The St. Gallen Children’s Festival has been around for 200 years
Published: Saturday, May 11th 2024, 09:20
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May 22 is the first date for the triennial children's festival in the city of St. Gallen. The weather forecast determines whether the event takes place. The festival has been held in various forms for 200 years.
As the first date approaches, the children's festival in the city of St. Gallen becomes a common topic of conversation: "Is it?" is the frequently asked question.
The festival will only take place if the weather forecast promises a consistently sunny day. Another condition is that the festival meadow on the Rosenberg must be dry. This process of deciding whether it will take place or be postponed can take weeks. - can drag on for weeks. It almost seems as if the longer the uncertainty lasts, the greater the anticipation.
When the decision is made to hold the event, the whole town is informed. The evening before, tambourines march through the city. Early in the morning, firecrackers announce the start.
The first item on the program is the procession of school classes to the festival site. The streets and alleyways are lined with spectators. For some teachers, the route feels like running the gauntlet. Nice or rather malicious comments from the audience about clothing and appearance are often unmistakable.
Around 5500 schoolchildren parade in front of around 30,000 visitors. The huge turnout is no coincidence: the city is more or less at a standstill on this day. Numerous stores are closed and the city administration is also not working.
Carried out for 200 years
September 28, 1824 is considered the official founding date of the St. Gallen Children's Festival. At that time, however, it was more of a patriotic youth festival, with uniformed cadets marching through the streets of the town.
The festival as it presents itself today only developed later. From the turn of the century in particular, the children's festival reflected the flourishing of the St. Gallen textile and embroidery industry in colorful and elegant dresses.
The children's festival retained its traditional sequence. First the parade, then the performances by the school classes on the fairground. At lunchtime there is the extra-large children's festival sausage with Bürli. Later in the afternoon, after a usually long, hot day, the official program ends and the festivities begin for the adults - and for the rather exhausted teachers.
Together with the textile companies
In addition to this structure, a lot has changed. This is probably the reason why fundamental criticism of the event is rarely heard. Bratwurst is no longer the only catering option. Pupils now have a major say in the performances. The variety of productions on stage has grown accordingly.
Textile companies such as Forster Rohner, Bischoff Textil and Jakob Schläpfer have been actively supporting the festival again since 2015. They either provide the students with fabrics for the dresses or deliver ready-made shorts, skirts, shirts and T-shirts to the school, as is the case with the haute couture company Akris.
The 2024 edition of the Kinderfest is special. For the first time since the Second World War, there was a break of six years. The 2021 edition was canceled by the city council without replacement, mainly for reasons of cost-cutting and to some extent because of Covid-19. Even a petition and protests from all political camps, including the SVP, did not prevent the cancellation.
©Keystone/SDA
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