Save the Date! TIC Annual Holiday Dinner
2017 TICnic Review
by Mala RamanThis year we had perfect weather for our annual picnic. To our regular participants, our once a year, springtime gathering is known as the TICnic. In a not too warm, not
too cold outdoor venue, a big crowd of TIC members and guests came together to once again help bring the club season to a close. In the middle of a lush green park on the campus of Tilburg University, everyone happily sat at the new a
nd improved picnic tables or on the grass to enjoy a good old-fashioned cookout. Thanks to Andrew, our grill master (who received many compliments on his handiwork), there were hamburgers, veggie burgers, chicken drumsticks and steaks to be gobbled up.
It was great to have so many families join this year’s outdoor festivities. On this Father’s Day, TIC presented all of our TIC father’s with a take home gift basket of a Trappist Dubbel bier with nuts and a commemorative Trappist Brewery glass.
No TICnic is complete without some fun group activities. This year we had a “TIC-athalon” that had 5 teams racing around trying to accumulate as many points as possible in the
Great Egg Race, TIC Tac Toe darts, Obstacle course, Mini golf, Jump Rope, TICpic, Bowling, Bean Bag Toss, Pass the Parcel and Air Guitar.
All in all, we had a fantastic day. To all who attended: we hope to see you again in the upcoming club year. To those who stayed home or couldn’t make it this year: come by next year and share in the fun!
tíc Annual General Meeting and Pub Quiz
by Anne van Oorschot
If you missed TIC’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 18 May 2017 at the Grand Café Esplanade on the grounds of Tilburg University, you missed a great time! A great time at an AGM? Yes, you read correctly!
We had a nice turnout and, after a welcome introduction to our members and guests, we began the evening as we do every year, with a short presentation over the club and how we are performing.
TIC is doing well and we can look back on a very successful year full of many fun and interesting activities, with attendance being up from last year. With the Event Director position vacant for most of the year, the remaining Board members have shared the event planning and hosting duties which has been a challenge at times. We are thrilled that Andrew Kelly stepped forward to fill this position and we look forward to having him on the Board.
All board members are still in term, so no need for a vote but our treasurer, Emerald Busser, has vacated
her position and we are in search of a replacement. Due to her departure, we do not have an updated financial overview to present this evening. We will communicate that to our members at a later date.
Anne van Oorschot, Secretary/Membership, gave an update on the club’s membership. While we have lost some members, we have gained 9 new members this year, bringing our total to 31, up slightly from last year. While that may not seem like many, when adding in member’s partners and children – who are also TIC members! – the total number of expats we serve as a club is 66. We have 20 different nationalities in TIC so we are truly an international club! The vast majority of our members work full time and while Tilburg University is the employer for about a third of our members, the remaining members are employed by a variety of companies, or self-employed.
Mala Raman, Communications and Outreach, has worked hard this past year to increase our online visibility. With a big increase in postings on our website, the number of hits we have gotten has greatly increased! Mala is active on the TIC Facebook and Twitter accounts and we recently added an Instagram account to make our club activities more visible and easier for expats to find. We continue to have partnerships with Sligro, Holland Expat Center South and P&D Care, and have added Theaters Tilburg to our list of partners to improve the expat experience of our members.
Mala also reported on the activities we have organized in the past year – a whopping 34 events – up from 26 events last year! Member Coree Forman has breathed new life into our monthly borrels, and TICMovie group has met more frequently as well. The TIC Book Club continues to have a strong and consistent membership and will have met 8 times by the summer. We visited 2 sporting events this year – the 
DESTIL Trappers ice hockey, and Willem II soccer and both teams won specially for TIC!? 😉 We have a number of annual events – Sinterklaas party, Annual Christmas Cookie Workshop, Annual Holiday Dinner and the TICnic – and many new outings and events, such as our visit to a cheese farm, a chocolate making workshop, a ballet performance and a lecture on the Dutch Parliamentary election, to name a few. Next year will mark TIC’s 10th Anniversary and we have already started planning some great events for the new club year. We closed with an encouragement for members to let us know what they’d like to do – after all, it’s YOUR club.
Then came the fun part! Three teams battled it out in the chance to be crowned the Winners of The Pub Quiz.
Winners of the Pub Quiz!
Presented by Andrew Kelly, the questions were challenging and informative, complete with drinks, and snacks. Questions flew over 4 rounds of play. What a drama!! We had bartering for partial points, we had contesting of the answers (even though they were right there in black and white), we had debating amongst the teams and we had to do all this without looking at our phones for help! In the end, after much laughter, eating and drinking, a winning team emerged and went home with gift certificates from Intermezzo, while the Losers of the Pub Quiz went home with a “beautiful” magnet.
TIC Holiday Dinner
by Yolonda van Riel
On a blustery January evening, TIC kicked off 2017 with another great holiday dinner! This year’s dinner was held at de Visserij in the Puishaven. It was a little less formal than our previous holiday dinners but that was kind of the idea. We shared appetizers and drinks in the little café as we welcomed members old and new as well as several guests.
