March 2015

• Dries Van Noten's Inspirations
• ACB Joins Forces with the American Women's Club
• Dates to Remember
• Final Friday February
• A Guided Tour of the Coudenberg Palace
• A Guided Visit to the Magritte Museum
• Irish Club's St. Patrick's Day Ball
• American Financial Forum
• Final Friday March
• Expat Club Events
  – Bastogne WWII Battlefields
  – Verdun WWI Battlefields
• Corporate Profile: Expat Club

Return to Top  

Dries Van Noten’s Inspirations

Dries Van Noten discloses his oeuvre for the first time in his career as a designer in an exhibition entitled “Inspirations” at the ModeMuseum in Antwerp. Join your fellow ACB members for a fascinating journey through Van Noten’s creative process, the opposite of a static retrospective!
 
The exhibition brings together various artistic fields to illustrate Van Noten’s distinctive techniques and stylistic vocabulary. Explore the role of the decorative and fine arts, historical events, ethnic influences, cinema –and, of course, fashion design– as the inspiration for Van Noten’s collections. The exhibition range includes works by Picasso and Hirst as well as iconic fashion from Christian Dior and Schaparelli. Be inspired. Be amazed.
 
Please note that this tour is limited to 20 persons.
 
An optional lunch will be held after the tour at the charming, traditional La Porte restaurant, located in a lovely courtyard off Kloosterstraat (known for its antiques and vintage shops).
 
The lunch menu will be:

If you are joining us for lunch, please indicate your choice of main course when registering.
 
Event Details:
Date: Saturday, March 21, 2015
Time:
– 11:00 a.m. for the tour (Note: please meet in the MOMU lobby at 10:45 a.m.!)
– 12:45 p.m. lunch
Place:
– MOMU, ModeMuseum, Nationalestraat 28, 2000 Antwerpen
– La Porte restaurant, Oever 2, 2000 Antwerpen
Price:
– For lunch and the museum tour: €45 for ACB and AWCB members, €55 for non-members
– For museum tour only: €15 for ACB and AWCB members, €20 for non-members
Public Transportation: Tram 3 from the Centraal Station to the stop “Groenplaats”
Sign up: Reservations are due by noon on Wednesday, March 18, online at www.americanclubbrussels.org, by email (info@americanclubbrussels.org) or
by telephone to the ACB office manager (0476/996.870). Payment to ACB at BE55427919588144 (KREDBEBB) will confirm your reservation. Please be sure to mention “Dries Van Noten” in the communications section of the virement.
If you are joining us for lunch, please indicate your choice of main course when registering.
Cancellations are possible until noon on Wednesday, March 18. Participants cancelling after this time, as well as no-shows, are charged the full cost of the event.

Register - Dries Van Noten's Inspirations

Return to Top

Return to Top

Dates to Remember

• February 27 – Final Friday
• February 28 – Guided Visit to the Coudenberg Palace
• March 14 – Guided Visit to the Magritte Museum
• March 14 – Irish Club’s Saint Patrick’s Day Ball
• March 19 – Financial Forum
• March 21 – Guided Visit to the Dries Van Noten Exhibition, followed by lunch
• March 27 – Final Friday
• April 18 – Guided visit to the Chagall retrospective
• April 24 – Final Friday
• April 30 – Joint ACB and AWCB Wine Tasting Seminar
• May 9 and June 13 – Expat Club’s Outings to Bastogne and Verdun, respectively

Return to Top

Final Friday Cocktails
 
Friday, February 27
6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Metropole Hotel
(ground floor near the bar)
Place De Brouckère 31 – 1000 Brussels

The American Club of Brussels is happy to welcome our friends from ACAB (American Clubs and Associations in Belgium). And anyone else that would like to join us... 

Cash bar open to all.
Newcomers to Belgium and prospective ACB members are especially welcome.
No reservation is required. Bring a guest or two.

Return to Top

A Guided Tour of the Coudenberg Palace

Join us on Saturday, February 28, for a fascinating guided tour of the Coudenberg Palace where we will discover the remnants of the palace of Charles V.
  
Since the middle ages, a castle has overlooked Brussels from Coudenberg hill. As of the 12th century, the successive monarchs and their representatives transformed a small fortified castle into a sumptuous residential palace, one of the most beautiful palaces of Europe and one of Charles V’s main residences.
 
