Hi, we are Katrin, Jens and Ellen. The Capital of Culture gave us the opportunity to work as volunteers and during our assignments we not only got to know our home town, but also our surroundings even better.
One assignment took us to Seiffen at the end of August for the European Toymaking Festival. The theme was not only very interesting in itself, but also had a very special location, the former leisure pool in Seiffen, which has been closed for 23 years.
The festival was organised by the Makers, Business and Arts project team together with the Denkwerkstatt Seiffen and project manager Cheyenne Worotnik. We found the variety - from the exhibitions of the toy makers' products to workshops and concerts - so interesting that we joined the core team. We started on Thursday with the set-up - e.g. dressing up the Mannheimer, setting up beer table sets and the information stand, etc. The next day, the exhibitors arrived and the former baths were not only filled with life, but also with wonderful toys from different countries. Friday was also the day of the workshops - some of the participants sat in the former swimming pool. Labelled "From here barefoot area", they found their way to the venue (wearing shoes, of course).
Over the following days, we supported the organisation team wherever we could, whether it was with car park management, admission, guest counting or the Capital of Culture postcard stand, to name but a few.
A special highlight for the younger guests was certainly the car race in the former slide, which was organised with homemade wooden cars.
It was great fun to be there and the whole organisation team made us feel like we belonged. We were well catered for and our questions were always answered calmly and with a smile. A big thank you from us for that.
Our personal highlights were Emma Brix's UFO oracle, the rope spinning top, the mandalas made by children with Sina bricks and, of course, the evening with the asphalt rockets.
