Open Flair Festival

Open Flair is the August festival in Eschwege, in the triangle of Kassel, Göttingen and Erfurt. The Arbeitskreis Open Flair e.V. runs it, a volunteer circle with no profit aim. The site's 1985 page says the first ran from 6 to 8 September 1985, once only, at Burg Ludwigstein. Meetings started in November 1984, from the Schlossmühle youth centre and other youth bodies of the Werra-Meißner district. Alexander Feiertag, from that start and still in charge, sums up the idea: they wanted to save the world. The motto was Die Provinz schlägt zurück. The same text has Nuclear Graffiti, from Eschwege, opening: the earlier formation of The Bates. With them, Embryo and Louisiana Red's blues. About 200 volunteers. The HNA, in the 40-year note, counts about 1,300 guests, rain after weeks of heat and about 3 degrees at night, and names Flatsch, Rotte Korah and Manfred Mann's Earth Band. The generator ended in the moat because the socket was not enough. The two name lists stay together.

From 1986 the festival is on the Werdchen, the Werra island, and it stays there. Wikipedia counts about 20,000 people a year and three music stages: the Seebühne at the Werratalsee, the Freibühne and the Bob stage. From 2017 they add the Hofbühne and the Elektrogarten. From 1993 to 2003 it fell in early June. In 2004 it moved to August. From 2005, the second August weekend. In 1996 it nearly stopped. In 1997 Feiertag took the manager post. In 2000 the circle closed with a deficit of about 100,000 German marks. The HNA converts that figure, with inflation, to about 81,000 euros. Festivalstalker calls 2025 the 41st. Franzi, at Festivalhopper, calls the one of 5 to 9 August 2026 the 42nd. The homepage, read on 13 September 2026, still sells a four-day August and says more than 80 percent of those tickets are gone. Those year digits are not printed. During the 2026 weekend they announced Die Ärzte as a headliner of that later date. One review leaves the early ticket at 119 euros.

Franzi and Scotty walk that August. Camping opens on Monday. On Wednesday the music is only on the Seebühne. The FeM club, from Ilmenau, runs the video wall. From the tent to a stage is 10 to 20 minutes on foot. Das Lumpenpack, with Ford Fiesta, sits in an inflatable car and lets the crowd carry them. Then a tent with people inside surfs. PA69 plays Moshpitproblem and calls a FLINTA mosh. At night, with the DLRG on the water, Dropkick Murphys are heard from the lake, with no title. On Thursday Bluthund climbs the trusses. From Fall to Spring breaks the crowdsurf count. On Friday Kaffkiez moves from the Freibühne, four years earlier, to a full Radio Bob. Emil Bulls close that pair's night in the pit, with no title.

On Saturday the Feine Sahne Fischfilet soundcheck leaves Diese eine Liebe three times over the first beer at the rear green camp. At 18:00 Monchi reads in the tent from Jenseits der Brandmauer. At 22:30 the band closes with people on stage and with Komplett im Arsch. Annekathrin Linge, at stagr on 17 August 2026, walks the same Saturday. Bibiza, from Vienna, covers Narcotic, by Liquido. Frank Turner and the Sleeping Souls, with the album Undefeated, bring Ingo Donot on for Do One. The Donots, from Ibbenbüren, open with Calling and Whatever Happened To The 80s. The table tennis: Linge leaves it with a fan in the pit, both lifted with the table; Franzi leaves it with a wheelchair user against Ingo. In 2018, at a fan's request, they asked people to register with the DKMS. That fan, Sören, already healed by a marrow donation, comes up. Babyshambles puts The Delivery second. The photo lines write Annekathrin Linge and also Annekatrhin Linge.

Sunday is very hot. Giant Rooks, on Radio Bob: on White Stairs Frederik Rabe goes into the crowd, and the close is a confetti rain. They say they want to come back. Bosse opens the first number behind a banner, with a choir of 30 fans: Lass dich nicht f*cken, rewritten for children as Lass dich nicht zwicken. On Ein Traum he appears on a ladder in the middle of the crowd. The close is Der letzte Tanz. Biffy Clyro, from Scotland, closes the festival. Franzi adds a small firework. Neither review closes a Biffy title. Hot Water Music, with Chuck Ragan, carries the album VOWS: that is the record, not a marked song of that afternoon. Less Than Jake carries the EP Uncharted in the bag, with no closed title.

At the E-Werk the slam leaves two texts in the final, spoken-word pieces and not songs: Warum Mülltrennung wichtig ist and Warum man keine Bilder von Genitalien verschicken sollte. Ana Lucia, from the Heute Show, takes an hour in the tent. On the camp there is beer yoga, hobbyhorsing between Walk of Shame and Monstergasse, and a kisscam. Green Camping takes no cars. Each stage has a platform for chairs. The site is kept.