Events and festivals in North Rhine-Westphalia on 5 and 6 September 2026: the Moers funfair draws 400,000 visitors over five days, Cologne holds its Carréefest in Sülz and Klettenberg, and Mönchengladbach crowns its marksmen's king.
Five days, one fair, an entire town centre turned upside down. From 4 to 8 September, Kastellplatz, Neumarkt and Friedrich-Ebert-Platz in Moers, on the left bank of the Lower Rhine, become one single fairground, packed with rides, stalls and crowds from morning to night. Some 400,000 visitors are expected there over that period, while Cologne holds its Carréefest in Sülz and Klettenberg at the same time and Mönchengladbach crowns a new marksmen's king.
The biggest funfair on the left bank of the Rhine
The Moers funfair needs no introduction in the region. For more than 170 years it has opened the town centre every September to carousels, roller coasters and rides, and that long tradition explains much of why it remains the largest event of its kind on the left bank of the Lower Rhine, year after year, whatever the weather or the competition from neighbouring towns.
Kastellplatz, Neumarkt and Friedrich-Ebert-Platz merge into one another.
From 4 to 8 September 2026, these three central squares of Moers turn into a single, sprawling fairground where more than 200 showmen set up their stands, from modern high-tech rides to the classic carousels that have belonged to the fair's familiar look for generations, and that mix is a good part of what draws crowds from well beyond Moers itself, into the neighbouring towns of the left bank.
Around 400,000 visitors are expected over the five days, more than at almost any other funfair between Duisburg and the Dutch border.
Anyone arriving over the weekend of 5 and 6 September 2026 finds the town in full swing.
Rides run late into the evening, while queues form outside the most popular attractions from early afternoon, a familiar sight for anyone who already knows the Moers funfair from past years and still comes back every time, often with the whole family.
Anniversaries, marksmen's parades and a cheese market
In Witten, the Zwiebelkirmes onion fair marks its 599th edition and looks back on more than 600 years of unbroken tradition, with an opening onion parade, an onion-sack relay race on Saturday and a Sunday of open shops in the town centre. Kaarst marks its 25th anniversary at the same time with Kaarst Total, self-styled the prettiest town festival on the Lower Rhine, expecting more than 100,000 visitors across four stages, with a morning concert by the Kaarst marksmen, a classic car show and a closing fireworks display. In Mönchengladbach, 2,500 marksmen march through the town centre, with a serenade and bird-shoot on Saturday and a coronation mass and parade on Sunday, before the Stadtschützenfest crowns its new king in front of around 30,000 spectators.
Cologne counts around 250,000 visitors over two days at the Carréefest between Sülz and Klettenberg, with more than 70 traders and associations, two stages and a Sunday of open shops, one of the biggest neighbourhood festivals in southern Cologne. Dortmund opens Friedensplatz on Saturday for the street party of the Christopher Street Day, after a march from the main station under the motto Fight for Pride, followed by an after-show at the Domicil club. And in the 6,000-resident town of Nieheim, the German Cheese Market draws 60,000 guests from across the country for more than 500 kinds of cheese from over 60 dairies, plus ten winemakers, live music and a family programme around what is billed as Germany's longest cheese counter.
At Lake Kemnade, the Zeltfestival Ruhr reaches its final stretch after 17 days, with James Arthur and Amy Macdonald performing for around 140,000 expected guests, on wooden floors and under event marquees since it opened on 21 August. At Lake Aue in Wesel, the Bulli Summer Festival is entirely devoted to the VW camper van and the community around it, from the historic T1 Samba to the electric ID. Buzz, with a show-and-shine contest, live music on several stages and thousands of Bullis, drawing up to 50,000 visitors to a 165-hectare lakeside site.
Admission stays free at almost all of these events, except the Zeltfestival Ruhr, which is still selling tickets for its final concerts.