As we all got acquainted and reacquainted, we made our way into the restaurant where shared fish, quiche and an array of vegetables. It was served “family style” and it was a bit of a different experience than most of us were accustomed to. But it was quite fun! And with well over 20 people in attendance, it was great way to keep the conversation flowing and speak to everyone.
Afterwards, dessert and drinks were again shared by all in the café, where we continued sharing stories, catching up and making plans. Although, the dinner wasn’t as fancy as dinners past, the atmosphere was fantastic and allowed us to mix, mingle and chat with everyone. The bar was cozy, played nice music and provided the perfect backdrop to enjoy a cold winter’s evening with TIC friends.
013 Tour and the Annual General Meeting
by Anne van Oorschot
26 May 2016. The fun activity connected to this year’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) was a tour of Tilburg’s Pop and Dance Center – 013. We met outside the door of 013 and enjoyed the beautiful weather, chatting while we waited.
Gijs, an employee of 013, was our tour guide and told us a bit about the pop club. Built in 1998, it was the first theater built expressly for pop music and attracts visitors from the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and from further afield for some artists and festivals. After the renovations carried out in November 2015, 013 is larger and more leading than ever in the pop and dance scene. (more…)
Holiday Dinner
Article by Rick Tillman
Once again, TIC has celebrated the holidays and rung in the new year how it should be done: with warm conversation, good food, and ample wine (not necessarily in that order). For January 2016, TIC in its infinite wisdom gathered at Café Dudok in the heart of Tilburg. It’s located in a historically preserved building that was the Patronaat of the St. Josef church. Hein explained to many of us that a Patronaat was a center of parish and community activity once upon a time. For instance, women would go there to knit together, there would be theater performances, and people would gather (much like we did!). Dudok has done a great job preserving many of the aesthetics of the building, while incorporating very modern accouterments and a very tasty assortment of food.
We started with a welcome drink (always!) in the bar area as people came in and warmed up. It’s always nice to catch up with our fellow TIC members, as it’s about the company of each other, not our outings (but fun and interesting doesn’t hurt!). We then made our way to our long table where the night was just beginning. As we dug into our wine and other beverages, we continued our conversations that are always the highlight of our gatherings. We have exceptionally great members; that’s nice for any club, but expats often don’t have a full network of family and friends. So, don’t forget that the connections you forge can make a great difference in someone’s life!
We were first served intricate appetizers of either smoked butterfish (with apple and vegetables in an herb-infused oil), carpaccio (with pesto, arugula, pine nuts, and very fresh parmesan), or arancini (rice balls with truffle risotto, mozzarella, and arugula). As we relaxed into the meal, it was possible to reach out to a few more members seated a little farther away (and of course, the company of some of our younger members help keep us young and p
layful!). We were then served either a truffle risotto (with grilled asparagus, truffle tapenade, vegetables, and mature goat cheese), sea bass (with curry rice, ratatouille, sautéed spinach, with an olive and tomato antiboise sauce (whatever that is)), or organic beefsteak (with mushrooms, onion, shallot sauce, and cute little potato gratin things). I would then mention the desserts, but there was a very confused server that kept wandering with coffees that no one ordered. I hope they eventually found their home. But besides the lost coffees, we also had a choice of warm apple pie with almond ice cream (most excellent and served on a bed of graham cracker crumbs- how do you refer to that in Dutch?!?!), or a cheese platter of four varieties and grapes and bread.
I have to say that I had no idea of the time once we all started to depart. We stayed FOUR hours! That says something very nice about how much we enjoy each other’s company. We also, of course, appreciate our leadership that keeps things organized and makes sure that TIC has plenty of fun outings and everyone feels welcome. The only thing that I regret is that often you have to pick a spot and there’s no way to talk to everyone. But then again, there’s always the next outing. So keep coming and keep TIC vibrant! We need you!
The TIC Annual Dinner
by Jean-Francois Hennart
This year the dinner was at Square, a mere slip and slide across an icy Heuvel. I admit that I wasn’t expecting a lot from a Lounge-Club-Restaurant, too much like never-ever-good dinner theater, but on the night was disabused of my spread-too-thin preconception. Our coats were deftly taken and the owner was pouring us a welcome drink before our cheeks had lost their winter-wind glow. The décor at Square is loft-simple, the lighting is kind, but not dim. Whole-group menus are hard on a chef, but the fresh starter and simple dessert seemed to go down well, as did the well-chosen and generously-served wines. Sondra and I hedged our bets when it came to selecting a meat-or-fish main, but need not have. My venison was just-right pink, and her cod with sauerkraut (a combination we intend to crib) well-nigh James Beard worthy. No doubt, we will again “be there”.
Never been to the post-holiday dinner? Are you thinking it might be like a Sierra Seniors do, with awards handed out, speeches made? Wrong. I’m tempted to compare the TIC answer to the winter blues to My Dinner with Andre, because what makes for a good time around the table is, if I can borrow from Roger Ebert, “conversation, in which the real subject is the tone, the mood, the energy.” The tone is set by mutually-held curiosity about what lies beyond our own national borders and by shared determination to make the most of living in the Netherlands; the mood is sometimes jubilant, sometimes mellow; and the energy comes from within.
