58th Kalsbach Forest Festival

Kalsbach and its Forest Festival — almost 60 years of tradition

Kalsbach is a small district of the Marienheide municipality in the Oberberg region (North Rhine-Westphalia) — nestled in the hilly landscape of the Bergisches Land, east of Bergisch Gladbach and Cologne. With only a few hundred inhabitants, Kalsbach is a true village community where the volunteer fire brigade unit Kalsbach of the Marienheide Fire Department plays a central role. The annual Forest Festival has been their most important self-initiated project since 1969 (estimated founding year based on the 58th edition in 2026) — and at the same time, the most important source of funding for the Fire Department Support Association.

"In den Eicken" — the festival grounds

The venue is the festival grounds "In den Eicken" — a clearing near the forest on the edge of the village, which is equipped with a festival tent, stage, beer stalls, and a children's program for the annual festival. The name refers to the oak trees in the surrounding area — forest atmosphere as part of the festival concept. The Kalsbach Fire Department Support Association coordinates the setup over several weeks and manages safety, fire protection, and permitting.

Program — Music, Dancing, Pea Soup, Fünfkampf

The program components have been well-established for decades:

• Music and Dancing: Live band on Saturday evening, often a regionally known dance band — the festival tent fills up, as does the dance floor
• Pea Soup: traditionally served from the large goulash cauldron — a classic festival dish of Westphalia-Rhine region that is part of all village festivals
• Children's Program: on Sunday during the day, with games, hands-on activities, perhaps a carousel or a bouncy castle
• Fünfkampf: the sporting highlight — five playful disciplines in which teams from the village compete against each other. Content varies each year — wheelbarrow races, sack hopping, tug-of-war, throwing disciplines, skill games. The winning team receives a trophy and the right to call themselves "Kalsbach Champions" for a year.

Social Context — Fire Department as Village Pillar

In rural communities like Kalsbach, the Volunteer Fire Department is not just about fire protection but is a central social element — members are connected across generations, and families share the activity across genders. The Forest Festival not only finances the equipment for the fire brigade unit but also youth work, training and further education, and social activities of the association. Anyone who drinks a beer at the Forest Festival directly supports the social fabric of the village.

Location and Travel

Kalsbach is located in the Oberberg district, about 50 kilometers east of Cologne. By car: A 4 exit Engelskirchen, then towards Marienheide and on to Kalsbach. By public transport: Bus line 339 or 340 from Marienheide train station to Kalsbach (Marienheide train station is reachable from Cologne via RB 25 — Oberbergische Bahn). Parking is available in the village — very limited at the festival grounds themselves.