Argeter village Christmas canceled: "A disappointment for the exhibitors"

Again, the Argeter village Christmas was not allowed to give the district citizens an atmospheric pre-Christmas period.

The organizers are not happy about that.

Arget

- The Argeter Christmas market has been around for ten years, and since 2019 the Argeter by choice Heinrich Reichel (70) has been taking care of planning and organization.

The Argeter Village Christmas Association has existed since July and is chaired by Reichel.

He talks about the Christmas market as a joint project, difficult planning and generous support.

Mr Reichel, the Argeter village Christmas should have taken place on the last weekend in November, but it was canceled due to the corona.

Isn't that frustrating?

Of course, I'm anything but happy about it.

But of course it's a big disappointment, especially for the exhibitors.

The village Christmas was already canceled last year.

And quite clearly: This very special Argeter event means an enormous amount of planning and organizational effort in advance.

What is the difference between the Argeter Village Christmas and other Christmas markets?

We want to set up an old Bavarian Christmas market, and a lot of things are specially handcrafted for this.

Often you will always find the same hustle and bustle: canned music, mass-produced goods ... You won't find that in Arget.

For example, there is only live music from local music groups, and you can experience how a cloth weaver works.

Then there are the many helpers who manage this event.

It's a big community project - that's the real soul of the village Christmas.

And there are only people from the region who have their stands here.

One comes from the Garmisch corner and one from the Berchtesgaden district.

But these are the ones with the longest journeys and they have been with us for years.

An important aspect: many clubs can present themselves here ...

... and have a good opportunity to earn some more money for their work.

This has now been canceled due to the cancellation.

The SV Arget, for example, always provides food and drinks.

He had mobilized 70 people for planning, preparation and staffing the stand.

And this income from sales is now lacking for his own projects.

When did you decide that the village Christmas would be canceled this year?

The changing framework conditions in advance had already made life difficult for us. In the beginning, the 14th Bavarian Infection Protection Framework Ordinance still applied, then came the framework concept for markets on September 19 and the concept for Christmas markets on October 18. And after every current concept, we questioned and checked the market: Can we let it take place this way, can it still be managed from an organizational point of view? The 2G rule would ultimately have meant cordoning off the entire Christmas market and carrying out checks everywhere. How is that supposed to work? And who wants to do that? We could have engaged the security company, but that would not have been affordable for us. Or we should have asked for admission. For that you would have needed people again. So an endless effort.We chose the right time in mid-November because we were still able to reimburse all stand fees.

However, the stand fees will not have been sufficient for the financing.

No.

In addition to the stand fees, the whole thing is financed through sponsorship, such as the advertisements in our event calendar and on our website.

We got away with it with a black eye, because all marketing measures had already run: Internet presence, the calendar with a circulation of 10,000 copies had been distributed, which is why the advertisers didn't want their money back either.

Nobody complained about that, it was a great team spirit and a lot of solidarity!

For example, I also have three entrepreneurs on hand who use low loaders to bring 31 huts from Oberhaching here to Arget - and pick them up again!

They do it for a snack, because otherwise we wouldn't be able to pay for it.

When do you start planning the village Christmas?

It starts in March, April.

I call the booth people or drive by right there.

I also make sure that only products and providers appear who fit our concept: handcrafted and regional!

The local associations always have priority for the organization of the catering trade.

What about the Argeter residents?

They literally have this event on their doorstep for a whole weekend.

Without the support of the Argeters, of course, it won't work.

We all need people living near Oberhamer Strasse because they provide us with electricity.

Of course, I have to speak to them beforehand.

At the beginning of November, an electrician goes to every house and checks the connections.

Personal contact is practically priceless;

that can't be done casually.

The Argeter Dorfweihnacht eV has officially existed since July. Why did you found the association?

The intention was, among other things, to increase the identification of the people in the village through a possible membership. We currently only have eight members, but we want to attract more. But financial transparency is also important. If I do this as a private person, I am not accountable to anyone. The voluntary helpers feel more comfortable when they know where the money from the income from the market ends up, because they put their labor into it and do not earn anything from it themselves. And now there is a treasurer and the finances are disclosed. By the way, our statutes also state that we will distribute surpluses back to non-profit organizations if we do not need them as reserves. In addition, the whole responsibility does not depend on me alone, butthat we can talk together: Now the second chairman Rolf Beck, our treasurer Nikolaus v. Landlord and our secretary Annette Kouba on board.

Was it actually easy to get the status "non-profit"?

Christmas markets are usually not charity events.

It actually took a little persuasion at the tax office.

But then I was able to convince the responsible clerk of our concept that we are primarily concerned with promoting art and culture and with traditional customs.

Will the Argeter Village Christmas take place in 2022?

I will definitely start planning again in the spring.