Selkirk-Plattling Stadtfest 2008

To celebrate 10 years of twinning with Plattling in Bavaria, the two towns decided on a joint festival or ‘Stadtfest’ to mark the occasion.

Plattlingers came over to Selkirk for a long weekend in early September including a 35-strong youth band, a cook, a baker and various folk performers. Selkirk provided a pipe band, silver band, flute band, folk groups etc and hired the Victoria Hall. Streets were closed for a revival of the ancient St Laurence Fair; a continental market also booked for the w/e and street performers organised.

The ticketed Friday concert was very successful, a Bavarian meal served to over 300 and big inroads made into 5000L of different German beers brought across. There was minimal formality and entertainment was continuous.

The planned open-air market on Saturday was impossible due to appalling unseasonal weather but the Victoria hall was hurriedly converted into an indoor market/bierkeller and rolling continuous musical extravaganza. Despite the difficulties and cancellations elsewhere, the Stadtfest carried on and was deemed a great success, - could we have one next year?

The planning started in 2006 and there were many problems that needed to be solved. The principal lessons learned were:

• There needs to be a single defined conduit for accommodation. Book rooms early.
• There needs to be a well defined back-up plan for adverse weather.
• Budgeting needs to be well controlled on an ongoing basis.
• Every arrangement needs to be checked at least twice.
• Every planned activity needs a fall-back arrangement.
• There can’t be too many volunteer helpers.
• Advertising is expensive; for us, local ad. saturation more important than distal distribution.