April 2021 a Monthly Guide to Living in Basel
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JAZZFESTIVAL • BASELLAND BLOOMS • GYMNASTICS CHAMPIONSHIP • NEW BICYCLE RULES Volume 9 Issue 7 CHF 6 6 A Monthly Guide to Living in Basel April 2021 2 Basel Life Magazine / www.basellife.com LETTER FROM THE EDITOR Dear Readers, This month we are marking the one-year anniversary of the only issue of Basel Life Magazine that had to be cancelled entirely since the magazine’s inception April 2021 Volume 9 Issue 7 nearly 9 years ago. While we have come a long way over the past, agonizing year, we are still not out of the woods yet. The latest government announcements on TABLE OF CONTENTS March 19, which we all hoped would bring us further easing of some of the corona virus restrictions, only served as a reminder that we still have a critical stretch of this tunnel to travel before we can finally see the light and enjoy life Feature Event: Jazzfestival Basel 4–5 again as we once knew it. In the meantime, we are encouraged to continue to adhere to safety measures—wear a mask, keep our distance, and frequently Events in Basel: April 2021 6–8 wash hands—while making the most out of what is currently permitted. Basel’s zoos and libraries are open, as are the museums with their wide range of exhibits that are sure to pique everyone’s interest. In addition to a plethora of Fun Outings: Beyond Basel 10–11 ongoing art exhibits, families will be charmed by the “Moving World” of scenes with 100-year-old Steiff dolls and stuffed animals, cat lovers will learn new and unknown facts about their mysterious pets, fans of body art can gawk Swiss Tradition: Asparagus 12–13 at the fascinating tattoo world of the Leu family, and those interested in ancient history can explore the diverse use of music in antiquity or look through the magnifying glass at a Roman lead coffin found at Augusta Raurica. Venturing a Markets and Fairs 14–15 little further afield, you can discover the extraordinary Swiss transport museum in Luzern or travel into a 400-year-old mine near lake Zürich. If spring makes you want to get out and smell the flowers, you will enjoy a tour Calendar: April 2021 16–17 through the orchards of Baselland during the magnificent blooming season of the cherry and other fruit trees. Spring is also a good time to get back on your bike. Check out the sports section to learn about bicycle tours and races, or to Sports and Recreation 18–20 kick up some dust at the outdoor bikepark in Hölstein, perfect for seasoned free- stylers and novices alike. If riding on the city streets is more your speed, sign up for cycling classes, join a bike-to-work challenge, and be sure to read about Did You Know…? 21–23 Switzerland’s important new biking rules. In this issue of Basel Life Magazine, you can also read about the amazing Health Matters: Sugar—A Bittersweet Nutrient 24–25 asparagus that will be making its appearance in grocery stores this month, as well as how to get farm-fresh eggs delivered straight to your door. And if you find that deciphering the sugar content in your food got even harder in a foreign Workshops, Tours, and Education 26–27 language with different labelling rules, turn the page to this month’s “Health Matters” section to get a better grip on this bittersweet nutrient. Additionally, you can learn about Basel’s new SmartBox as a convenient 24-hour location to Entertainment: Night on the Town 28–31 retrieve your mail-order packages, as well as about a new campaign aimed at women of child-bearing age that seeks to inform them of their rights in the workplace. Mark Your Calendar: May 2021 31 The Jazzfestival Basel has planned a fantastic line-up of international acts that will (hopefully) hit the stages of Basel from late April through July. Until the ban on events with an audience can finally be lifted, many organizers are opting to Ticket Office: Get Your Tickets Now! back page live-stream their events, from symphony concerts and theater to story times and sporting events like the European Artistic Gymnastics Championships. So peek inside for some terrific ideas on a host of entertaining and educating events. Please keep in mind that things may still change following the publication of this issue; so please check the provided websites before heading out to avoid any unforeseen closures. And for up-to-date information about cantonal/federal de- cisions and other important news, follow our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/basellifemagazine). We would like to extend a special thanks to all of our loyal readers who have stuck with us through these incredibly challenging times. Wishing you all an awesome April! Basel Life Magazine Staff: Editor-in-Chief: Christine Pesold Christine & Susanne Advertising & Subscription Manager / Editor: Susanne Hiller Cover: A botanical highlight in April is the start