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    K-Town Fun

    Street art in Kaiserslautern’s Stiftsplatz was part of a display of 3D pieces.
    Some colorful art remains in Kaiserslautern’s Stiftsplatz from a display created earlier this week. It’s part of Kaiserslautern’s Smart City projects, which offered residents the option to vote for their favorite event to enliven public spaces in their city.
    View of the Alte Bruecke from the terrace at the restaurant of the Molkenkur, a hotel on a hill above the Old Town, Heidelberg. (Alan Behr/TNS)
    Explore German cities on free, self-guided tours. Heidelberg and Mainz, which are included in this roundup, are easy day trips from the KMC.
    Minions: The Rise of Gru, Elvis, Lightyear, Jurassic World Dominion and Top Gun: Maverick are all playing at the Gateway Cineplex on Ramstein Air Base. For showtimes through Wednesday at Ramstein and throughout Europe, click here.  
    Freedom Fest kicks off Friday at 5 p.m. at the Enlisted Club Parking Lot on Ramstein Air Base with live music, carnival rides and food from more than 30 private organizations throughout the weekend. Musical headliner Jerrod Niemann plays at 8:45 p.m. on Sunday, followed by a fireworks show at 10:30 p.m. A free shuttle runs every 15 minutes from the Northside Fitness Center, Northside Chapel and KMCC, from 4:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. on Friday and 11:30 a.m. to 1 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday. The fest is open to DOD ID card holders and authorized guests. U.S. dollars only. More details here.
    Ukrainian pianist Anna Anstett will join the Russian mezzo-soprano Polina Artsis for a benefit concert for peace Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Theodor-Zink-Museum in Kaiserslautern. Entry is free. Donations are welcome and will benefit Emergency Aid Ukraine, a charity fund by the German Red Cross.
    Kaiserslautern summer evening events continue at various downtown venues until Aug. 18. On July 7, local singer-songwriter Tom Keller and pianist and singer Maria Blatz will enterain the crowd on Stiftsplatz from 5 to 9 p.m. The city will offer 100 sunchairs inviting audience members to relax and enjoy the show. Entry is free.
    The theater and music fest Alles Muss Rauss will keep downtown Kaiserslautern hopping July 15-17. Past events have included strolling performers pretending to be penguins, dancers in inflatable suits, a tiny bus for fest attendees to ride in and some very large-scale open-air performances at Stiftzplatz. Check the fest website for info on this year’s fun as it’s released.
    Kaiserslautern’s Stiftsplatz will become more colorful with 3D street art from June 30 to July 1. Ten international artists will paint 3D perspective art in the public plaza. The temporary works aim to create an illusion of plasticity that emerges the viewer in the large-scale artworks, organizers said. Visitors can observe the artists at work and take selfies and photos of the finished works. The event is part of Kaiserslautern’s Smart City projects, which offered residents the option to vote for their favorite event to enliven public spaces in their city.
    Kaiserslautern celebrates its “Long Night of Culture” festival today with more than 100 music, art and entertainment presentations at 25 downtown locations. Admission is free in many places from afternoon to shortly before sunrise. Here are more details. 
    A controversial art exhibit opens today at Museum Pfalzgalerie Kaiserslautern. The exhibit by Afghan artist Kubra Khademi is titled “Political Bodies.” Inspired by motifs from religion, mythology and politics, Khademi’s art focuses on questions of female identity in a male-dominated society. The artist was born in Ghor province, Afghanistan, in 1989 and escaped her homeland in 2015 to pursue her art. It is the first solo museum exhibition of Khademi’s work worldwide and opens a year after the Taliban takeover of the country. The exhibit is open June 25 to Sept. 11. More info here.
    Kaiserslautern celebrates its “Long Night of Culture” on Saturday. The event features more than 100 music, art and entertainment presentations at 25 downtown venues from afternoon to shortly before sunrise. Paid wristbands allow access to participating event venues. Admission is free in many places. Detailed event listings and locations are available online. 
    The Medieval Summermarket at Lichtenberg Castle features living history demos, music, dancers, food and more. If you go dressed in your medieval finest, you get 2 euros off the 7 euro admission fee. It runs Saturday from noon to 11 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the castle, which is near Kusel. The fest website features a map to help you get there.  Learn more about the castle here.
    Kaiserslautern runners can join their coworkers for the 13th citywide company run Sept. 15 at 6:30 p.m. The 5K route leads from Spittelstraße through the city to downtown’s Stiftsplatz. The event is part of the B2Run company run series held in 18 German cities and aims to motivate businesses and organizations to promote health and camaraderie. Runners can compete for awards in various categories, including largest, fastest and most creatively costumed team. Registration and information at www.b2run.de/kaiserslautern.
    Curious about the work civil engineers do around Ramstein Air Base? Come out and learn about heavy equipment at the 86th Civil Engineer Group’s annual “Touch-a-Truck” day on Friday from noon to 3 p.m. There will be free food and drinks, a live DJ, and a bouncy castle. The Ramstein Enlisted Spouses Association is sponsoring the event, located behind the Ramstein Northside Chapel. For more information, email: tailore.dawson@us.af.mil.
