Europe Grows in Vienna
A couple of weeks ago we enjoyed yet another of Wien’s frequent festivals. We now firmly grasp and embrace this city’s need for continuous public celebration – the Viennese are a party people. So during the last weekend of April we joined throngs of Wieners from all walks of life for the annual Cityfest; this year’s theme was “Europe Grows in Vienna.” The goal of the two-day cultural festival was to highlight how, through the contributions of various cultural and ethnic groups, Vienna is the heart of Europe. To that end the festival organizers erected dozens of stages throughout the city center with fantastic musical acts and performances. Plus, visual art could be seen any time you turned your head, and of course there was delicious food. According to the Austrian Forum for Migration Studies, about nine percent of Vienna’s (and Austria’s) population is comprised of foreign residences – 62% of whom are from the former Yugoslavia and Turkey. A few other cultural groups from Poland and Middle Eastern and African nations also add to Vienna’s mix. Whilst enjoying the festival we did indeed notice peformers as well as participants from a variety of countries.
Musical acts included everything from classical and klesmer music, to gypsy jazz and Slovakian folk. We’ve been fortunate enough to hear the Vienna Boys Choir in the Hofburg Chapel for Sunday mass, but it was a real treat to have a front row seat to see the VBC during the festival. Their hour-long concert included accompanied and acapella songs spanning several genres and languages. In particular, it was dear and somewhat comical to hear the little boys rock out on “Seasons of Love” from the musical Rent.
Huge panels depicting Vienna’s place in the heart of Europe stretched between the buildings above Kohlmarkt, one of Wien’s most beloved streets.
Street performers added to the celebration - and sometimes to crowd control.
A carousel in front of St. Stephan’s? You bet! And five feet away you could purchase all types of food, church-related items, handmade crafts, and of course, beer.
The “culinary enjoyment pavilion,” featured specialties from each of Austria’s nine provinces. We sampled apricot schnapps from Upper Austria, pumpkin seed oil from Styria, cheese from Lower Austria, and sausage from Carinthia. We were greatly disappointed that the purple asparagus from Burgenland had sold out. The paths from booth to booth were made of sod – classy!
For an abundance of additional festival photos, please check out http://www.stadtfest-wien.at/sfw2008-home/.
1 comment:
So, how many times did you think to yourself, "Ith a Fethival!" If I had been there, we could have talked like that all weekend!
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