From Bayreuth to Oktoberfest, Expatica's exclusive listing of German festivals has something for everyone.

January’s underway and although the weather is so far not really bitingly cold, the thought of standing around at some outdoor festival isn’t exactly appealing. It’s sad to report then that indoor festivals of any note are not exactly thick on the ground in the first month of the year and that you’ll have to content yourself with the few outdoor music festivals which are about.

 

Mind you, the organisers of one of the festivals we’re listing for you, has got the right idea when it comes to striking the right note with the name of their festival. The Burn the Ice Festival, down in Kulmbach in Bavaria suggests what many of us would like to do with the season. As to whether their line-up of various genres of heavy metal will be quite as in keeping with your mood is another question.

 

Visit Koblenz in February, however, and you’re certain to have your spirits lifted at the Skarneval Koblenz ska festival. Two-tone music is enjoying a cult boom in Germany as indicated by festivals like this. The line-up here includes Twisted, the Clerks and the Skangaroos. The event takes place on Carnival Sunday and God knows, is a welcome opportunity to evade all the craziness that one is otherwise subject to in Koblenz at this time of year. 

 

Of course, February is also the month of the Berlinale International Film Festival in Berlin.  In its 58th year, as well as including the usual rounds of film biz schmoozing, premieres of new films and the handing out of awards, this year’s Berlinale will also feature a retrospective of the work of Spanish filmmaker, Luis Buñuel. 

 

Am I wrong in thinking that the evening of photographic slides detailing this intrepid traveller’s trip down the Amazon or that intrepid traveller’s bike ride in the Andes is a peculiarly German affair? Whatever the particular truth of the matter, Germans certainly love the slideshow format. The 10th Thüringer DiaFestival, featuring loads of photos of the travels of the intrepid - should be a well-attended event. 

 

The weather’s getting warmer in April and it’s about time to think about venturing outdoors for a live music event. Thank goodness for the Kaff Rock Festival then. Taking place in Ensdorf down in Bavaria, the festival is in its sixth year and attracts a line up of punky, hard rock bands. The line up for the 2008 edition of the festival has yet to be announced. Keep an eye on the festival website for details. 

 

Berlin’s Carnival of the Cultures, which takes to the streets of Kreuzberg every May, has been on the go for many years. So has the Africa Festival in Würzburg, which is celebrating its twentieth anniversary this year. Featuring four days of music, cinema and culture from Africa – and also a full kids’ programme – the festival is an enterprising affair which is well worth visiting. 

 

Rock am Ring is almost certainly the highpoint of the German rock festival calendar. It takes place in June in the Eiffel and this year’s line up is impressive. Babyshambles will be there and…well…that alone would be enough for me. The event is huge and while probably not charming in the same way as the likes of the MELT festival, is the chance to see loads of top bands in one place at the same time.

 

Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, which starts in July and runs through to September, is a musical proposition of an altogether different nature. Taking place at venues all over Schleswig-Holstein, the festival brings together an enormous range of classical music and world-renowned classical performers. If you’re a classical fan and live in the region, it’s certainly unavoidable. 

 

As the summer tails off, so do the large-scale rock music festivals. But the advancing autumnal season is also the time of year for folk festivals of various colours. Take for example, Burgfolk 2008, which takes place near Mülheim. Featuring a wide line up of folk bands – this year there are some forty on the programme – the festival takes place in the impressive setting of Schloß Broich, a truly ancient castle. 

 

If castles and the medieval is your thing, then you need to check out September’s Medieval Festival in Selb, Bavaria. It’s the first time the festival will be taking place and with its exciting programme of music, tournaments, handicrafts and markets, it looks set to be a firm favourite on any festivals calendar.    

 

FESTIVALS AND EVENTS 

January

Burning Winter

26 January Ostfildern near Stuttgart

http://www.burningwinter.de/

February

Skarneval Koblenz

3rd February 5 bands – essentials, twisted, the clerks, the blue babies, skangaroos in Circus Maximus Carnival Sunday, a chance to do something else.

http://www.skarneval-koblenz.de/ 

 

Berlinale International Film Festival

 7 – 17 February Berlin 

http://www.berlinale.de/en/Homepage.en

 

10th Thüringer DiaFestival 

21 – 24 February Saalfeld, Thüringen

http://www.weltsichten.de/weltneu/event.htm

 

April

Kaff Rock Festival

 25 – 26 April 

Ensdorf, Bavaria 

http://www.kaff-rock.de/

 

May

Kult-Ur Open-Air 2008-01-08

9 – 11 May 

Weilheim an der TeckBaden-Württemburg 

A youngish, music festival, which this year features bands such as X2 and the Beatsteaks.  

