Castlefest

Castlefest is a fantasy festival in The Netherlands which is held every first weekend of August at Castle Keukenhof in Lisse. It is a three-day festival  of concerts, different workshops, food and market stands, campings, story-telling, various tents of different fantasy groups, sword fighting, etc. The visitors are dressed to the best of their ability and creativity. It starts on Friday and ends on Sunday.
Transportation
You can ride a train in going to Castle Keukenhof. If your departure is either Amsterdam or The Hague, you have to find a train which bring you to station Hillegom. There is a shuttle bus going straight to the festival terrain. Price is € 4 for a two-way ticket. The entrance ticket for a day is € 22.
MY VIDEO IMPRESSIONS:
Video 1  visitors in medieval/fantasy costumes and medieval tents of participating organizations
Video 2  feat. Steampunk garden
Video 3  visitors in their creative costumes and Bird live
Video 4 firing a cannon, archery, story telling and battle
PHOTO ALBUM:
Fllickr photos taken by Dedsharp photography  (Dedsharp has already placed a few photos, more coming up so if you are interested, come back to this link from time to time).

Keukenhof

Keukenhof  literally means kitchen courtyard. Actually it is an annual garden show located at Lisse, The Netherlands. It begins sometime in March and ends on the third week of May.

Video 1 of 5 Tulip gardens

Video 2 of 5 Tulip gardens

Video 3 of 5 Oranje Nassau Pavilion

Video 4 of 5 Willem Alexander Pavilion

Video 5 of 5 Inspirational gardens 

Tip: buy a combi ticket for € 21,--. It means you have a return ticket and entrance ticket. You can buy on-line paying with a credit card or buy from a tourist office.

Public transportation is most accessible in going to Keukenhof.

From Schiphol airport

 If you are a tourist waiting for your flight in the evening at Schiphol airport then it might interest you to know that there is a bus going straight to Keukenhof. Duration of travel: 35 minutes. The last bus leaves at past 7 pm.

From The Hague

 If you’re coming from The Hague Central station, there is  bus 89 going straight to Keukenhof but only during weekdays. Travel time: 50 minutes.  The last bus leaves at around 5 pm.

If you’ll be there in a weekend then you ride a train going to Amsterdam which stops at Leiden centraal train station. Train fare: € 6,40 return ticket.  Then ride shuttle bus 54 at platform 1 at the side of the station. Duration of travel with the train: 12 minutes. From Leiden to Keukenhof: 25 minutes. The last bus leaves at past 7 pm.

From Amsterdam

Ride bus 197 from Leidseplein/Museumplein to reach Schiphol. Then transfer to bus 58 in going to Keukenhof.

At Keukenhof, there are 5 pavilions: Beatrix, Oranje Nassau, Wilhelmina, Juliana and Willem Alexander. Pavilion Beatrix houses varieties of orchids. Wilhelmina pavilion is a restaurant. Juliana pavilion has exhibits/films but no flowers. Oranje Nassau has a garden show.
Practical tips

There are restaurants and stalls to buy food and drinks. Tip: If you are a practical traveller like me, I just buy sandwiches from the supermarket as pack lunch because I don’t want to pay € 4,50 for a sandwich.  Tip for travellers from Schiphol airport, buy sandwiches at Hema supermarket or AH (Albert Heijn) to go because you pay the local prices. Tip for travellers stopping at Leiden centraal, opposite the station is Jumbo supermarket.