The summer temperatures made the showmen sweat a lot yesterday at the Wels exhibition center. For Rudolf Schlader, the fourth-generation showman, that’s no reason to complain. “We’ll be done in a few hours and we’re looking forward to the start. Even my 86-year-old uncle and my mother and aunt, who are both over 70, help out with us at the folk festivals,” says Schlader. He is represented in Wels with the “Crazy Boat” and the climbing garden “Donkey Kong”.
Not only in the amusement park with its dozens of rides and show booths, but also in the 60-meter-long “Zum Ludwig” marquee, in the wine shop and in the wine village, almost everything is already ready for the expected rush of visitors to the folk festival. After the final touches have been made, the lights will go on at 6 p.m. on Thursday for the test lighting and will not go out again until Sunday evening. At 7.30 p.m. the folk festival, in which OÖ Nachrichten is a media partner, will open with an official ceremony and the tapping of the beer with Wels Exhibition Director Robert Schneider and Mayor Andreas Rabl. Visitors can sway, dance and sing along in the marquee on the first evening to the music of the band “Die Wilden Kaiser”. “Die Partyhirschen” (Friday) and “Zwirn” (Saturday) guarantee a party atmosphere, as do several DJs who will also be playing in the Weindorf and Weinkost.
Friday is traditionally the family afternoon. From 1 p.m. there is a discount of up to 50 percent on rides such as the children’s carousel or the ghost train. From 2 p.m., the OÖ Nachrichten will have a stand on the corner of Weinkost, where children can have their faces painted.
Trade fair director Robert Schneider expects another very successful folk festival in the anniversary year “800 years of Wels”. Already in the spring, the desire for the traditional festival was huge, despite bad luck with the weather. The weather forecast for the coming festival days is also promising.
Source: Nachrichten
