Frank van Ginhoven

When Frank invited new friends to his home for dinner four years ago, he never imagined the encounter would lead to him building and designing theatre sets and challenging his creativity in new ways each week. Luckily for the AATG, Frank’s dinner guest that evening was Hans van Bemmelen, one of AATG’s lead set builders and Warehouse Wizards, who invited Frank to come to the warehouse and check it out. And Frank has been back to the warehouse at least once a week since then, working on any set piece that is asked of the team, crediting Hans with teaching him new ways to be handy, skills he claims he did not possess before coming to the AATG.

This isn’t Frank’s first foray into new territories. Throughout his life Frank has moved from place to place, picking up new hobbies and skills along the way. Most of the changes in his life have been inspired by his longtime love of learning, with Frank saying, “You meet great new people and learn great new things when you stay curious.” This lifetime of staying curious brought the trained engineer to jobs around the globe, eventually settling down in the Netherlands where Frank was born before moving to Canada as a child. He is joined in the Netherlands by his wife Jen, also a Dutch Canadian, one of his 3 children, and a couple of grandchildren, all of whom join him each year in watching the Panto and seeing Frank’s handiwork on stage.

In addition to his weekly work at the warehouse with the AATG, Frank has taken up other new hobbies and volunteer opportunities since retirement as well. Through the AATG, he met Peter Comley, who introduced him to volunteering with Dunea as a tour guide, which Frank now also does weekly. Like most Dutch, he also bikes almost everywhere, using his bicycle to get him to/from Scheveningen to the warehouse each week. But of all his new adventures, Frank’s favorite new hobby has been learning to fly airplanes. An enthusiasm for aviation is something he shares with fellow Warehouse Wizard John de Vries and the pair have plans to fly together soon.

Working alongside Paul Dundas, who rounds out the core group of Warehouse Wizards, Frank says he enjoys the friendships and comradery he has made with the AATG. The Warehouse Wizards meet every Wednesday afternoon, year-round, and the group is open to anyone who would like to join, no experience necessary. All that is required is a desire to stay curious.