On Saturday and Sunday, August 5 and 6, 2023, the Jewellery Culture Association and the town of Idar-Oberstein will once again be hosting the gemstone cutters' and goldsmiths' market with street theater. This joint event has been attracting numerous visitors from near and far to the town center of Oberstein for many years. 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. The weekend is rounded off with an open Sunday, during which retailers in the Oberstein district invite visitors to enjoy a spot of shopping. The event is supported by Kreissparkasse Birkenfeld, OIE AG, the Bürkle Foundation, Globus Idar-Oberstein and the state of Rhineland-Palatinate.
25 years of the gemstone cutter and goldsmith market
At the foot of the Felsenkirche, 46 exhibitors will be presenting the whole variety of gemstone and jewelry processing this year. They will be showing geodes, minerals and gemstones as well as gold and silver jewelry in a wide range of precious variations. The stands are set up in the lower pedestrian zone around the market square and the museum square as well as along Hauptstraße. Every quarter of an hour there are changing demonstrations of the various trades, which are announced on the tents in the form of stylized clock faces. There will be grinding, hammering, engraving and sawing and visitors will be able to look over the shoulders of the craftsmen. Being able to experience the creation of a piece of jewelry up close is unique in Germany. This unique market enchants with the variety of treasures, the relaxed atmosphere and the street theater taking place at the same time.
Acrobatics, poetry, music and comedy
The street theater organized by the city's Department of Culture returns from the square Auf der Idar to the city centre. On the stage at Christuskirchplatz and in the pedestrian zone, national and international artists present poetic, comic, acrobatic and bizarre performances. All free of charge and outdoors, freely accessible in the open air, the attractive festival and market appeal to young and old alike. Strolling from one performance to the next and visiting the wonderful market stalls is - as always - the idea.
With "Ohles Budenzauber", Jens Ohle presents hard-hitting artistry and outrageous magic. You can see spectacular ladder acrobatics, tough circus stunts and cool stand-up comedy.
In "The show must go on!", the artistic duo Zinzi and Evertjan fight their way through a bundle of entangled limbs. Knotted music cables, wild acrobatics and distorted guitar riffs - whatever happens, the show must go on!
The French troupe Kadavresky presents acrobats on skis and a singing saw. With their program "Les Madeleines de Poulpes", the five cheerful artists immerse themselves in a visual and dynamic spectacle that ranges from the latest tubes to acoustic music.
The band Albers Ahoi is great fun and bursting with good humor. The quintet reinterprets maritime songs, old popular tunes and chansons with an unusual line-up. In a formation reminiscent of a marching band, the five men in sailor's pants invite their audience on a musical journey from Hamburg to Haiti.
Mademoiselle Prrr is a cloud that plays the tuba: Melodic cloud music resounds, a light breeze is in the air. Soothing and lively like a fresh breeze, the cloud floats by and leaves a good atmosphere for young and old.
Theater Pikante presents the performance "Mrs. Beerenbaum and her vulture": hunter's widow Mechthild Beerenbaum always wanted a small dachshund. However, her husband Hubert preferred a vulture as an animal companion during his lifetime. After his death, it is of course out of the question for Mechthild to part with the headstrong bird. However, their life together is put to the test every day, as Mechthild is actually not entirely comfortable with the cheeky vulture. But the feeling is mutual.
Claudia Schnürer is the reader in "The Reading Room". In a small white room that has been brought outside from indoors, visitors are invited to take a seat opposite her and listen to her read aloud. A poem is selected especially for this particular listener. These are poems by well-known and unknown poets; a subjective selection of everything that can touch and inspire.
"Das herbare Lapidarium" is an interactive object theater in a vendor's tray by Sophia Bizer. An old suitcase as a treasure chest for the wonders of nature, a theater of the senses that invites visitors to discover and takes them into the world of their memories and unexpected associative spaces.
With its walk act "Naranja", the Stiltlife Street Theater presents a summery street theater with cheerfully cheeky oranges. The orange seller has very special fruit on offer today: two oranges with a diameter of 170 centimetres. They are round and cheerful on the outside, but wait until they open their orange peel - once sold. Inside, this variety surprises with the sensuality of an oversized fruit.
- 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. More information at www.schmuck-kultur.com.
The street theater starts at 1 pm. Timetable and further information at www.kultur.io.
Admission to both events is free.