Dortmund-Aplerbeck Neighbourhood Festival

District Festival Focused on Encounters

The Aplerbeck Neighbourhood Festival 2026 is part of the city-wide initiative 'Dortmund Together!' and is organized by the association 'Quelle der Kraft' e.V. (currently in formation) in Dortmund-Aplerbeck. The festival explicitly focuses on encounters, volunteering, and inclusion as its programmatic pillars – distinguishing it from commercially oriented city festivals and making it more akin to a neighbourhood gathering with a clear social mission.

Date and Location: Saturday, May 30, 2026

The festival takes place on Saturday, May 30, 2026 on Bahnhofstraße and the grounds of the former 'Pferdedeckenwerkstatt' (horse blanket workshop) in the Aplerbeck district – a borough in the southeastern part of Dortmund. Bahnhofstraße and the workshop grounds form a natural festival area where residents, visitors from neighbouring districts, and seniors from nearby care homes can come together.

Program: Food, 'Tanzfit', and Prize Draws

The program ranges from culinary stands to offerings for families and seniors:

• Coffee and cake bar, waffles, grilled sausages, burgers, cocktails.
• Face painting and creative stations for the youngest attendees.
• Flea market stalls on Bahnhofstraße.
• 'Tanzfit' for the 60+ generation starting at 11 am – a dance gymnastics session specifically for seniors.
• Prize draws throughout the day.

Inclusion: Shuttle Service for Care Home Residents

A special feature is the accessible shuttle service for seniors from surrounding care homes. This ensures that people with limited mobility can also participate in the district festival. The association is actively seeking bus companies for accessible transport, volunteer helpers, and creative ideas for event design – highlighting its participatory nature.

Support from the City of Dortmund

The City of Dortmund supports the festival with drinks, furniture, and barbecue equipment – a typical example of municipal support for civil society district festivals in North Rhine-Westphalia. This integrates the Aplerbeck Neighbourhood Festival into a growing number of 'Dortmund Together!' initiatives aimed at enhancing volunteer work and community engagement in the Ruhr area's second-largest city.

Aplerbeck and Dortmund

Aplerbeck is one of Dortmund's twelve districts (state of North Rhine-Westphalia) and is located in the southeastern part of the city between Schwerte and Hörde. The district has largely retained its village character – even after its incorporation in 1929. Such neighbourhood festivals are important means of fostering local identity and connecting generations.