Buurt Boules | The Sunday that connects through play
Buurt Boules - The Sunday that connects through play
Buurt Boules - The Sunday that connects through play
Buurt Boules - The Sunday that connects through play
From November 1, play and hospitality venue Mooie Boules will open the doors of its locations in Delft and Utrecht free of charge to all local residents every Sunday afternoon from 12 pm to 4 pm. Together with the Mooie Buurt foundation, Mooie Boules is launching the ‘Buurt Boules’ (Neighbourhood Boules) initiative. All games, coffee, tea and lemonade are free, and no reservation is needed.
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Mooie Boules launches Buurt Boules together with the Mooie Buurt foundation
The aim is to bring people from the neighbourhood together in an accessible way. Whether you’re a star on the jeu de boules court (or not), prefer a game of ping pong or a board game, or tend to land your darts beside the board rather than on it: everyone, young and old, is welcome to walk in, play and meet new people in the locations of Mooie Boules Delft and Utrecht.
Buurt Boules | The Sunday that connects through play
Better a good neighbourhood than a distant friend
What began three years ago as a weekday games afternoon for older people and children who couldn’t go on holiday has grown into the Mooie Buurt foundation (Great Neighbourhood). Jesse van der Meulen and Rogier van Genugten, the entrepreneurs behind Mooie Boules’ nine play and hospitality venues, have organised more than 350 activities with the foundation for around 8,000 visitors. This resulted in more than 40,000 encounters. The impact measurements of the pilot showed that participants met an average of five people they didn’t know before.
“The places where you can bump into people are becoming scarcer. Community centres are closing, associations are ageing, and going out for a quick coffee is no longer an option for many people. We have such places, but on Sunday afternoons they’re only half full. All we do is take the price off and put someone there to welcome you,” says Rogier van Genugten, besides founder also ‘chief of joy’.
Jesse van der Meulen adds: “A game and a cup of coffee are really enough. You don’t need to be good at anything or know anyone. If the neighbourhood wants to make more of it, such as a book club or oliebollen (traditional Dutch doughnuts) on the last Sunday of the year, we’re happy to make that possible. Then it’s no longer the afternoon of Mooie Boules, but theirs.”
Malou van Nieuwkoop, director of the Mooie Buurt foundation: “We’ve been working with organisations in the neighbourhood and the city for three years, but always with one group at a time and during weekday daytimes. On Sundays, those groups meet each other and anyone can simply walk in. You should be able to come in on your own here without being alone.”
If the initiative proves a hit, it may be rolled out to the other Mooie Boules locations in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, Haarlem and Eindhoven.
Buurt Boules details
No reservation or experience with the games is needed, and everyone is welcome to walk in. All games (including jeu de boules, sjoelen, shuffleboard and karaoke), coffee, tea and lemonade are free until 4 pm. Addresses: Mooie Boules Delft, Professor Schermerhornstraat 9, and Mooie Boules Utrecht, Steenovenweg 1. For more information, visit the Buurt Boules website.
Website: Buurt Boules
