Setting up the village festival

We have been celebrating our Lehde Festival on the last weekend in September for 30 years. A festival that not only celebrates traditions, but also the village community that connects us all.

We don’t have an organizer or an agency, no, “we” are the ones who showcase life in Lehde, e.g. through craftsmanship like “scything” and “basket weaving” to handicrafts and celebrate our culture with traditional costumes, dancing and music. We are the ones who race with guests in the “dugout canoe” – a unique watercraft made from a poplar trunk. We are the ones who show how haystacks are built. And we tell “legends” and “stories” and show in contrast the technology and necessity of landscape conservation.

Six months before the festival, we plan the highlights, apply for permits and design the advertising. In the 6 weeks before the festival, we prepare the program, clarify the logistics and assign the countless volunteers. But the atmosphere in the village really picks up in the 6 days before the festival.

The marquee and dance floor are set up together, the beer trolley is positioned and connected, and the lighting and floral decorations are put up. The days spent setting up are always an additional task alongside the job and other things in life. But that’s why it’s a highlight for everyone involved every year.