Starting with a perfect blue sky, the cafés in Diekirch high street could not have hoped for better conditions for a successful carnival parade on Sunday.
Revelers flock (safely by train) to Diekirch for the Carnival parade on Sunday 26 FebruaryFrank Dillmann of the Beim Frank bar (dressed as a Top Gun pilot) serves guests during the Carnival parade in Diekirch on 26 February 2017Paulo Moreira, manager of the Little Pub and the Grill, pictured just in front of his restaurant during the Diekirch carnival parade on 26 February 2017Fabian Paladino (far right) in conversation with Delano’s Martine Huberty (in blond whig) and The Joker in front of the Capuccino cocktail bar in Diekirch, shortly after the Carnival parade, on 26 February 2017The DJ on the place de la liberation in Diekirch, shortly after the Carnival parade, on 26 February 2017Spectators line the route of the Diekirch Cavalcade (Carnival Parade) held on Sunday 26 FebruaryThe Diekirch Carnival parade goes from Gilsdorf past the church to finish near the train station and the aal SéereiA marching band provides the music during the Carnival parade in Diekirch on Sunday 26 FebruaryParticipants dressed as Housécker (the Christmas boogeyman) march in the Diekirch Cavalcade, 26 February 2017A Dracula-themed float is seen during the Diekirch Cavalcade on 26 February 2017. Some parade floats take months to be built.Young and old participate in building and staffing parade floatsDiekirch Carnvial parade float themes vary immenselyThese girls, pictured in Diekirch on Sunday 26 February, missed the Carnival parade itself, instead preferring to socialise on the main squareRevellers during the Diekirch Cavalcade (Carnival Parade) held on Sunday 26 FebruaryA trolley full of confetti and balloons pictured during the Diekirch Cavalcade (Carnival Parade) held on Sunday 26 FebruaryAn attendee “goes bananas” during the Carnival Parade held in Diekirch on Sunday 26 FebruaryParticipants dressed as sumo wrestlers at the Carnival parade in Diekirch, 26 February 2017Participants play with gender stereotypes at the Carnival parade held in Diekirch on 26 February 2017A participant dressed as US president Donald Trump (on left) during the carnival parade in Diekirch on 26 February 2017A woman dressed as Shaun the Sheep during the Diekirch Cavalcade held on Sunday 26 FebruarySome minions in Diekirch, shortly after the Carnival parade, on 26 February 2017Revellers during the Diekirch Cavalcade (Carnival Parade) held on Sunday 26 FebruaryRevellers during the Diekirch Cavalcade (Carnival Parade) held on Sunday 26 FebruaryRevellers during the Diekirch Cavalcade (Carnival Parade) held on Sunday 26 FebruarySome people like to coordinate their looksPlace de la Libération is packedPlace de la Libération in Diekirch seen on Carrnival Parade Sunday, 26 February 2017After the Carnival parade, the party spills out onto the high street in Diekirch, 26 February 2017Charlie Chaplin was there tooDrinks at the Beim Frank stand, during the Diekirch Carnival parade on 26 February 2017, cost between €3 and €4.50
Photo: Mike Zenari
They were ready to accommodate the around 20,000 people that flock yearly to Diekirch to celebrate carnival. Apart from the “Aal Dikrich” (old Diekirch) festival and the Christmas market, the cavalcade is one of the biggest days for the many bars in Diekirch.
The owner of the Beim Frank café for the past 12 years, Frank Dillmann, told Delano prior to the festivities:
“The preparations start two weeks before. Placing the orders, finding extra staff… it is not my first cavalcade. I order a certain average of beer kegs and so far it was always enough. We usually order four times that of a normal weekend. Today we have a staff of five, which is two more than usual.”
Paulo Moreira, manager of the Little Pub and owner of the Grill restaurant, which lies directly on the route of the parade, said that his major preparations were for the restaurant:
“We don’t have an additional beer counter outside the café, but here at the restaurant we do. We order twice as much beer than usual. We usually have four kegs a week, but for the cavalcade we order eight. We don’t employ more staff, it’s the same personnel but they work all day. Instead of working 8 hours, they work all day until 1 am.”
At the restaurant, they sell food to the customers outside:
“We rent the grill, pay the local council for the authorisation to sell thuringers, pork chops, mettwurst and burgers. We have ordered 500 pieces in total, but I don’t know if we’ll sell everything!”
However, some see it as not so much of a boon for their business. Fabian Paladino, manager of the Capuccino, a cocktail bar at the top of the Place de la Libération on the high street, argued that:
“The cavalcade is a good bonus for many cafés but not everyone necessarily profits from it, because we have so many cafés here in Diekirch. It’s all about location: some have a better location than others.”
Three cafés have paid for a DJ to play at that main square for the second year in a row. Beim Frank, Beim Louis, and Dikricher Stuff all chipped in to keep people around, as there is a party in the Aal Séerei near the train station after the parade.
Paladino explained how the crowds move around a lot:
“At the cavalcade, people are moving constantly--they don’t stay in one place. You may have huge crowds for two hours or so, then people go see the parade, then they may come back or may go somewhere else.”
Dillmann argues that:
“Of course it’s expensive [for bar and café owners] but it draws people to the main square. When the parade is over around 5 or 6 o’clock, people flock to the cafés, and when there is a DJ and with this good weather the atmosphere is perfect! The DJ plays from 4 to 10 and afterwards people go to the cafés to party.”
They all argree however that the cavalcade gives Diekirch more visibility. Paladino said proudly: “For the town itself it’s brilliant--Diekirch has a cult status because of its cavalcade.”
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