Winterthur's weekend of Africa

There is nowhere else I would rather be this weekend than at the Afro-Pfingsten Festival 2015 in Winterthur (well, I may find time for a dip in an outdoor pool as the temperature rises on Sunday) But apart from that I will be immersing myself in the colour, food, smells and sounds of Africa.

This year the Afro-Pfingsten festival, which began on Thursday and runs until Sunday, is celebrating its 25th anniversary. For a quarter of a century this festival has been connecting people from different backgrounds with the vibe of Africa.

It's all free, with reggae, an African Market and plenty of things to do for all the family – and I'm even told there will be camel rides available! The main focal points are a bounty of wonderful stalls all the way up Marktgasse which begins at Winterthur HB and runs through the old town. The main market takes place throughout the weekend and there will be drummers, dancers, acrobats and singers showing off their skills in the church square. Here, at 11am and 12pm on Saturday, Cafe au Lait will present tales of Good versus evil with song and dance - aimed at children aged 6 and above.

At 1pm and 3pm on Saturday The City Library will be hosting a special event: 'Fairy Tales and Songs from Madagascar' in its beautiful outdoor courtyard.

And also from 10am you can contribute your old bike to the Winterthur Brühlgut Foundation and Bikes for Africa. The two organisations have come together to convert disused bicycles in the foundation's workshop for export to the South. For each donated bicycle there will be a small thank you.

As the sun goes down, on Saturday from 5pm until 8pm a gospel concert will take place on the Church Square stage with Jenny C from Ghana, Nadine Rukatsi of Congo and the Kuziem Singers from Angola.

There will even be camel rides, in collaboration with Ben's camel farm for CHF 5! These will take place on the church square on Saturday between 10am and 5pm and on Sunday at Katharina-Sulzer-Platz until 4pm. Katharina-Sulzer-Platz is a 10 minute walk out of town behind HB to- or disembark at the Loki bus stop - you will find a colorful marketplace with plenty of live music and attractions for the whole family, until the early hours.

There is all this and much, much more. For further details look up the dedicated website:
www.afro-pfingsten.ch