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by Jutta Lausberg-Saam
86th Airlift Wing
Bernkastel-Kues started its 71st winefest yesterday and will continue through Tuesday. It is not only the most traditional winefest in the region, it is the largest, and lures more than 200,000 visitors every year.
Starting at noon today, the wine and food booths will be open. At 2 p.m. Mayor Wolfgang Port, the wine queen “Mosella,” Kristin I, accompanied by her two wine princesses Svenja and Rebecca will officially open the amusement park and the artisan market.
Three stages will be set up around the “Marktplatz,” market place, and the winestreet. Several bands will entertain visitors with live music. Throughout the day, regional and national music clubs and clubs from Belgium, France, and the Netherlands will perform traditional and modern music, animating the audience to chuckling and singing.
Tonight at 8 p.m., visitors can witness the arrival of all wine queens of the communities involved, led by the “Mosella,” wine queen of Bernkastel-Kues, the highlight of the event. At 9 p.m., spectators will be entertained by fireworks displayed from Landshut castle and the riverbank in Bernkastel. Best viewing location is the bridge which connects Bernkastel and Kues. For approximately 30 minutes, the evening sky will light up with wild forms, bright colors, and sometimes loud noises.
On Sunday at 2 p.m., the vintners’ parade takes place starting the 2.5-kilometer tour in the “Altstadt,” old city, and traveling all the way to the other side of the Moselle to Kues. In addition to 27 floats, 23 music groups and 34 walking groups the Moselle wine queen Laura Gerhardt will participate.
With the winestreet on one side of the Moselle, the amusement park and the artisan market form the counterpart on the opposite river bank.
Opening hours for the amusement park and the largest wine fest at the Moselle are today at 2 p.m., Saturday, Monday and Tuesday at 1 p.m. and Sunday at 11 a.m. The artisan market will be open Friday, Monday, and Tuesday from 2 to 8 p.m., Saturday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Sunday from noon until 8 p.m.
Organizers are asking visitors to arrive early to the fireworks and the parade to avoid traffic jams. Bernkastel-Kues is approximately 87 kilometers north of Ramstein Air Base.
For more information visit: www.bernkastel.de/veranstaltungen/weinfest-der-mittelmosel/.