This prestigious building was severely damaged by fire in 1731. Some forty years later, the ruins of the palace were pulled down and the ground flattened out for the construction of the new royal district. The remains of this palace make up the Coudenberg archaeological site.
 
During our visit we will discover the Rue Isabelle and the old structures of the main buildings of the former palace of Brussels, which are now the foundations for today’s royal district and the Hoogstraeten House where the most interesting discoveries made during the various archaeological excavations conducted on the Coudenberg are displayed.
 
This guided tour is limited to a maximum of 20 people.
  
Event Details:
Date: Saturday, February 28, 2015
Time: 2:45 p.m.
Place: Place des Palais 7, 1000 Brussels (entry through the BELvue Museum)
Price: €20 for ACB and AWCB members, €25 for non-members.
Public Transportation: Metro: Parc/Park or Trone/Troon; buses 38, 71 and 95: Ducale; bus 54: Trone/Troon; trams 92 and 93: Royale/Koning.
Sign up: Reservations are due by noon on Thursday, February 26, , online at www.americanclubbrussels.org, by email (info@americanclubbrussels.org) or
by telephone to the ACB office manager (0476/996.870). Payment to ACB at BE55427919588144 (KREDBEBB) will confirm your reservation. Be sure to mention “Coudenberg” in the communications section of the virement.
Cancellations are possible until noon on Wednesday, February 25. Participants canceling after this time, as well as no-shows, are charged the full cost of the event.

Register - Coudenberg Palace

Return to Top
 

A Guided Visit to the Magritte Museum

Join us on Saturday, March 14, for a guided visit of the Magritte Museum. Opened in June 2009, the Magritte Museum displays works of the surrealist artist for which it is named. Located in the heart of Brussels at the Place Royale, the museum is housed in the neo-classical landmark Altenloh Hotel, superbly restored in 1984 with the generous support of the Franco-Belgian group GDF SUEZ and the Magritte Foundation. It operates as part of the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium. Instantly popular, the museum welcomed over 500,000 visitors in its first year of operation.
 
The museum’s multi-disciplinary collection is unrivaled. It contains more than 200 works consisting of oils on canvas, gouaches, drawings, sculptures and painted objects as well as advertising posters, musical scores, vintage photographs and films produced by the artist. The collection is comprised of purchases by the Royal Museums of Fine Arts, which owns the collection, and gifts from the Irène Hamoir-Scutenaire and Georgette Magritte estates. Additionally, many private collectors, as well as public and private institutions, loan art to the museum through an ambitious lending program.
 
This is a tremendous opportunity for you to delve into the splendor of Belgian surrealist art! Our guide will once again be the excellent Lieve De Jonghe.
 
Please note that this visit is limited to 20 people.
 
Event Details:
Date: Saturday, March 14, 2015
Time: 10:45 a.m.
Place: Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Place Royale 3, 1000 Brussels (Gresham entrance)
Price: €20 for ACB and AWCB members, €25 for non-members.
Public Transportation: Metro: Gare Centrale/Centraal Station or Parc/Park; buses 27, 38 and 71: Royale; Trams: 92 or 94: Royale
Sign up: Reservations are due by noon on Wednesday, March 11, online at www.americanclubbrussels.org, by email (info@americanclubbrussels.org) or
by telephone to the ACB office manager (0476/996.870). Payment to ACB at BE55427919588144 (KREDBEBB) will confirm your reservation. Be sure to mention “Magritte” in the communications section of the virement.
Cancellations are possible until noon on Wednesday, March 11. Participants canceling after this time, as well as no-shows, are charged the full cost of the event.

Register - Magritte Museum

Return to Top

Irish Club's St. Patrick's Day Ball
 

The Irish Club of Belgium’s annual St. Patrick’s Day Ball will take place on March 14 at the
Steigenberger Grand Hotel on Ave. Louise 71, 1050 Brussels. Again this year, the American Club will host a table and members may attend for the Irish Club member price.
 
The evening will commence at 7:00 p.m. with a champagne reception and will be followed by a five-star meal. After dinner there will be entertainment by “Damhsa” and dancing to music from the 60’s and 70’s and more.
  
Ticket prices are €80 for members of the Irish Club of Belgium and the American Club of Brussels and €95 for non-members.

