Ham, Belgium

Kwaadmechelen is a village in the Ham municipality of the Limburg province in the Flemish Community of Belgium. Kwaadmechelen was an independent municipality until 1977 when it merged into Ham.

Groezrock was an annual music festival that took place in Meerhout, Belgium. It started as a small rock and pop festival with one stage and a few hundred people attending, but evolved into a large punk rock/hardcore punk festival, with attendances exceeding 30,000. The festival had one stage until 2003, when it added a second stage called Back-to-Basics, which was reserved for more hardcore-oriented bands. Since 2006 the festival has taken place over multiple days, and grew to three stages in 2009 and four stages in 2012. It was announced in October 2017 that the 2018 edition of Groezrock would not be taking place in the Spring, and would instead be an indoor festival in the autumn. The festival have stated that they will be "back in full force" with the usual format in 2019.

Pakawi Park is a zoo in the Belgian village Olmen which is part of the town of Balen. Until 22 June 2019 it was named "Olmense Zoo".The zoo was opened in 1976 by Louis Roothooft, a former captain. He used to live near Antwerp where he had a private collection of foreign animals. He bought some land in Olmen and moved his animals to the new location. The Olmen Zoo was founded. As Roothooft loved the circus a big circus tent was soon placed. Each day the animal carers did performance acts with the animals. Roothooft died mid 1990s and the park was sold to the family Verheyen in 1995. The new owners also had a private collection of animals which were now transported to Olmen. The park was in a bad condition due to mismanagement of Roothooft, cages were not adapted to the animal needs and the number of customers was too low to make sufficient profits. That's why the park was renovated. The investments did succeed: the number of visitors raised from 9,000 to 200,000 in the first year. The circus tent was removed and no more acts were given. On 11 October 2017, the zoo lost its license and was closed due to animal welfare breaches. On 18 November 2017, the zoo reopened with a new license, after fixing most problems and making a new masterplan.The zoo is now specialized in felidae: African lions, white tigers, black leopards, Eurasian lynx, Servals, and cougars. The zoo has more than 200 different birds such as parrots, owls, eagles, flamingos, gruiformes and threskiornithidae. The zoo has of course other animals such as simian, rodents, small mammals, deers, snakes and bears.

The Nike Windpark Laakdal is a wind park containing 6 RePower MD77 wind turbines with a capacity of 1.5 MW each. It is located on the site of the Nike corporation in Laakdal, Belgium. The wind turbines have a rotor diameter of 77 meters and are installed on a 111.5 meter high steel framework. Roads capable of carrying heavy trucks run between the legs of some of these steel towers.

Olmen is a village that lies in Belgium, in the province of Antwerp. The village is part of the municipality of Balen. Olmen is known in the area for its Carnival, which still follows medieval traditions.

Meerhout (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈmeːrɦʌu̯t]) is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality only comprises the town of Meerhout proper. In 2021, Meerhout had a total population of 10,279. The total area is 36.29 km² which gives a population density of 264 inhabitants per km². In Meerhout some famous people have lived, like Kate Ryan (well known in France and Belgium, The UK, Turkey, Spain and the rest of western Europe). Meerhout is a part of the Economic Network of the Albertkanaal (Albert Canal, named after King Albert 1).

Tessenderlo (Dutch pronunciation: [təˈsɛndərˌloː]; Limburgish: Loei) is a municipality in the Belgian province of Limburg. It is where the three Belgian provinces of Limburg, Flemish Brabant and Antwerp meet at the front gate of the Averbode Abbey. The municipality Tessenderlo encompasses the villages of Tessenderlo proper, Schoot, Engsbergen, Hulst and Berg. On January 1, 2006, Tessenderlo had a total population of 16,811. The total area is 51.35 km2 which gives a population density of 327 inhabitants per km2. The name Tessenderlo means "(the open place in) the forest of the Taxandrians". It is along the Albert Canal and the European route E313, the highway between Antwerp and Liège, one of the reasons it was the place for the first Belgian "Industrial Zone of National Importance" in the 1960s. Tessenderlo was the scene of an infamous industrial disaster during World War II, when a stock of 150 tonnes of ammonium nitrate at the chemical plant of Produits Chimiques de Tessenderloo (now Tessenderlo Group) - located near the centre of town - exploded on April 29, 1942, killing 189 people at the plant and in the town.Tessenderlo is part of a small western zone of Limburg where the local dialect is not the Limburgian dialect, but Brabantic.

The Albert Canal (Dutch: Albertkanaal, pronounced [ˈɑl.bərt.kaːˌnaːl]; French: Canal Albert, pronounced [kanal albɛʁ]) is a canal located in northeastern Belgium, which was named for King Albert I of Belgium. The Albert Canal connects Antwerp with Liège, and also the Meuse river with the Scheldt river. It also connects with the Dessel–Turnhout–Schoten Canal, and its total length is 129.5 kilometres (80.5 mi).

Scheps is a natural landscape in the municipality of Balen, Antwerp Province, Belgium. Located on the valley of the Grote Nete, between Olmen and Scheps, in this territory can be found several plants such as the marsh cinquefoil and the calla, and birds like the common kingfisher, the European stonechat and the bluethroat.

Laakdal (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈlaːɡdɑl]) is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. Laakdal was founded in 1977 out of a merger of the towns Veerle, Eindhout and Vorst. The municipality now comprises the towns of Eindhout, Veerle, Vorst, Varendonk and Vorst-Meerlaar (also known as Klein-Vorst). In 2021, Laakdal had a total population of 16,293. The total area is 42.48 km². The municipality has 6 neighbouring towns. Clockwise on the compass these are: Geel, Meerhout, Ham, Tessenderlo, Scherpenheuvel-Zichem and Herselt.

Balen (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈbaːlə(n)] (listen)) is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises the towns of Balen proper and Olmen. In 2021, Balen had a population of 22,853. Total area is 72.88 km².

Paal (Limburgish: Poël) is a town and borough in the municipality of Beringen, in the Belgian Limburg Campine. Once known as Pael, the town has a long history.The town plays an important role in both the industry and tourism of Beringen. The town has a recreational area, the "Paalse Plas", with ponds, a sailing lake and a golf course. The annual Paal op Stelten music festival attracts 20,000 visitors to the town each August.The industrial area along the A13 motorway houses the facilities of a number of multinational companies. The studio of Radio Benelux, the local radio station for Beringen and surroundings, is located in Paal.