of the flowering season for rhododendron bushes with Design & Print: their vibrant colors. A wonderful place to enjoy these PRINTHOUSE by jobfactory, Basel colorful bushes is the Merian Gärten (gardens) between St. Jakobshalle and the Park im Grünen in München- For more information about subscribing or advertising – please contact us: stein. Their “rhododendron valley” features more than 70 different kinds of rhododendron that present a riot of [email protected] colors. Another reason to visit the Merian Gärten at this www.facebook.com/basellifemagazine time of the year is Europe’s largest collection of irises, www.basellife.com including 1,500 historical varieties, that start blooming in late April/early May. BASEL LIFE MAGAZINE / BASEL FAMILY GmbH © Copyright 2021. All rights reserved. It is our goal to provide valuable, timely information to our readers. The opinions expressed in the articles in this magazine are those of the contributing authors and do not reflect those of other members of the editorial staff and of any organizations or agencies distributing this magazine. Though we make every attempt to provide accurate information, we cannot be held respon- sible if any event is cancelled, postponed, or modified. We encourage readers to contact the event organizers or their websites to obtain the most current event information. Please note: No part of this periodical may be duplicated in any fashion, or redistributed in any written language, without permission from the executive staff at Basel Family GmbH. If you have any questions, contact Basel Family GmbH staff at: [email protected]. photo credits: © christine pesold (cover); © merian gardens/alexandra baumeyer (page 3) April 2021 3 FeatureEvents inEvent Basel: February 2015 (continued) Jazzfestival Basel Celebrates 30 Years + 1! April 24 – July 9 place in the summer of 2020, including some to help celebrate the opening of the newly renovated Stadtcasino Basel in style. All concerts postponed Jazz music, a derivative of blues and ragtime music, is played and enjoyed after November 1, 2020, however, had to be added to this year’s calendar, by people of all cultures and ethnicities and today encompasses a wide and together with the shows that had already been planned for the 2021 range of musical elements and styles from all over the world. Jazz has Jazzfestival Basel, a phenomenal line-up is waiting for jazz aficionados. become very mainstream in Basel. Several clubs and restaurants, such the The main focus of this 2020/2021 season, however, will be the 30th+1 anni- bird’s eye jazz club and Atlantis, offer jazz music on a regular basis; the versary of Jazzfestival Basel. Offbeat is again committed to introducing street festival “Em Bebbi sy Jazz” presents nearly 100 bands on various new trends during the anniversary festival, as well as presenting the un- stages throughout the city center in August, as well as organizes a jazz known in Basel and actively promoting the generation change. Music fans concert lounge at Marktplatz during the advent season (Adväntsbox); the will be delighted when great musicians who are shaping the current jazz Jazz-X radio program presents new trends and jazz artists from the region and world music scene come to Basel from far-reaching corners of the on Sunday evenings on Radio-X; and the Musik-Akademie Basel even has a world, including the far North, the Iberian Peninsula, Italy, the Orient, Mali, dedicated Jazzcampus! The main source for jazz in Basel, however, is the Brazil, the United States, and the Caribbean. The important representa- offbeat organization that attracts the best musicians from the world of jazz tives of the current Swiss jazz scene will naturally also grace the festival throughout the year, as well as organizes the Jazzfestival Basel each stage, and there will be a “Label Night” for forward-looking labels to pres- spring with dozens of world-class concerts. Also new from offbeat this ent their projects. Thus, from April to July, Basel will once again be Swit- year is the concert series "New Horizons" organized together with the zerland’s jazz capital, when the offbeat Jazzfestival Basel presents well- Kunstmuseum Basel, which will celebrate its premiere in the atmospheric known representatives of current urban funk, innovative Scandinavian jazz, courtyard of the Kunstmuseum Basel on June 30 and July 1. Audiences can U.S. jazz, as well as world music from the Orient and Africa to Cuba and look forward to a firestorm of improvised music, new musical territory, and Brazil. While the festival will start in April with the fantastic concerts de- exciting journeys of discovery! scribed below, even more highlights will follow in May to July, with excep- How Jazz Got Started in Basel tional artists such Jean-Paul Brodbeck, Fatoumata Diawara, Fado legend Jazz has not always been at home in Basel.