May Day
Berlin celebrates May Day and it seems that from one year to another, the origins of this holiday are now gone: the Berliners are just looking for a good excuse to dance.
The focal of the organised parties and fests is in the eastern parts of Kreuzberg (SO 36) , where the city organises street parties to block unwanted violent riots by squatters and other anti-establishment social actors.
In MaiGörli , there will be several stages with entertainment and other stands around the Goerlitzer Park. The entrance to the park itself will be guarded so that people will not bring in all kinds of verbotene stuff, e.g. bikes and grills (for a full list of what is allowed and what is not, see here)
MaiGörli , May Day, from noontime, free admission (PDF map of entrances)The "traditional" May Day event is MyFest, taking place around Mariannenplatz and the nearby streets (Oranienstr., Kotti etc) with many stages and stands.
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| May Day in Goerli |
The trade unions will have their main festival in the Brandenburg Gate, with a party for the whole family.
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| Red balloons in the May Day festival in Brandenburg Gate |
Another May Day party will take place on Tuesday in the UFA Fabrik Tempelhof.
Not really May Day related, but there is going to be a small fest, with Medieval overtones, near Rathaus Lichtenberg , all four weekend days. Another street party on all four days is in Gropiusstadt in Neukoelln
Walpurgisnacht
The night before MayDay is Walpurgisnacht, the night of the witches. Historically, bonfires are part of the day; and in recent Berlin history, it was a great excuse to start the May Day riots on the night before. Nothing mixes so well than alcohol and fire.
As in the case of the May Day, one of the preventive courses taken by Berliners who like to party and dislike riots was to take over the main places where riots have started.
The Peaceful Walpurgisnacht initiative in Prenzlauer Berg makes sure that the Walpurgisnacht in the Mauerpark is a peaceful, family friendly event. Starting at ca. 4 pm in Mauerpark
Another party will take place at the Kulturbrauerei, and will include a big bonfire in the middle of the Brauerei . Bonfire from 6 pm, party from 10 pm
Gamefest
There is a big gaming conference all week long in Berlin, and at the weekend there's a special treat - the Gamefest, a combination of an exhibition, a fair and a convention for gaming lovers that includes cosplay, gaming (duh!), freebies and much more.
Gamefest, Fri + Sat , SÄÄLCHEN BERLIN (part of Holzmarkt 25 compound) , admission: 10 reg; 7 cons; 5 with cosplay.
ILA
Not only gamers have a feast at the weekend, also plane lovers congregate in BER for the ILA, Berlin's Aeronautics Fair . There are also children activities.
ILA, admission fees apply (and not very cheap either)
Furthermore...
- Reading in Bebelplatz! A cool annual event at this weekend, in which Bebelplatz turns into a huge reading space. On Sunday, it is "family day"
- Until May 21st: May Funfair in Hasenheide
- Museums and Casltes
- Every Saturday: workshops for children (from 2:30 onwards) at the Museum of Technology
- Design your own exhibition (DE) in the Maerkisches Museum, Sat, 2 pm
- Guided tour for families at the Natural History Museum, Sun from 11:00
- Ceramics festival in the Königs Wusterhausen Castle, Sat + Sun
- All four days: fairy tales in Dueppel
- Sat + Sun + Tue (no Mon): A small funfair in Domaene Dahlem
- Music:
- Friday afternoon (from 2): children disco at about: blank
- Every Saturday , 12:00, the "Mighty Wurlitzer" in the Musical Instruments Museum
- Sport
- FC Union are doing a "Girls Day" on Tuesday, Bruno-Bürgel-Weg 55 12439 Berlin
- Food and Markets:
- Flea markets and a street food market in the Kulturbrauerei
- On Saturday: A Koepenick wine festival
- The Nowkoelln Flowmarkt on Sunday in Maybachufer
- The biteclub is back! Sunday from 11:00 in Arena/Treptow
- And on Saturday there is going to be an interesting event in Alexanderplatz (from 2:30): a fashion flash mob for sustainable and fair trade fashion, just across from the Primark, and I guess this is intentional...
Brandenburg
- The Werder Bloom Festival is worth a visit from Berlin. Until May 6th
- And even more accessible from Berlin: the Teltow Cherry Blossom Festival
- In Oranienburg, on Sunday: the Orangefest, in the Castle.
Jewish Holidays: Lag BaOmer
Lag BaOmer, the bonfire fest, is this week (May 2-3) . Most of the events will be next week (on May 6th to be exact), and I will advertise on next entry (on Wednesday evening). However, there are a few events next week:
- On the 3rd: big bonfire at Chabad West, Muenstersche Srtr 6
About Me
I offer tours in Berlin as well as write about the city as well as published several books and articles in general. I am always free for writing gigs - travel writing or any other types of writing and research - or of course to show you the wonderful city I live in.
About the Blog
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