What’s up in Berlin – April through June 2017

Have you noticed an awful lot of people with happy faces around you recently? Wondering what is going on? Well, you might just be in Berlin, because spring is here, finally! And it is not only the flowers that are blooming: the event calendar is flowering in splendid colors, offering highlight after highlight for this spring season. And while we’re being presented with this year’s first summery weekend, we look forward to the many promising events and festivals ahead of us. Music or art, trade show or sports – do your check-in at Industriepalast Hostel Berlin and be ready to enjoy the event highlights for April through June 2017:

The joys of spring

The Berliner is a somewhat typical mammal: For most of the winter you might not get to see them as they are hibernating through the cold and grey months. But once spring finally makes his appearance, look out: the streets and parks are suddenly crowded with people, hungry for the sun. There’s happiness in the air, love, music – in short: it’s the season of street festivals. As usual, MyFest on worker’s day (May 1, 2017) is firing the starting pistol. The wild party around Kreuzberg’s notorious Oranienstraße might well be called the mother of street festivals in the German capital. Karneval der Kulturen (June 2 – 5, 2017) is loud, is creative, is wild, and peaceful. Many Berliners call it their favorite festival, but stop by for some yummy snacks, great music, and the amazing parade, and judge for yourself. Still an insider’s tip is Torstraßenfestival (June 8 – 11, 2017) which turns the many bars and clubs of Mitte’s street of the same name into a wonderland of live music. And when summer is finally arriving, it will be greeted majestically with Fête de la Musique (June 21, 2017), Berlin’s biggest street music festival.

The colors of spring

To the many artists that reside here in Berlin, hibernation is inspiration, it appears. How else could we explain the huge number of art events and exhibitions that are set to happen over the course of the next three months? Berlin is an international hotspot of street art, with one project promising to become a major highlight of the year: THE HAUS – Berlin Art Bang brings some 150 international graffiti artists together in an abandoned bank close to Zoological Garden. From April through June you can check out the results for yourself. In the meantime, the city’s original street art palace, his majesty, the Urban Spree, will explore the long underestimated art form of comics: Comic Invasion 2017 (April 24 – Mai 7). The german capital is famous for it’s variety of art galleries; and you can explore them very fashionably on a weekend in late April. Gallery Weekend Berlin (April 28 – Mai 1, 2017) is when they all open their doors, so you can stroll through the streets of Berlin on a very artsy mission. That Berlin’s unique art scene has become world famous is partly due to an amazing event that has been happening for almost 20 years now, and yet has lost nothing of its original touch: 48 hours Neukölln (June 23 – 25, 2017) is still the flagship of a young, alternative local art world that is worthy being discovered anew every year. Just in general, the city’s motto seems to be: “Out of the museum, onto the streets!”. Another example: Open Air Gallery on June 4, 2017, when Oberbaumbrücke is being turned into just that – a free open air gallery.

Just do it

Sigh. Wasn’t it nice to play that old couch potato game all winter long? Cut the nostalgia and get moving, for spring’s sake! Do some sports! Or… at least watch some. Berlin Half Marathon on April 2, 2017, is set to get the running season up and, well, running. Since German soccer is being dominated by one team (and one team only), the knockout tournament of DFB Cup is usually more exciting than the Bundesliga. Fancy watching the cup final? May 27, 2017, Berlin olympic stadium. If we trust Elon Musk on this, our automotive future is electronic. And so is the future of motorsports: Berlin ePrix – Formula E (June 10, 2017) is the city’s biggest motor race, and it is happening right in the centre. And yet it is mass sports that make for the biggest highlight of the year’s sports calendar in town: International German Gymnastics Festival (June 3 – 10, 2017) connects more than 100,000 gymnasts from Germany and abroad. And this time it happens: in Berlin.

An ocean of colors

And there’s another highlight that will only happen this year: international garden festival IGA 2017. Germany’s elite of gardeners and landscapers get together only once in a blue moon in order to design a park of flowery miracles. Erholungspark Marzahn is located in the far east of Berlin, but when it comes to gardening trends it will move to the centre of attention. Different subject areas cover everything from balcony plants over water gardens and public parks to guerilla gardening and urban farming. No less than 2.5 million visitors are expected to visit the amazing “Ocean of Colors” between April 13 and October 15, 2017. Better not miss it! The best way to get in the mood: Cherry Blossom Festival on April 16, also in Gärten der Welt in Marzahn.

What an anniversary

We have one more extraordinary mega event for you: Celebrating the 500th anniversary of the church reform in Germany and Europe the 36th German Protestant Church Assembly will take place in Berlin and historic Wittenberg, where Martin Luther started it all. Some 200,000 people are expected to participate in 2,000 events over the course of five days between May 24 and 28, 2017. The “Kirchentag” is thereby open to members of all religions, denominations, and beliefs; a celebration of peace and inclusion. A huge part of the participants is made up of young people, so the festival is proof that religion still is an important part of many people’s lives in our days. Very interesting in this regard is an exhibition put together by the German Historic Museum that takes place from April 12 to November 5, 2017, at Martin-Gropius-Bau: The Luther Effect: Protestantism – 500 Years in the World.

Let me guess, you’re already experiencing itchy feet? All you want to do is get packed and ready for a trip to Berlin? No problem, book your bed today at Industriepalast Hostel Berlin and have the spring of your life in the German capital. We look forward to hosting you soon!

Simon

Blogger @IndustriepalastHostel