HORSE SHOW • BASELWORLD • YOGA • TRAM DISRUPTIONS • CHINESE NATIONAL CIRCUS Volume 7 Issue 6 CHF 6 6 A Monthly Guide to Living in Basel March 2019 Learn German All Levels: A1–C2 nsh.ch Intensive courses: 3× or 5× per week in the morning Standard courses: 2× per week in the evening or on Saturday morning Register now! 2 Basel Life Magazine / www.basellife.com LETTER FROM THE EDITOR Dear Readers, The month of March this year is dominated by what many Baslers consider the most important event of the year—Fasnacht! Participants have been preparing for this three-day carnival for nearly a year, creating their masks, March 2019 Volume 7 Issue 6 costumes, and large portable lanterns and rehearsing their songs. If you want to make the most of your Fasnacht experience, start with a trip to TABLE OF CONTENTS ­Liestal on Sunday evening to witness their fiery “Chienbäse” parade. It is certainly one of the most unique traditions, and you need to see it to believe Special Feature: The Basel Fasnacht 4–7 it! Then, a few short hours later, drag yourself out of bed in the wee hours of Monday morning to be in town for the beginning of the Basel Fasnacht when the clock strikes 4:00. Also, be sure to watch the main parade at least once Events in Basel: March 2019 8–10 and take a stroll through the inner city on Tuesday night to experience the concerts and lantern exhibit and bask in the interesting atmosphere. It’s all over at 4:00 on Thursday morning—but if you feel you still haven’t heard Fun Outings: Beyond Basel 12–13 enough piccolos and drums for this year, come into town on the three follow- ing Sundays, when the Fasnacht groups mark the close of this year’s ­Fasnacht season by marching rather solemnly through town (without their Markets and Fairs 14–15 costumes) and playing their instruments for the last times. Turn the page to find detailed information on the “what, when, and where” of Fasnacht! Another annual highlight—the extravagant BASELWORLD, the world’s larg- Sports and Recreation 16–17 est watch and jewelry fair and Basel’s most important economic event—will take place towards the end of this month, a sure sign that spring is right around the corner. In fact, the month of March hosts markets to suit every- Calendar: March 2019 18–19 one’s tastes and interests from Bärlauch (wild garlic), beer, sweets, and wine, to aviation collectibles, bikes, clothing for babies and kids, games, heavy metal records, sports equipment, and toys. Also, at the week-long Get Going!: Yoga in Basel 20–21 Regio Messe in neighboring Lörrach, Germany, you can find everything you need for home and garden. Workshops, Tours, and Education 22–25 For families with children there are many great events, including a number of different children’s theaters and concerts, a spectacular horse show, an exciting dinosaur exhibit, and the fabulous Chinese National Circus. Adults Did You Know? 26–27 can also choose from a wide variety of entertainment ranging from ballet, dance parties, live-band karaoke, opera, rock musical, theater, and wine and whisky tastings to concerts in an array of musical genres, including Entertainment: Night on the Town 28–35 American rap, baroque and symphony orchestra, Beatles acapella, blues, chamber music, indie folk rock, jazz, power swing, R & B, rock orchestra, Sicilian and Bavarian folk, and a concert devoted to the various moods of Mark Your Calendar: April 2019 35 the marimba. In this issue you can also learn all about the recent rash of scams involving fake policemen in the Basel region, the major disruptions to the tram ­service Ticket Office: Get Your Tickets Now! back page coming this year, the new SERAFE billing for broadcasting fees, the new jazz program on Radio X starting later this month, and the ever-growing yoga scene in Basel. Finally, be sure to make your clocks “spring-ahead” for the beginning of daylight savings time on March 31! Wishing you a fun Fasnacht and a won- derful start to spring! Christine Pesold Basel Life Magazine Staff: Editor-in-Chief: Christine Pesold Advertising & Subscription Manager / Editor: One of the main features of the Basel Fasnacht is the confetti Susanne Hiller (locally called “Räppli”)—tons and tons of it that is thrown by the bag-full, stuffed by parade participants on foot into