A young man and his ten or so friends are in a hurry. Still holding their almost finished cocktails in their hands, they run quickly across the intersection towards the subway, which is supposed to take them via a detour to Oberbilk. “Come straight to the Volksgarten kiosk,” he calls over his shoulder to those who have stayed behind, but they initially remain standing.
Because it is also Büdchen Day at Schillerplatz in Düsseltal. And that includes walking around some of the 40 stalls taking part this year, from district to district, from side street to side street. The gourmet festival taking place at the same time on Königsallee may own the luxury mile on this day – but the stalls own the city. Anyone who walks around the inner city area on this Saturday will quickly notice this. Countless, especially young people, are out and about, at the same time determined and aimless, as it sometimes seems. Many have a beer in their hand, some a soda, they laugh, walk, take the train and explore the city, probably even parts of the city that they might not otherwise visit so often.
A small group has formed around Leonhard Effendy’s kiosk on Schillerplatz. Some people are sitting at tables and chairs, others have sat in a circle on the floor, rolling cigarettes and drinking their drinks. Some are standing and dancing to the music, others are eating a little something. Effendy’s kiosk is usually a meeting point for young families, but today everyone comes. It is neither completely empty nor overly full, people keep coming in from the side streets and the U71 or disappearing again the same way.
So we follow the group of young men in the direction of Oberbilk, first to the church square. There is a neighborhood festival organized there as part of the kiosk, there are lots of families, children run around, their screams accompanied by live music. Initiatives from the neighborhood present themselves here, it’s less about the kiosks and more about the neighborhood. But it fits almost perfectly for this day, after all, the neighborhood meets at their regular kiosks in everyday life.
There is also a festival like this a few streets away on Fürstenplatz. The stages from one venue to the next become shorter between Unterbilk and Oberbilk. At 6 p.m. reggae starts, the band Monster Riddim plays according to plan. “There is only love here,” calls a musician into the crowd. Many people stand around the pavilion, which serves as the band’s stage, dancing to the beat. Others sit on beer benches and play cards. Büdchentag is diverse and if you look around a bit and visit different locations at the festival, you will recognize the diversity of Düsseldorf in it.
It is only a few hundred metres further on foot to Volksgartenstrasse in Oberbilk. Here, you could say, is the epicentre of the epicentre of Büdchentag. Most of the participants have their shops in this part of town and there are two along the road between Oberbilker Allee, connected by a flea market. The party is taking place at the so-called hip-hop kiosk. There is hardly any room left to stand, on the opposite side of the street there are dozens of kiosk fans who have only found free space there. Right in front of the shop, on the “stage” – little more than a small patch of free ground in front of the DJ booth – people are jumping and breakdancing, the spectators cheer and whistle, have their hands in the air and bob to the beat. The place is shaking.
Büdchentag is not just for those who like to visit their local kiosks in their everyday lives. It is also a great way to get to know the city and the people who live there – and to celebrate or listen to music and play with your children. Büdchentag is one of the few events that can rightly be said to be for everyone.
