Press Room

The Netherlands Carillon, a gift from the people of the Netherlands to the people of the United States in gratitude for American aid during and after World War II, has rung out again over Arlington Ridge Park after a three-year restoration.

The restoration beautified and secured the open steel structure, while all 50 tower bells were returned to the Netherlands for cleaning and retuning. An additional three bells were cast and added to the assembly, elevating the instrument to grand carillon status. 

The National Bell Festival is thrilled to join the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the National Park Service in celebrating the Netherlands’ Liberation Day and the completion of the rehabilitation of the Netherlands Carillon.

And you’re invited! After a years-long restoration that began in late 2019, the Netherlands Carillon is set to resound back to life this coming Thursday, May 5, during an inaugural Freedom Concert. The morning event, which is free and open to the public, will include performances on 53 bells and addresses from both embassy and park officials.

Here at the National Bell Festival, we spend more than our fair share of time scrambling up rickety ladders and winding up narrow stairs to explore what treasures a bell tower can hold. Often, that discovery comes replete with a few surprises. Turning a corner to get a face full of spider web, hearing the unsettling crunch of a rotten floorboard underfoot, or startling a pigeon into frantic flight – we’ve seen it all. 

As the horrors of the Russian invasion of Ukraine continue to unfold, one bell stands in mute testimony to the resilience of the Ukrainian people: Mariupol’s Peace Bell.

Bell towers across the globe will resound in unity this weekend, sending a message of peace with the playing of beloved Ukrainian melodies on bells. From Europe to Asia and from Australia to the Americas, bells will ring out in a heartfelt appeal for peace, as the sovereign people of Ukraine stand against invasion and war.

In a heartfelt appeal for peace, as the sovereign people of Ukraine stand against invasion and war, the National Bell Festival joins the archbishops of Canterbury and York in calling for a day of prayer and reflection. This Sunday, February 27, 2022, bells across America will toll between the hours of 11:30am – 1:00pm local time in support of dialogue over destruction, collaboration over conflagration.

The 19th-century bell at Georgetown Lutheran Church has resounded for the first time in decades, following a months-long restoration effort funded by the National Bell Festival. Marking 250 years since the congregation’s founding (1769-2019), the bell’s return and rededication celebrations had been delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, but were finally realized this last weekend.

The National Bell Festival is seeking the services of a professional bell foundry with extensive experience and craftsmanship in bell making to cast a set of bells for a new bell tower and garden planned for Washington, D.C.
 

Deliverables and Scope of Work

Bell foundries interested in submitting proposals must address the following project requirements:

Historic bells in the Parish Church of St. John the Baptist in the small market town of Hatherleigh, Devon, are at risk of falling silent. Resounding over Hatherleigh for generations, the bells ring in celebration and sorrow, in moments of national unity and of parish importance. They have tolled to mark the deaths of monarchs and royalty. In 1918, the bells rang out in jubilant peal to celebrate the armistice, and throughout World War II they hung ready to warn of imminent invasion.

This year, a new sound was heard at the National Bell Festival: Russian Orthodox bell ringing. Distinctive in style, tone, and mechanics, the traditional bell ringing techniques brought an exciting new dimension to our nationwide ringing with performances in Russian Orthodox churches across California, Washington, and Pennsylvania.