    Check out the tunnels underneath the city of Kaiserslautern during a special, 1.5-hour tour offered in English on the following Saturdays: July 2, Aug. 6, Sept. 3 and Oct. 8. The tour starts in the Count Palatinate Hall of the former Casimir Castle before descending underground. The meeting point is the tourist information office at Fruchthallstrasse 14. Registration is required in advance via email: touristinformation@kaiserslautern.de; or call 06313654019.
    What’s the difference between a regular hiking trail and a premium hiking trail? Germany is crisscrossed by a number of trails that have been honored with the seal of Premium-Wanderwege, or premium hiking trails, overseen by the German Hiking Institute. Here’s more info on them, including one in the KMC area and another nearby.
    Looking for a good day trip? Luisenpark in Mannheim offers 100 acres of family fun. And a water playground for days like these.
    Lichtenberg Castle, called Kusel Castle by Americans, is one the largest castle complexes in Germany and only about 30 minutes northwest of Ramstein Air Base. The grounds and museums are open this weekend. Read more here.
    A sign advertises Kaiserslautern Classics and Rallye Trifels Historic.
    Still looking for something to do this weekend? Vintage vehicle fans can check out the Kaiserslautern Classics and Rallye Trifels Historic this weekend. Those wanting to ditch their cars can ride their bikes along a 14-mile route on Sunday between Landstuhl and Thaleischweiler-Froeschen during a car-free day. Music fans can enjoy live bands at the Seewoog Fest Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the Seewoog lake in Ramstein-Miesenbach. Admission is free. Music starts at 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 11 a.m. Sunday.
    Here’s your movie schedule today at the Gateway Cineplex at Ramstein Air Base: Lightyear, 11:30 a.m., 1 p.m., 2 p.m., 3:30 p.m., 4:30 p.m., 6 p.m., 7 p.m.; Jurassic World Dominion, 12:15 p.m., 3:30 p.m., 6:45 p.m.; Top Gun: Maverick, 1 p.m., 4 p.m., 7 p.m. For the rest of the week at Ramstein and shows across Europe, click here.
    Downtown Kaiserslautern will be rockin’ tonight. After a two-year pandemic hiatus, the Monkey Jump Festival is back. Twenty-two bands and disc jockeys will play live music and spin tunes across 15 locations in Kaiserslautern’s Old Town starting at 7 p.m. and lasting until the early morning hours. Music ranges from salsa and Latino to rock, pop, reggae and the blues. Tickets are 15 euros in advance. For tickets or more information about the festival, go to: https://m-jump.de.
    A Juneteenth Festival is taking place on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Pulaski Park. The free event will have food, games and education for kids and adults.
    The TattooTattaa international tattoo festival is coming to Ramstein-Miesenbach on July 16 and 17. The convention allows artists and tattoo enthusiasts the chance to exchange ideas and get a tattoo or body piercing from more than 100 artists from all over Germany and Europe, according to organizers. The event includes a tattoo contest, live music, and a tattoo and stage show. Food trucks selling street food will also be on hand. The convention opens at noon July 16 in the Congress Center in Ramstein-Miesenbach. Tickets cost 20 euros for one day and 30 euros for a weekend pass, via online purchase; admission is free for children 14 and younger.
    The Medieval Spectacle in Obermoschel features plenty of costumes.
    Still looking for some weekend fun? You’ll find costumes, musicians, artisans, food and more with a castle ruin as a backdrop at the Medieval Spectacle in Obermoschel that’s running from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday. And in Ramstein-Miesenbach, the German American Friendship Festival offers live music and food from  from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.
     Taking part in a Volksmarch is a popular weekend pastime in many countries of northern Europe. Here are a few Volksmarches coming up, including AdventureWalk Pfälzerwald in the Palatinate Forest, which is close to the KMC.
    Ramstein Air Base announced an LGBTQ+ Pride 5K Color Run, the first Pride Month event on base that it has released info on since the cancellation of a Drag Queen Storytime that was scheduled for earlier in June. The run is being organized by the 86th Dental Squadron Booster Club, a private organization, on June 25 and it costs $20 to participate (free for kids 12 and under). Here’s more info on the event.
    The Army and Air Force Exchange Service is offering free screenings of the film “Elvis” at Air Force and Army bases worldwide today. At Ramstein, the free showing starts at 11:30 a.m. at the Exchange Reel Time Theater. Doors open at 10:30 a.m., and seats will be available on a first-come basis. Read more.
    About 14 miles of roadway will belong to cyclists and pedestrians on June 19 between Landstuhl and Thaleischweiler-Froeschen during a car-free day. The route will be closed to motorized traffic from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Food and drinks will be offered in villages on the route, and 13 historic mills invite cyclists for a pit spot along the way. For kids, there will be pony rides, a bouncy castle, a donkey enclosure and a children’s road track and adventure playground. The car-free route can be reached by train via Pirmasnes/Nord/Thaleishweiler-Froeschen and Landstuhl. For more information and a map of the route, go to: www.landstuhl.de; or email touristinfo@vgtw.de.
    Moviegoers at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, can see a free showing of the new “Elvis” movie on Saturday, two weeks before the film’s nationwide release in the United States. The screening starts at 11:30 a.m. at the Exchange Reel Time Theater in the Kaiserslautern Military Community Center. Doors open at 10:30 a.m. Seats are available on a first-come basis. It’s one of about 20 such screenings at base theaters across the globe. The flick showcases the life and career of rock-and-roll music legend Elvis Presley, including his time serving in the U.S. Army in Germany.

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