Garden fair presents tulip festival, neighbor fest

This year, the Garden Fair Kaiserslautern officially opens April 5. If weather permits, doors might open Saturday and Sunday to give visitors the chance to admire the early blooming flowers.

“Festival of Tulips” is the main theme for this garden show.

“A total of one million tulips, daffodils, hyacinths and grape hyacinths on 8,000 square meters will turn the area into a unique spring flower paradise,” said garden fair manager Thomas Zinssmeister. “We expect the tulips to bloom until May, and in fall, we want to show off dahlias.”

Besides outdoor flowers, indoor flower displays lure visitors each year. This year’s motto is “window display.” Every two weeks, new flowers and plants will be arranged in the flower hall to match a theme. 

“One interesting flower display will feature the fantasy world of movies and another one the romance of a dream wedding,” said the garden fair’s spokesperson Sandra Laux. “All together, gardeners put up eight different flower exhibitions.”

Other attractions are the dinosaur exhibit, ice age garden with two mammoths, aqua garden, flower garden, activity garden, culture garden, fairy tale garden, cactus garden, Biblical garden and Japanese garden.

The willow church on Kaiserberg hill offers worship services on weekends.
“Interested couples even can get married in our willow church,” said Mrs. Laux. For their celebration, they can use the restaurant up there or arrange for a picnic. For wedding and christening ceremonies, a special fee which includes the admission fee is involved. 

“The German-American Community office helps finding a chaplain or priest if needed,” said Mrs. Laux.

Children can enjoy the variety of playgrounds, a skate rink, soccer field, beach volleyball and miniature golf in Neumühlepark.

Adventure lessons under the open sky are offered in the “green classroom.” School children of all ages can participate in more than 40 educational offers regarding nature, culture and environment.

“We have English-speaking instructors who teach the students all kinds of stuff, for example how honey is made, which are the plants in our nature garden and the development of our earth by walking along the dinosaur path and through the tunnel of life,” said Mr. Zinssmeister.

The second arts forum takes place April 5 to June 2 in the industrial museum. Artists and craftspeople present their works such as paintings, drawings, graphics, sculptures, jewelry, ceramics, glass and wooden items.

The Kaiserslautern Garden Fair also offers musical events, children’s programs, displays and markets.

A neighbor fest under the motto “Neighbor America” is scheduled for April 29. Various local U.S. bands, dance groups and sports teams will perform throughout the day.

The “Dutch Days” feature dancing groups, traditional costumes and food specialties from the Netherlands, and run from May 10 to 13.

“Last year we noticed that every fourth visitor was an American,” said Mr. Zinssmeister. “I took the opportunity and talked to a lot of U.S. families who all ensured me how much they like the garden fair.

“We hope that again this year we can attract many Americans to enjoy the wonderful things we have to offer.”

Daily admission times are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays, the fair opens at 9 a.m. Tickets cost €6 for adults and €3 for children. The evening tickets after 5 p.m. are half-price.

Season tickets cost €40 for adults and €20 for children. For more information, visit www.gartenschau-kl.de or call 0631-7100700.