On the first weekend in August, it's that time of year again: on Saturday and Sunday, August 5 and 6, 2023, the Idar-Oberstein Jewellery Culture Association and the municipal cultural office will once again present the German Gemstone Cutters' and Goldsmiths' Market with Street Theater Festival. This joint event has attracted numerous visitors from near and far to the town center of Oberstein for many years and is a flagship event for the gemstone and jewelry town on the Nahe. And this year it is celebrating a double anniversary, as the market is taking place for the 25th time and the festival for the 20th time. Those responsible presented this year's program in the premises of the Kreissparkasse Birkenfeld.
"I am enthusiastic about this event and am delighted that we are once again able to support this fantastic, nationally renowned event," emphasized KSK board member Torsten Rothfuchs. The Kreissparkasse has been a sponsor from the very beginning and has supported the event every year since then. Mayor Frank Frühauf expressed his thanks for this, as well as for the support of the other sponsors OIE AG, Bürkle Stiftung, Globus Idar-Oberstein and the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. "The market is unique thanks to the demonstrations by the artisans and the combination with the street theater festival is what makes it so special," said the mayor.
Street theater returns to the city centre
"The gemstone cutters' and goldsmiths' market is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, five years later the street theater festival was launched and since then these two events have formed a great combination," emphasized Annette Strohm, the city's cultural officer. She and her team are responsible for the street theater part. The community event also took place during the coronavirus pandemic, but the street theater had to move to the Auf der Idar square. "This year, we are returning to Christuskirchplatz and the pedestrian zone."
On the stage at Christuskirchplatz, the French company Kadavreski offers a dynamic show with tango on skis, a singing saw and other spectacular ideas. Albers Ahoi, a group of young sailors, takes to the stage and invites the audience on a musical journey to sing and sway along. The artist duo Zinzi and Evertjan unleash a storm of wild acrobatics and Ohle's solo shows artistic, laugh-out-loud comedy.
Other acts delight passers-by along the pedestrian zone. A cloud in the person of Mademoiselle Prrr plays the tuba, the Duo Naranja presents itself as living, wonderfully fragrant oranges, Frau Beerenbaum visits the city center with her cheeky vulture, Sophie Bizer is on the road with an interactive object theater in a vendor's tray and the reader Cladia Schnürer enchants her listeners with poems.
25 years of the gemstone cutter and goldsmith market
For the 25th time, the pedestrian zone below the Felsenkirche church will be transformed into a large open-air workshop. This year, the German Gemstone Cutters' and Goldsmiths' Market is being organized for the first time by the newly founded association Schmuckkultur Idar-Oberstein e. V.. "We emerged from IG Idar-Oberstein, which is also supporting us with the organization this year. It's a smooth transition," reported association chairman Frederick Grüneberg together with his fellow board members Andrea Sohne and Sibylle Delzeit. More than 45 exhibitors are expected this year, and further inquiries are still being received. As in the past, the organizers attach great importance to the exhibitors demonstrating their craftsmanship at their stands. "Because that's what makes the market so lively," explained Grüneberg. There will be grinding, hammering, engraving and polishing everywhere and visitors will be able to look over the shoulders of the craftspeople. The market showcases what has made Idar-Oberstein famous all over the world: Fascinating minerals, local agates, contemporary jewelry and glittering jewels.
- Admission to the market and street theater is free. The stalls at the gemstone cutters' and goldsmiths' market are open on Saturdays from 10 am to 7 pm and on Sundays from 11 am to 6 pm. Further information can be found at www.schmuckkultur.com. The street theater takes place on both days from 1 to 7 pm. More information at www.kultur.io.