Parksommer
Basic information
Project Title
Full project title
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Project Description
Parksommer Chemnitz is an annual open-air cultural festival that brings a lively vibe to Stadthallenpark in the city centre for four weeks during the summer. Guests are invited to bring their deckchairs and enjoy a mix of music, yoga and children’s events. Relaxed evening concerts featuring a mix of jazz, folk and classical acts along with and singer-songwriters and much more draw around 18,000 Chemnitz residents to the park on warm summer evenings every year.
Project Region
EU Programme or fund
Description of the project
Summary
Parksommer Chemnitz is an annual open-air cultural festival that brings a lively vibe to Stadthallenpark in the city centre for four weeks during the summer. Guests are invited to bring their deckchairs and enjoy a mix of music, yoga and children’s events. Relaxed evening concerts featuring a mix of jazz, folk and classical acts along with and singer-songwriters and much more draw around 18,000 Chemnitz residents to the park on warm summer evenings every year.
A fixed program of children’s events is staged in the afternoons from Tuesday through Sunday. Young guests have the opportunity to do crafts, dance, make music or even try out yoga. Chemnitz residents who enjoy exercise are invited to get fit with yoga sessions led by professional instructors in the early evenings. Audiences can then bring their picnic blankets or deckchairs and take in performances by a different artist every evening. A small 360-degree stage is built in the park. The festival primarily features regional artists living in Germany whom we would like to give the chance to share their music. In many cases, they are performing in front of much larger crowds than they are used to and they are of course paid for their performances.
The events are free of charge and open to everyone in Chemnitz. The festival is financed by a crowdfunding project in cooperation with Volksbank Chemnitz. Put simply, the concept is that everyone pays whatever they like for the events. In addition to using the online platform (www.viele-schaffen-mehr.de), people can also support Parksommer with a voluntary on‑site contribution at every event on the festival grounds. These contributions total around 20,000 Euros every year and ensure we are able to host the festival the following year.
Key objectives for sustainability
Sustainability in terms of how the location is used: The idea of Parksommer came about in 2017, with the goal of reinvigorating the park with some attractive events. The aim was to bring a more positive feel to the park, which was dealing with various problems (criminality, particularly involving drugs, violence and harassment), through art and cultural activities to help it move beyond its problematic reputation. The festival was designed to make the park a place where people from the city enjoyed spending time again.
Five years later, the park is known much more as an oasis in the city thanks to its nature, and Parksommer is a firm fixture of life in the city centre. While not all the issues are resolved, a sustainable shift has taken place.
Sustainability in how the festival is run: We plan and host Parksommer in keeping with sustainable principles, including building pavilions ourselves, providing reusable plates and lending out seating. Regional resources and fair trade go without saying for us.
Sustainability in the program: Our stakeholders have had and continue to have a difficult time making a living through art, yoga and children’s activities during the pandemic. This year in particular, we want to give them a new start and a platform.
Sustainability in the city and region: We expressly support the regional cultural scene and regional providers of yoga, fitness and children’s activities. In addition, a wide range of associations in Chemnitz use the Parksommer structure and logistics as a simple, professional way of attracting attention to their projects. We want the crowdfunding project to motivate the residents of Chemnitz to support culture in the city.
Key objectives for aesthetics and quality
The arts and culture depend on their audiences and only come alive when they are experienced. Parksommer enables all communities to attend the festival with as few barriers as possible. We don’t charge for admission; simply come, meet your friends and sit down on the grass. Experiencing and discussing something together becomes the focal point. Taking in the arts and culture has become a natural part of the summer in Chemnitz.
Key objectives for inclusion
All communities can attend Parksommer, and absolutely everyone is welcome. Our trained staff ensure that people with disabilities can also enjoy the cultural events without any barriers. We expressly support the regional cultural scene and regional providers of yoga, fitness and children’s activities. A wide range of associations in Chemnitz use the Parksommer structure as a simple, professional way of attracting attention to their projects. We therefore see ourselves as part of the urban community.
The festival is financed through a crowdfunding platform in keeping with the motto, ‘We can achieve more together’. Anyone who wants to be part of a colourful, and peaceful Chemnitz is invited to support Parksommer. It enables us to work together to give the park a better image and demonstrate our solidarity with those who could not otherwise afford cultural events.
What’s more, Parksommer was the first project to go live on the new ‘Viele schaffen mehr’ (We can achieve more together) crowdfunding platform in 2017. This regional platform helps many people turn their ideas into reality.
Results in relation to category
Since Parksommer began, the park has become a pleasant place to be again, which has led to lasting benefits for the city. Visitors from all communities come together here to take part in courses and attend concerts.
They include families who listen to stories with their young children and pupils who take part in interesting activities during the school holidays. They also include people who come to meet friends or even make new connections after a period of social isolation. And couples who share special moments here – there has even been a marriage proposal. Parksommer invites everyone in. The festival brings people together in a place that used to be a source of division, while also supporting artists, associations and coaches.
Parksommer taps into these connections, and continually grows and develops through the participation of the city’s residents. The idea of makers and getting everyone involved in the city, which will be European City of Culture 2025, is already bringing out huge creative potential in the population. We want to create a space for this creativity from 2021, and we’re setting up project spaces at Parksommer – open to everyone.
How Citizens benefit
A number of relevant issues have already been described under questions 4 and 5.
In addition to guests who are happy to support Parksommer, we work with many companies and partners to whom the project is just as important as it is to us, and who are committed to making the city a more pleasant place to be.
In recent summers a graphic mascot was created. Named ‘Kater Schnurrbert’ by festival guests, this cat mascot now features on Parksommer banners, reusable cups, a picnic blanket and social media channels. All supporters receive a bracelet designed for the festival as a thank-you. To mark the festival’s fifth anniversary, guests voted online for their favourite artist or band from the past five years of Parksommer. The winners will perform on Sunday evening at this year’s festival. These are just a few examples of how Parksommer has captured the hearts of the people of Chemnitz.
Innovative character
Chemnitz has never had a festival like this type before, even in the more distant past. The program’s content and time frame are highly innovative, with over a month of more than 70 events; it is funded by voluntary contributions from city residents.
