Erkrath Shooting and Folk Festival

The Schützen- und Volksfest Erkrath is a traditional festival organized by the St. Sebastianus Bruderschaft 1484 Erkrath e.V.. It takes place every year and is a real highlight for the Erkrath community and its guests.

The history: The brotherhood has always celebrated its annual festival ten days after Whitsun, on Corpus Christi. In the past, there was no fixed shooting range, so shooting took place on an assigned area. It was not until 1906/07 that a new shooting range with a bullet trap was built.

Highlights: The festival offers a mixture of traditional shooting competitions, music, dancing and entertainment for young and old. In the past, there used to be sack races, pole-climbing and cock-checking, among other things. A competition in which frogs had to be driven as far as possible on one-wheeled push carts without jumping off was particularly curious!

Special features: An important part of the festival is the king and prize bird shooting, where the new shooting king is crowned. After the king is crowned, the marksmen march through the town accompanied by music and flag waving. In the past, the fairground stalls were set up along Kirchstraße, as there was no permanent festival site.

The festival combines tradition with community and is an integral part of cultural life in Erkrath.