Events and festivals in Berlin on the weekend of October 31 and November 1, 2026 range from jazz to street food. The Jazzfest Berlin celebrates its 63rd edition at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele in Wilmersdorf.
The Haus der Berliner Festspiele stands in Wilmersdorf. The Jazzfest Berlin plays there on Saturday, October 31, 2026. Events and festivals in Berlin on the weekend of October 31 and November 1, 2026 range from jazz to street food. The Jazzfest Berlin celebrates its 63rd edition at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele in Wilmersdorf.
Four venues, one 63rd edition
Since 1964, the Jazzfest Berlin has been one of the defining addresses for contemporary jazz in Europe. The 63rd edition runs from October 29 to November 1, and it closes on Sunday. It coincides with the 75th birthday of the Berliner Festspiele.
The main venue is the Haus der Berliner Festspiele. The Charlottenburg jazz clubs A-Trane and Quasimodo, Berlin's oldest jazz club since 1975, join in, as does the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church on Breitscheidplatz.
Nadin Deventer has been artistic director since 2019.
The festival awards the Albert Mangelsdorff Prize every year, one of the most important distinctions of the German jazz scene. In 2025, almost 8,000 visitors came at 99 % capacity, with 27 acts and 120 musicians from 20 countries on the programme.
Deutschlandfunk Kultur, ARD and rbb radio3 broadcast live. Single concerts typically cost 18 to 45 euros, and festival passes are available. From the Haus der Berliner Festspiele it is a five-minute walk to the U9 station Spichernstraße.
Book hall, festival months and winter markets
BUCHBERLIN fills the Arena Halle in Alt-Treptow on Saturday and Sunday, a former bus hall on the banks of the Spree. Around 300 exhibitors show independent books, mostly fantasy, romance, crime and thriller, alongside some 80 readings, workshops and interactive formats. The non-profit association Bücherzauber e.V. has run the fair since 2019, and the Treptower Park S-Bahn station is ten minutes away on foot.
Barrio | Bairro Berlin, the Latin American literature festival with more than 100 artists, has its last day on Saturday, its main venue being the Ibero-American Institute on Potsdamer Straße. The Month of Contemporary Music closes the same day with its 10th anniversary edition.
Until Sunday, November 1, Improneta shows improvised theatre: four shows, each with its own theme, its own format and a changing cast. The queer workshop festival Stretch also runs until Sunday at Village.Berlin in Schöneberg, with around 36 workshops and a limit of 120 participants per day. The event language is English.
On 10/31/26 the Street Food Festival at Elsterwerdaer Platz in Biesdorf is open from 12 to 10 p.m., on Sunday from 12 to 8 p.m. Food trucks from Berlin and Brandenburg serve everything from Korean bibimbap to Mexican quesadillas, with DJs and live bands on top. Admission is 2 euros as a drinks voucher, and children under 12 pay nothing. Around 8,000 visitors come over the three days, and the U5 stops right at the square.
On Landsberger Allee, the Lichtenberger Winterzeit opens on Saturday with fireworks. Around 80 rides stand there, including the "Azure Circle" Ferris wheel and the "Lion Tower" drop tower, and admission is free, with opening hours of 2 to 11 p.m. on Saturday and 2 to 10 p.m. on Sunday. On Potsdamer Platz, the Winterwelt starts the same day with a mobile toboggan run more than 70 metres long, open daily from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
On Sunday the Berlin Science Week begins, ten days with more than 300 events at dozens of places across the city. The motto of the eleventh edition is "In Touch". The Falling Walls Foundation organises it, and many events are free of charge.
A ride on the toboggan run at Potsdamer Platz costs about 4 to 6 euros.