their Design & Print: unsuspecting victims’ shirts or coats, or shot by special can- Die Medienmacher AG, Muttenz nons into the crowd. And it all ends up on the streets, where it For more information about subscribing or advertising – please contact us: accounts for a large portion of the overall trash that Basel’s public services must clear every day during Fasnacht (a total of info basellife.com 240 tons last year). But no matter how effective the street www.facebook.com/basellifemagazine sweepers are—you will still be seeing the remnants in the gut- www.basellife.com ters or be finding the last pieces in your coat pockets by Easter! BASEL LIFE MAGAZINE / BASEL FAMILY GmbH © Copyright 2019. 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: info basellife.com. photo credits: © basel tourismus (cover); © christine pesold (page 3) March 2019 3 Special Feature The Basel Fasnacht Basel’s “Drei scheenschte Dääg” March 11–13 You haven’t really lived in Basel if you haven’t experienced at least one edition of the Basel Fasnacht—those crazy 72 hours when normal life is suspended, people in fantastic costumes roam the city at all hours of the day or night, shrill music echoes in the streets and alleys, and the city drowns in confetti. Basel’s Fasnacht is unique—a kind of mixed sa- tirical fun with melancholy, marched in a somewhat serious military- style fashion. Its uniqueness and high quality earned it a spot last year on the list of Unesco’s Intangible Cultural Heritage. This year, ­Basel’s Fasnacht takes place from 4:00 on Monday, March 11, to 4:00 on Thursday, March 14. (Yes, you read that correctly—it does start and end in the middle of the night!) Here’s what you can expect on what is con- sidered the “drei scheenschte Dääg” (three most wonderful days) by many Baslers and out-of-town visitors. sicians and other members pulling along carts with enormous lanterns that have to stay on the main roads to small groups with just one pic- Monday colo player, one drummer, and perhaps a couple of other members Morgenstreich: Fasnacht begins when the bells of the St. Martin’s who also stroll through the small alleyways. The event winds down as church strike 4 o’clock. At that moment, all lights in the center of town the sun comes up, and participants go home to rest a bit and to change are extinguished with a special switch, and more than 100 large and their costumes for the afternoon events. If you need to warm up, many small Fasnacht groups, or “Cliques,” set off from their assembly points cafés and restaurants in town will be open in the early morning hours, for a parade through the darkened streets. The only light is provided by serving hot drinks and special Fasnacht foods, such as Mehlsuppe small lanterns that participants wear on their heads or on a pole and (flour soup), Zwiebelwähe (onion pie), or Fastenwähen (pretzels with large lanterns that the Cliques carry or pull along on their march. The caraway seeds). You may need to check their doors to see if they are eerie atmosphere of the semidarkness is enhanced by the haunting open as they typically blacken out their windows to maintain the dark- sounds of ­piccolo flutes and drums played by many of the participants. ness in the streets. The participating groups range from large Cliques with dozens of mu- Cortège: The Cortège is a huge parade with more than 12,000 masked participants on foot and on floats that meander along a set route through the city center of Grossbasel and Kleinbasel, starting at 13:30. Each Clique has chosen a specific “Sujet,” or theme, that is reflected in their costumes, floats, lanterns, and other paraphernalia, and often also in the form of verses that are distributed on colorful pieces of ­paper, the “Zeedel.” The Sujets typically address local, national, or in- ternational political and cultural events or personalities in a fun or ironic form. Some Cliques are again accompanied by their piccolo play- ers and drummers. In addition, there are many other music groups called “Guggemusiken” that play a very characteristic, highly rhythmic, and somewhat off-key music mainly driven by brass instruments, pipes, and drums. The participants in the Cortège throw tons of “Räppli” ­(confetti), oranges, candy, and flowers into the crowds along the route.