the Dutch leave for their holidays in the south of Europe and especially in August the town feels almost deserted, thousands of visitors arrive. Probably the most attractive event is the Grachtenfestival held in mid-August - The Festival at the Canals with the whole series of concerts and shows, culminating with the big concert on the boats on Prinsengracht, just in front of the Pulitzer hotel. Not only musicians play and sing on the especially built construction on barges, but the members of audience arrive by boats. Visitors also listen to the live echoed by water music from the canal banks and nearby bridges.
June Amsterdam Events
Holland Festival
3 June - 25 June
Largest international artistic festival established in 1947, and taking place each year in Amsterdam. It covers wide scope of cultural events from the fields of theater, opera, music and dance and additionally always brings interesting films and artistic shows.
Taste of Amsterdam
2 June - 5 June 
A culinary festival during the prolonged weekend. Exhibition stands in the park with good food from the renowned Amstelpark restaurants. An occasion to meet their chefs and to drink a glass of good wine or champagne enjoying another of pleasurable events in Amsterdam
Dutch Raw Food Festival
Sunday, 18 June
Located at the Langerlust farm at the Gaasperplas lake the Annual Raw Food Festival offers workshops, markets and lectures on the naturally grown raw food theme. You are able to try gourmet raw cuisine, juices and wheatgrass. Talk about natural lifestyle and buy fresh organic products. In the evening the raw food chef's dinner closes the event.
Amsterdam Day of Architecture
17 June - 18 June 
An event held during one weekend promoting Amsterdam modern architecture. During The Amsterdam Day of Architecture (Dutch: Dag Van de Architectuur Amsterdam) the guided tours are organized to show and tell the story of Amsterdam newest architecture and to present the future changes of the city. Most interesting are boat tours where you may see how Amsterdam remains the city constructed at the water areas. Also a special bicycle visiting route is charted along the most interesting new buildings, with a possibility to visit them inside on Sunday.
http://www.dagvandearchitectuuramsterdam.nl
The Open Garden Days (Open Tuin Dagen)
third weekend of June each year: 16 June, 17 June and 18 June
Amsterdam’s gardens are perhaps its best kept secret as they’re rarely visible from the street. For this Amsterdam events weekend you can visit around 30 gardens, some of which are private gardens. You can buy one ticket that gives you entry to all the gardens, and there is a special canal boat to take you from one place to another.
Amsterdam Roots Festival
21 - 25 June 
Each summer these Amsterdam events present a wide range of global music and non-western culture. For over 7 days in June, the audience is offered a selection of performances, masterclasses and special projects.
International Theatre School Festival – ITS
dates for the festival are not known
The ITS festival presents the work of young theatre makers, students of theatre schools from the Netherlands and some chosen European countries, different each year. During the event, not only theatre productions but also mime shows, dance performances as well as operas by young artists are presented. Workshops and attractive parties accompany the event.
July Amsterdam Events
BlijBurg
June - July
Bring a picnic and a bucket and spade to Blijburg or 'Happyville,' a man-made temporary swimming beach nearby the Ijbrug at the Ij Lake, complete with a funky restaurant–bar, DJs and bands. Just check the weather in advance!
www.blijburg.nl
Nachtrit Amsterdam
mid-July each year: 8 July 
The view is unique - an evening parade of 55 horse carriages, some of them big stagecoaches with luggage on top and passengers inside, all dressed as 150 years ago, riding in a fast tempo through the Old City of Amsterdam. Each year in the middle of summer, Amsterdam Society of Equipages (Dutch: Hoofdstad Aanspanning) organises their Nachtrit (The Night Ride) of the historical horse carriages through the city. All participants of the ride, with invited guests a hundred of them, stop at one of the city old squares to show the authenticity of their carriages, beauty of hundreds of their horses and their own elegance. Check the society website for the program - although only in Dutch it will give you an exact route of the parade and its hourly program.
www.hoofdstadaanspanning.nl
Kwakoe Zomer Festival
15 July - 6 August
'Kwakoe' is a weekend event that takes place every Saturday and Sunday, 10am – 8pm in July and August. In Dutch terms, that makes for about 20 days of pure dancing, eating and anything else in between. Wind down on a hot summers day with theatre, music, film, literature, sport and everything on offer at this very buzzing multicultural and family-oriented festival. The admission is € 2.50.
Robeco Summer Nights Concerts (Robeco Zomerconcerten)
July – August
Each summer, informal and entertaining classical music concerts - the Robeco Zomerconcerten take place at the prestigious site of the Amsterdam Concertgebouw. The Summer Nights Concerts are sponsored, so the tickets are relatively inexpensive – they start at € 12,50. This is an excellent opportunity to listen to classical music in one of the world’s most famous philharmonic halls.
August Amsterdam Events
Gay Pride
23 July - 6 August
The Gay pride festival presents an extensive programme with sports, cultural activities and parties. The highlight of the Amsterdam Gay Pride is the canal parade on 23 of August, which is a carnivalesque, cultural and slightly naughty boat parade through Amsterdam's canals.
www.amsterdamgaypride.nl
Gay Pride Canal Parade
Culmination of the Gay Pride Festival: Canal Gay Parade will be on Saturday 5 August ; beginning at 2 PM
De Parade Theater Festival
each year 17 days in the summer: 11 August – 27 August 
The festival, which travel through the big cities of the Netherlands usually at the end of summer ending its cycle at Amsterdam events. In especially constructed colorful theater tents set up in one of the city parks, small theater and circus groups, comedians and magicians give performance addressed mainly to the young audience. During 17 days around 70 performances will be given.
Grachtenfestival
11 August - 20 August
For ten days, special places in the heart of Amsterdam form the backdrop for more than 80 classical music and jazz concerts. The concerts can be enjoyed in houses and gardens of hospitable local inhabitants and in concert halls, historic buildings, museums and out of doors in the area around Prinsengracht.
Prinsengracht concert
third weekend of August each year: Saturday, 19 August
A traditional open air classical music concert held every year on Prinsengracht canal, on a temporary built stage directly on the canal’s water. Spectators traditionally arrive on their boats with wine and snacks. Unique atmosphere, especially after the fall of the darkness.
Pluk De Nacht – Open Air Film Festival
August each year
An open air film festival taking place at two youth clubs, Het Stenen Hoofd and Studio K. Both clubs have restaurants and bars and in case of cold evening they do supply blankets for these Amsterdam events. If it rains, the screenings move inside. The selection includes by and large never widely released indie films, known only from some film festivals, but also experimental shorts and unknown pieces of archival footage. Entry at Pluk De Nacht is free.
Sail Amsterdam
August 2020
SAIL Amsterdam is a large maritime manifestation that takes place every 5 years. For six days, of this events in Amsterdam the city will be a vibrant exhibition of historic ships and nautical heritage. About 20 tall ships are expected in Amsterdam harbour, together with 500 historic sailing and motorboats.
Uitmarkt
last weekend of August: 29 August - 30 August 
Considered to be the largest of cultural events in Amsterdam, the Uitmarkt is definitely worth a visit. Organized every year during the last weekend of August, it celebrates the official opening of the Dutch Cultural season and offers performances, concerts, exhibitions, drama, countless workshops and a book market. And if you are in doubt, the entrance is free.
Venue: Oosterdok area of Amsterdam