 

38th International Dixieland Festival Dresden 

9-13 May 

The Big Easy on the Elbe with five days of Dixieland and early jazz music.  

http://www.dixieland-dresden.de/

 

20th International Africa Festival  

22 – 25 May

Würzburg 

http://www.africafestival.org/main/

 

Carnival of Cultures Berlin

9 -12 May 

Four days of ‘multi-kulti’ partying on the streets of Kreuzberg. 

http://www.karneval-berlin.de/

   

June

Rock am Ring

6 – 8 June 

Nürburgring, Eifel 

http://www.rock-am-ring.com/

   

Magic Bike Rüdesheim am Rhein

22 –25 May  

The air hums with the sound of Harley engines and stinks of motorbike exhaust. Motorbike magic for all ages. 

http://www.magic-bike-ruedesheim.de/

 

Folk im Schlosshof 2008

12 – 14 June 

Bad Rappenau Bonfeld 

http://www.folk-im-schlosshof.de/

 

Fusion Festival

26 – 29 June  

Smaller than Rock am Ring and just as charming as MELT – worth it. 

http://www.fusion-festival.de 

 

July

1st La Pampa Festival 

4 – 6 July 

Hagenwerder, Sachsen 

A welcome new edition to the eastern German pop festivals calendar.

http://www.lapampafestival.de/

  

MELT! -  Ferropolis Stadt aus Eisen, 

18 – 20 July

Gräfenhainichen, Sachsen Anhalt

Excellent for its band line up but also for after-hour DJ sets. Just great. 

www.meltfestival.de  

 

Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival

14 July – 2 September 

http://www.shmf.de 

 

Fantasy Filmfest

10 August – 10 September  

A month of horror, science fiction and the like in Munich, Stuttgart, Frankfurt, Nürnberg, Bochum, Cologne, Berlin and Hamburg. 

www.fantasyfilmfest.com  

 

Richard Wagner Festival (Bayreuther Festspiele) 

25 July - 28 August

Bayreuth, Bavaria

The annual bash for fans of Wagner featuring performances of his marathon operas.

http://www.bayreuther-festspiele.de/Anfangsseite/deutsch.htm

  

August

3rd African Culture Festival Solmspark 

2 August 

Rödelheim, Hessen

African culture celebrated for the third year in a row in Rödeleheim. 

 

Street Performer Festival Koblenz (Gauklerfest)

25 – 27 July  

Three days of wacky street performances in the old part of Koblenz. 

http://www.gauklerfest-koblenz.de/

 

International Berlin Beer Festival  

1 – 3 August 

Featuring the Berlin Beer Mile, the festival introduces new guest beers each year. 

www.bierfestival-berlin.de  

 

Rhine in Flames Koblenz

9 August 

The best Rhine in Flames event. A procession of boats down the Rhine concluded with a magnificent firework display. 

 

Ring Festival Cologne

(Ringfest Köln) 

13 -18 August 

www.ringfestkoeln.de  

 

Burgfolk 2008

16 August 

Mülheim an der Ruhr, Schloß Broich 

http://www.muelheim-ruhr.de/cms/festival1.html

  

Dresden City Festival

(Dresdener Stadtfest) 

15 – 17 August 

One of eastern Germany’s most attractive cities celebrates itself in three days of live music, street markets and food galore.  

 

September

  

Mosel Wine Festival - Bernkastel-Kues

(Weinfest der Mittelmosel) 

4 – 8 September 

Over 5000 vintners turn up here annually to let you sample their wares. Crisp, clean white wine-tasting in the setting of one of the Mosel’s loveliest towns.

 

Stöffchefest – Römerberg, Frankfurt

7 – 8 September 

A headache-inducing celebration of local apple wine production. 

http://www.frankfurt.de/sixcms/detail.php?id=3800&_ffmpar[_id_inhalt]=2095175  

 

14th International Film Festival Oldenburg 

12 – 16 September 

A non-competitive film festival. 

http://www.filmfest-oldenburg.de/

  

1st Medieval Festival 

19-21 September  

Selb, Bavaria 

http://www.festival-mediaval.com/en/index.htm

 

Kite Festival - Neuenrade, Sauerland

29 - 30 September

A festival of kite flying on a blustery hillside in the Sauerland.

http://www.lsv-werdohl.de/drachenfest.htm

 

October

Oktoberfest - Munich

20 September - 5 October

The biggest, most well-known beer festival in Germany.

www.oktoberfest.de

 

Jazzmeile Thüringen

3 October – 26 November

http://www.jazzmeile.org/index.html

 

November

Exground Filmfest – Wiesbaden

16 – 25 November

A festival of independent films from America and Asia.

 

December

7th Cologne Medieval Christmas Market at the Chocolate Museum – Cologne

30 November - 23 December

 

Nürnberg Christmas Market

30 November – 23 December

http://www.christkindlesmarkt.de/english/index.php?navi=1&rid=2

 

17 January2008

Copyright Expatica