So, if you weren’t there, you missed something. Now you could wait until January rolls around again, or long before then you could take part in a different event. You might just find yourself, as we did last night, caught up in a wide-ranging conversation touching on learning to waterski, a Lang Lang concert in Amsterdam, raising bilingual kids, a selfie with Henry Kissinger, Fontys fledgling Academy of Circus and Performing Arts, trailing penguins in Patagonia …
Welcome event: cycling tour
Summer is fast disappearing but another club year is about to begin. We’ll be kicking off the TIC year with a cycling tour on September 20. We start in Tilburg at 13:00, cycle to Oisterwijk Forest (nature reserve), go on to Kerkhovense Windmill, then return to Tilburg. At 17:00, after the tour, there will be a borrel at De Havenmeester so you can reconnect with TIC friends and meet other expats living in the area.
- When:
- September 20 (Saturday), 13:00-19:00
- Where:
- Meeting place: De Havenmeester in Piushaven (Kempenaarplaats, 5017 DX Tilburg)
- Route:
- De Havenmeester, Tilburg – Oisterwijkse ven bij Diaconieven (tour) – snack stop at De Dorpsherberg, Oisterwijk – Kerkhovense Windmill, Oisterwijk (tour) – De Havenmeester, Tilburg (approximately 21.4 km)
- Cost:
- The event is free but registration is required. Click here to sign up. The welcome event is organized by Holland Expat Center South.
Note: Bicycles will be provided free of charge. Arrangements can be made for child seats for young children and bikes for children old enough to cycle on their own. When you register, please say if you’ll need a child seat or child’s bike (include details of the child’s height to ensure that a proper bicycle is available).
AGM and visit to Peerke Donders
10 June 2014
by Yiyi Bai
It has been 6 years since TIC launched in June 2009. This year, TIC celebrated its 6-year birthday at Peerke Donkers Park.
We met in front of the park at 3 pm. We had a new guest – Sam joined us in this activity. An English tour guide showed us around the park, the house in which Peerke Donders was born and told us a lot of moving stories about Peerke, the Tilburg icon, as well as showed us around the various structures of the small complex. Petrus Donders was born in 1809, he was the son of a simple Tilburg weaver. Peerke, as he is fondly called, wanted to become a Catholic Priest, but his parents lacked the financial means to send their son to the Seminary for training. Due to his determination and persistence, however, he was given a chance and was ordained as Priest in 1841. He was sent to Suriname as a missionary where he cared for slaves and lepers, making no differentiation between position or station in life. Full of compassion, he served others until his death in 1887 in Suriname. Since that time, Peerke has been honored and revered for his example of selfless charity and humility. I was very moved by the inspiring stories of him.
After the tour, we had a short business meeting in the museum of Peerke Donders. We gave an update on your club’s past year, as well as vote for new Board Officers and announce the winner of the new TIC logo contest. Currently, we have 31 family members and in total of 77 expats from over 20 countries are members of TIC. In the current financial year, TIC has been doing really well in terms of trying to make break-even in every event.
As according to the constitution, all board officers have to be re-voted after 2 years term of office and all three board members – the secretary, president and IT manager were appointed 2 years ago. So we voted for new board officers and Yolanda will take over the presidency from Mala, Patricia will become the new event planner after Yolanda, Anne and Thijs will remain secretary and IT manager for the next term.
The last section of the meeting was voting for the logo, as the old logo is not easily replicable in black & white or gray tones and not clears at a glance to be for an international club. The lack of a B&W option has proven especially unhandy as it means all our promotional materials have to be printed in color, which significantly increases the cost. So we started the contest about a month ago and received over 10 entries from members. We selected 3 printable and adjustable logos and send them to all members. In the end, we have received over 20 votes from members through email and voting, and the number one logo which was created by Ms Van Oorschot won the final prize.
We also started a new job and announcement page this past year and help for keeping website and social media updated is needed.
Then we had drinks in the Peerke Donders Café on their lovely outdoor terraces. The new president – Yolanda bought us snacks and TIC offered the free drinks. The weather was wonderful and we spend a lovely afternoon together.
TIC Annual Holiday Dinner
18 January 2014
by Patricia Gonzalez
pictures courtesy of Patricia Gonzalez
January 18 at the Heuvel might have seemed like your average Saturday night; golden light making gezellig restaurants glow, music wafting from bars and good-natured chatter spilling out onto the street. But, it wasn’t the typical weekend crush and the faces that framed the tables in the window of L’Orangerie were not your usual Tilburgse crowd. It was TIC’s Annual Holiday Dinner where thrown into the mix were twenty-two Chinese, Japanese, German, Canadian, American, Estonian, French, Filipino, Lebanese and yes, even Dutch TIC members. (more…)
Tilburg International Club 