Events in North Rhine-Westphalia on 7–8 November 2026 range from Cologne's art fair to Bonn's festival of lights. Soest's Allerheiligenkirmes gathers 300 showmen and about a million visitors in the old town.
In the middle of Soest's old town, between the market square and the Petrikirchhof, lies the Allerheiligenkirmes. On Saturday, November 7, 2026, the Wilde Maus, looping coasters and big wheels stand beside half-timbered houses and Romanesque churches. Events in North Rhine-Westphalia on 7–8 November 2026 range from Cologne's art fair to Bonn's festival of lights. Soest's Allerheiligenkirmes gathers 300 showmen and about a million visitors in the old town.
The Allerheiligenkirmes in Soest's old town
The Soester Allerheiligenkirmes runs until Sunday, 8 November. It spreads across the whole old town instead of a single fairground. The 300 showmen occupy 50,000 square metres between the market square, the Petrikirchhof and the Vreithof. About a million visitors come over the five days.
On Saturday, 7 November, the old town is open from 10 am to 2 am. The showmen start at 11 am. On Sunday the fair runs from 11 am to 10 pm. It is fullest on Saturday evening, quieter on Sunday morning.
High-tech rides and classic showmen's booths alternate. The churches of St. Patrokli, St. Petri and the Wiesenkirche stand in the middle. The menu includes Reibekuchen and Pottwurst, plus Schmalzgebäck and beer.
Its root is the medieval horse market of the Hanseatic city, and the fair is documented since the 14th century. Admission is free, rides and food cost extra.
From Soest station it is a five-minute walk to the town centre, which is closed off over a wide area during the fair; by car, the A44 (exit Soest or Soest-Ost) and the A2 (exit Hamm/Lippetal) lead there.
Art fairs, light evenings and Martinmas markets
In Hall 11 of the Koelnmesse, ART COLOGNE shows more than 170 galleries until Sunday, 8 November. It is the 59th edition of a fair that has existed since 1967. A day ticket costs about €39, reduced about €25. The 28th KUBOSHOW in Herne's Flottmann-Hallen gathers around 100 artists with young figurative art on Saturday and Sunday. Admission is €8, and children up to 15 get in free. At the literature festival vielSeitig in Siegen's Kulturhaus Lÿz, Walter Sittler and Johann von Bülow appear on Saturday, 7 November, with “Ich gebe Ihnen mein Ehrenwort: eine Weltgeschichte der Lüge”. On Sunday, Roman Knižka and the ensemble OPUS 45 give a true-crime concert evening.
Bonn leuchtet bathes Münsterplatz, Marktplatz, Friedensplatz and Sternstraße in coloured light until Sunday. Admission is free. There is also a shop-window competition, live music on small squares and family activities on Saturday and Sunday afternoon. Düren leuchtet coincides with the Long Night of Museums: on Saturday, 7 November 2026, from 6 to 10 pm, projections and floodlights light up the town hall and the music school. The Leopold-Hoesch-Museum and the Papiermuseum open their doors. Shops stay open until 10 pm. Walking acts in glowing costumes move through the centre, and the open-air stations are free.
On the Kanzlers Weide in Minden, the Mindener Herbstmesse opens on Saturday, 7 November, for nine days, with more than 100 showmen, a big wheel, a roller coaster, a beer tent and free admission. The 30th Dortmund Hansemarkt offers knights' tournaments, medieval music and acrobatics in the city centre until Sunday, 8 November, and Sunday is a shopping Sunday from 1 to 6 pm. Around 300 stalls, showmen, performers and musicians take part. The hands-on area offers blacksmithing, rope-twisting and basket-weaving, and some of the nostalgic carousels are over 75 years old.
In Recklinghausen-Suderwich, about 70 exhibitors at the Suderwicher Martinimarkt offer Christmas decorations, crafts, smoked fish, langos and mulled wine. On Saturday around 5 pm Saint Martin leads the children's lantern procession on horseback through the village centre. The MesserGabelScherenMarkt in the LVR Gesenkschmiede Hendrichs shows knives, forks, scissors and razors from Solingen makers across around 1,500 square metres of historic industrial halls. It opens on Saturday and Sunday from 10 am to 5 pm, with timed tickets at €8, reduced €6, and a sharpening service on site.