What's on in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern on the weekend of June 27 and 28? Summer is at full tilt, and the region shows its whole range in a single weekend. Our pick this time is a real contrast: while tens of thousands dance at the Fusion Festival on the former Lärz airfield by the Müritz, riders on the Darß knock old herring barrels off their hooks at a folk festival. In between, Bad Doberan and Schwerin throw a town and beach festival, Wismar and Zinnowitz open their theatre summer, and Irish folk rings out across an old charcoal-burner's yard in Rövershagen. Twelve outings for a weekend that runs from the Baltic to the inland lakes.
Fusion Festival in Lärz: four days of sound cosmos on the airfield by the Müritz
The Fusion Festival on the former military airfield of Lärz by the Müritz is one of Europe's best-known and most unusual festivals. From June 24 to 28, the 2026 edition runs on its familiar principle: no sponsoring, no advertising, no star-fee hype. Across more than seventy stages, techno, house, trance and drum'n'bass mingle with live music, theatre, performance, cinema and workshops. The Kulturkosmos Müritz association has organised the event since 1997, turning it into a kind of utopian holiday camp for a few days. The weekend is the dense final stretch — anyone with a ticket experiences days and nights hard to find anywhere else.
MusikOffen Ribnitz-Damgarten: four evenings, four venues, four genres
The free open-air festival MusikOffen plays the amber town of Ribnitz-Damgarten on the Saaler Bodden from June 25 to 28. The concept is as simple as it is appealing: four days, four venues, four very different concert evenings. From the Klockenhagen open-air museum to the monastery meadow and the Pütnitz technical museum, each evening has its own stage and its own genre. Admission is free. For anyone who prefers a festival weekend on a human scale and with free access, this format is a reliable tip at the crossing from the Bodden coast to the Fischland-Darß.
Sky Open Air Festival in Heiligenhagen: psytrance under a wide sky
The Sky Open Air Festival brings electronic soundscapes to the open countryside near Heiligenhagen, not far from the Baltic coast between Rostock and Kühlungsborn, from June 26 to 28. Over one weekend the site turns into a gathering point for the psytrance and progressive-trance scene: clear synthesizer pads, driving rhythms and deep basslines weave for hours into a hypnotic flow of sound, set off by glowing decoration. An open air for anyone seeking the festival feeling away from the big names and out in nature — a counterpoint to the bustle of the town festivals.
Bad Doberan Town Festival — the Kampfest by the Doberan Minster
The Bad Doberan Town Festival, traditionally known as the »Kampfest«, is the biggest popular festival of the Doberan summer and runs from June 26 to 28. For three days the historic monastery grounds in the Rostock district turn into a fairground with concert stages, rides, a market and a family programme — all in the shadow of the Doberan Minster, one of northern Germany's most important brick-Gothic churches. Admission is free. Anyone who loves the classic town festival with carousels, live music and showmen, and wants to discover one of the region's finest sacred buildings along the way, is in good hands in the minster and spa town.
Fritz Reuter Festival in Stavenhagen: Low German theatre on the market square
From June 26 to 28, the Reuter town of Stavenhagen celebrates its most famous son: the Low German poet Fritz Reuter. At the Fritz Reuter Festival, the historic market square turns into an open-air stage for theatre, music, literature and family events. At its heart is a Low German play, accompanied by a literary symposium and a city run. For decades the festival has been a fixture of Mecklenburg's cultural calendar, keeping the Low German language alive. A weekend for anyone who wants to bring together tradition, dialect and open-air summer theatre.
Stadtwerke Beach Festival Zippendorf: Schwerin's big summer party by the lake
The Stadtwerke Beach Festival is the largest summer festival of the state capital Schwerin and takes place on June 27 and 28 at Zippendorf beach, right on Lake Schwerin. Over one weekend the lido turns into a festival ground with an energy arena, a stage programme of live music, a Neptune baptism and a large children's area. A ferry takes visitors to the island of Kaninchenwerder. With a view of Schwerin Castle, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2024, the festival blends bathing fun with town-festival spirit. A classic summer day by the water, where the city celebrates its lake.
