This community event has become a success story in a very short space of time and attracts thousands of visitors from the region and beyond every year. The market is unique, a wonderful mix of traditional crafts, precious stones and unusual jewelry design. Nearly 50 stands invite visitors to watch gemstone cutters, goldsmiths, engravers and jewelry designers at work.
The event is supported by Kreissparkasse Birkenfeld, OIE AG, the Bürkle Foundation, Globus Idar-Oberstein and the Rhineland-Palatinate Ministry for Family Affairs, Women, Culture and Integration. The weekend will be rounded off by a Sunday open for business, when retailers in the Oberstein district will be inviting visitors to enjoy a spot of shopping.
The popular street theater in the Oberstein district takes place parallel to the gemstone cutters' and goldsmiths' market. A fascinating stage program takes place on the "OIE stage" on Christuskirchplatz in the Oberstein pedestrian zone. From exceptional jugglers in the play "Cie. Wilson, Sing!", to circus acrobatics with live music from the group "ConTakt" and the street theater band "SopaLoca", which is based on South American and tropical music, there is something for everyone. Joe Dieffenbacher alias "Nakupelle" transforms the everyday into a playground full of imaginative and absurd fun. He performs the play "Paper Work" and "The Trap". There will also be daring bicycle acrobatics on show.
Other walk acts delight passers-by along the pedestrian zone. A wacky rat gang conquers the world beyond the sewers. The "Theater PasParTouT" plays music from ratty to spicy as a gaudy rodent combo. The "Teatro Due Mondi" (Italy) presents "Fiesta", an Italian street theater parade on stilts with imaginative costumes and traditional Italian songs. The show continues with "Pere Hosta", who creates funny, surreal and witty moments with a real door.
Schedule for the street theater festival Saturday & Sunday
OIE stage at Christuskirchplatz:
13:00 Sopa Loca: "Calle Loca" - A street theater band inspired by South American and tropical music.
13:45 Fleuriane Cornet - bicycle acrobatics - Fleuriane develops an almost poetic relationship with the bicycle, which is reflected in her unusual and seemingly effortless interlocking bicycle figures.
14:00 Nakupelle: "paper work" - This show transforms the everyday into a playground.
15:00 Cie. Wilson, Sing!: "why not maybe perhaps" - This duo presents an abstract expressionist juggling painting in which the unwritten laws of juggling are taken ad absurdum.
15:35 Fleuriane Cornet - Bicycle acrobatics
16:00 Nakupelle: "The Trap" - One plan, one man, one plant. Technology and nature fight each other and have trapped an unfortunate fool in their midst.
17:00 Cie. Wilson, Sing!: "why not maybe perhaps"
17:35 Fleuriane Cornet - Bicycle acrobatics
17:50 ConTakt: "Foley" - Foley is a unique circus experience that explores the highs and lows of togetherness with exquisite live music.
Walk acts in the pedestrian zone:
1.30 pm, 3.45 pm, 5.30 pm - Teatro Due Mondi: "Fiesta" - A carnival-like theater parade with a South American-Mediterranean atmosphere.
1:45 pm, 4:15 pm - Pere Hosta: "Open Door" - With the simplicity of a door, we are taken to imaginative places.
2:30 pm, 4:45 pm - Theater PasParTouT: "RaTaTa - Die Rattenfanfare" - A wacky rat gang conquers the world beyond the sewers.
3:30 pm, 5:30 pm - SopaLoca: "Calle Loca" -A street theater band inspired by South American and tropical music.
Times and info
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.schmuck-kultur.com.
More information on street theater can be found at www.idar-oberstein.de/strassentheater.
Admission to both events is free.