Kaufbeuren - There is always something to do at the Tänzelfestverein, even if the festival is not taking place at all. That is why around twenty volunteers recently met in the most beautiful late summer weather at the club's stables next to the air base. The task was to make the west and south walls of the dance festivities weatherproof again: crevices the width of a man's thumb not only let in sunshine, but also more leaves, dirt and moisture than could be conducive to the floats. “There ziagts like hell,” said Tänzelfest boss Horst Lauerwald.
The helpers pushed a mobile scaffold from wall section to wall section and handed over cut pieces of film. More helpers were standing upstairs and, under the critical gaze of Martin Schafnitzel, the boss of the stable area, quickly covered the wall with roof battens and sheeting. “The whole stable team is a great team,” commented Stefan Geyrhalter from the decoration committee. “It has a lot of potential.” He had taken the opportunity to give the music car of the Biedermeier wedding a new “skirt” because the old fabric paneling was getting old and shabby.
In order to have space for the scaffolding, the floats were temporarily pushed outside.
There in the sunshine it was shown mercilessly how necessary their cleaning was.
There was even a dried up wasp's nest in one of the wagons, but this time at least no mice.
The ladies of the association got to grips with the dirt with vacuum cleaners, rags and cleaning buckets.
The young women Elisa and Beate had first decided to use the Buronia wagon.
Before the finished car was covered with sheets and pushed back into the coach house, Elisa quickly tried out what it felt like again - like Buronia under the wooden five-button tower.
Festival float safety
The team responsible for the stable area also ensures the safety of the festival floats. The axles are regularly greased, the brakes and tires checked, or additional arm boards are installed as “protective sheets” over the steel wheels of the cannons. And again and again one of the cars is given a new coat of paint. In 2020, for example, the wedding carriage was completely overhauled and freshly painted with modern, weather-resistant paint. The diverse volunteer work of the club members behind the scenes is hardly noticed by the festival visitors - but without this commitment there would be no dance festival.
“Those who work should also eat” is also a motto at the Tänzelfestverein.
And so Wolfgang Rinke, who is responsible for catering for the team, had a solid snack delivered at lunchtime: "Veal cheese, onion liver cheese, potato salad, pretzels and a beer - after all, it's me in Bavaria!"
Ingrid Zasche