Müritz Saga in Waren: open-air theatre to open the season
Since 2006 the Müritz Saga has delighted audiences on the Waren open-air stage with lavishly staged outdoor theatre. The theatre cycle tells continuing stories written specially for the natural stage at the Mühlenberg — historic material, a large ensemble and the special atmosphere of a summer evening performance under the open sky. The new season opens on June 27, 2026 and runs until August 22. The Müritz Saga is one of the most iconic open-air productions on the Mecklenburg Lake District. For families and theatre lovers who want to combine history and a summer evening on Germany's largest inland lake, this opening is a fine occasion.
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festival in Wismar: classical music in the World Heritage Hanseatic town
The Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festival — one of Germany's largest classical festivals — makes the Hanseatic town of Wismar one of its venues from June 27. The concerts play the town's finest spaces: the Gothic St George's Church and the Old Harbour under the open sky. International soloists, orchestras and ensembles bring works from the classical and romantic eras through to jazz into the World Heritage old town. For anyone who wants to experience classical music before a historic brick backdrop and with Baltic air, this marks the opening of a long festival summer. A calm, festive counterpoint to the weekend's open-air parties.
Vineta Festival Zinnowitz: theatre spectacle on the Usedom beach
The Vineta Festival ranks among northern Germany's most important open-air theatres. Since 1997 the Vorpommersche Landesbühne has told the legend of the sunken Baltic city of Vineta on the Zinnowitz seaside stage. The spectacle combines professional acting, choreography, pyrotechnics, laser effects and specially composed music into a gripping theatre experience right on the beach of Usedom island. The new season runs from June 27, 2026 to the end of August. For anyone seeking an evening of theatre with the sound of the sea and grand stagecraft, the premiere on the first weekend is a highlight of the island summer.
Irish Folk Open Air in Rövershagen: The Sally Gardens at the old charcoal yard
A mild summer evening, Irish tunes and the setting of a historic charcoal-burner's yard: on June 27, the Irish Folk Open Air brings the band The Sally Gardens out into the open on the grounds of the Wiethagen forest and charcoal yard near Rövershagen. On the edge of the Rostock Heath the group plays its handmade Irish folk repertoire as dusk falls over the woodland. Organised by the local leisure and culture association, the open air is an intimate evening for friends of folk and acoustic music — a small gem away from the big festival miles, just a few kilometres from the Baltic coast.
Darß Tonnenabschlagen in Wieck a.Darß: an old horseback custom on the coast
The Darß Tonnenabschlagen in Wieck a.Darß is one of the oldest folk customs of the Fischland-Darß-Zingst peninsula. On the last Sunday in June, June 28, 2026, riders try to smash a high-hung herring barrel with wooden clubs from horseback. Whoever knocks out the bottom becomes Bottom King, whoever strikes the last stave becomes Stave King, and whoever knocks the last piece of the barrel off the hook becomes Barrel King. The festival combines sporting ambition with village conviviality and draws many spectators each year. A living piece of coastal tradition you'll only find on the Darß and Zingst.
3rd Dragon Boat Spectacle Friedland: team sport at the lake-district lido
The Dragon Boat Spectacle at the Friedland open-air pool enters its third edition on June 27 and has long been a popular summer event in the Mecklenburg Lake District. Clubs, companies, groups of friends and spontaneous water-lovers compete in teams. What began in 2024 as a sporting idea of TSV Friedland 1814 has grown into a family festival full of action, laughter and good cheer — one of the region's few dragon boat races. For anyone who wants to spend the weekend sporty and sociable by the water, Friedland is a tip off the beaten festival track.
If you'd like to discover more, our this weekend's agenda has further tips for the whole of Germany. Enjoy a fine summer weekend in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