Click here for full-size view

The event is strictly black-tie and only open to adults (minimum age of 18). Please sign up, mentioning any dietary needs, before noon on Friday, March 6, at the ACB office, by e-mail (info@americanclubbrussels.org ) or by telephone to the ACB Office Manager (0476/996.870). Payment should be made to The Irish Club of Belgium, account number BE76001719741995. Please mention "ACB ball" in the communications section of the virement.

Return to Top

American Financial Forum
 

  
Planning for your financial future can be complicated. Add the complexities of being an expat and the new FATCA regulations and it is that much harder.
 
The American Club of Brussels is proud to be hosting the second annual American Financial Forum. This event will include several speakers on such topics as Financial Planning, Currency Transfers, Immigration, Accounting and Estate Planning.
 
Doors will open at 5:30 p.m. and the presentations will end at 7:30 p.m. with a Question and Answer session. An optional dinner will follow.
 
Further details will be published on the Club website as they become available.
 
Event Details:
Date: Thursday, March 19, 2015
Time: 5:30 p.m., registration; seminar, 6:00–7:30 p.m.; followed by Q&A and optional dinner.
Place: Renaissance Brussels Hotel, Rue du Parnasse 19, 1050 Brussels
Price:
– Free for ACB and AWCB members, €5 for non-members
– Optional two course dinner: €25 for ACB and AWCB members, €35 for non-members
Sign up: Reservations are due by close of business on Tuesday, March 17, online at www.americanclubbrussels.org, by email (info@americanclubbrussels.org) or by telephone to the ACB Office Manager (0476/996.870). Payment to ACB at BE55 4279 1958 8144 (BIC/SWIFT: KREDBEBB) will confirm your reservation. Be sure to mention “Financial Forum” in the communications section of the virement.
Cancellations are possible until noon on Monday, March 16. Participants cancelling after this time, as well as no-shows, are charged the full cost of the event.
 

Register - American Financial Forum
 

Return to Top

Final Friday Cocktails
 
Friday, March 27, 2015
6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

 Sheraton Brussels Hotel
O-Bar
Place Rogier 3
1210 Brussels

The American Club of Brussels is happy to welcome our friends from ACAB (American Clubs and Associations in Belgium). And anyone else that would like to join us... 

Cash bar open to all.
Newcomers to Belgium and prospective ACB members are especially welcome.
No reservation is required. Bring a guest or two.

Return to Top

Expat Club Events

Expat Club, our newest corporate member, is offering two of its events at discounted prices to American Club members. Be certain to use the code when you register. You must be a paid-up member of the ACB to receive the discount. You will find all the necessary details on the Expat Club website (www.expatclub.org).

Return to Top

Corporate Profile: EXPAT CLUB

  
We are pleased to introduce to you this month Expat Club, our newest corporate member. Please see the previous article for their special offer to ACB members.

Expat Club is Brussels’ premier international community. It helps expats feel at home quickly by connecting them online and through the organization of a variety of unique local events and trips. Each of them is professionally organized and introduces the participants to the best of Brussels, Belgium and beyond.
 
The community was founded in 2013 by Edgar Hütte, a Dutch expat who lived, worked and studied in several countries, including the United States, before moving to Brussels. In 2001, he interned at the Carter Institute, founded by former President Jimmy Carter, in Atlanta. A year later he studied as a Netherlands-America Foundation Fulbright Fellow in the joint Masters program of Public Administration and International Relations at the Maxwell School of Syracuse University.
 
Expat Club’s key philosophy is that making lasting connections requires a shared experience that goes beyond shaking hands and having a drink. That is why, for instance, we always start our city trips with professionally guided tours and have lunch together. Another cornerstone concerns its mission to show expats this wonderful city and lovely country, before they move back home or to their next destination.
 
Expat Club takes its members to places one would normally not go to, such as a car factory, a nuclear power plant, and the UPS Air Hub at Cologne-Bonn Airport. But we also go kayaking, make private visits to local museums and enjoy a zoo backstage tour. Our daytrips lead us to the major cities and regions in Belgium and surrounding countries, such as Amsterdam, Düsseldorf, Paris, Rotterdam Harbor and even the best air shows. And of course we organize regular local meet-ups, such as coffee mornings, dinners, and bar meetings. A few events are of particular interest to our American members, such as the Verdun WWI and Bastogne WWII battlefield tours.
 
Everybody is welcome to become part of Expat Club, including families with children for some events. Just register on www.expatclub.org and join the community that loves to do the same things that you do.

The American Club of Brussels is supported by: