Afro-Pfingsten makes the hearts of culture enthusiasts beat faster. Winterthur celebrates African cultures and intercultural encounters.

The Afro-Pfingsten Festival has been opening its doors in Winterthur for over 30 years. The festival makes the hearts of culture enthusiasts, music fans and gourmets beat faster on the days of Pentecost. The city is transformed into a lively stage for African cultures and celebrates intercultural encounters. The festival invites you to magical concerts and inspiring workshops, lectures, films and readings representing African cultures, this year with a focus on Ghana. It spreads its vibrant energy throughout the city.

From punk and urban beats to reggae and classical music
The Afro-Pfingsten Festival celebrates the diversity of Afro cultures, but in 2025 the special focus will be on Ghana. A diverse program celebrates the facets of a pluralistic society by giving different cultures a stage. A highlight of Afro-Pfingsten will of course once again be the numerous concerts. The event kicks off on June 5 with the unique Heavy Night at the Gaswerk cultural center, featuring the black feminist punk band "Big Joanie" and the Moroccan rock trio "Lazywall". At the same time, "The Massive Tribe" from Ghana will be playing at the Albani, accompanied by Alina Amuri.

Things continue on Friday in the Salzhaus, warmed up and relaxed. The Reggae Night offers a fantastic line-up. "Gunda Wechee", "Marla Brown", the daughter of reggae legend Dennis Emanuel Brown, and The King of Afro Roots "Rocky Dawuni" will keep the stage shaking until late Friday night. On Saturday, Afro-Pfingsten invites celebrated stars of Afro music to the Salzhaus for the Urban Beats evening: DaWill, K.Zia and Pronto will get the basses thumping with an innovative mix of rap, Afrobeat and modern beats. After the concerts, party-goers can show off their best dance moves at the Afro-Beats Party.

In addition to Claudia Masika's own version of Afro-Fusion, the Afro-Sunday will feature a music trio that embodies the rich musical tradition of West Africa in the best possible way. We are talking about none other than Habib Koité, who will be celebrating Mandé Sila with Lamine Cissokho, Aly Keïta and Mama Kone.  The final phase begins with a great deal of energy and hypnotic dancing. When Amadou and Mariam, the ambassadors of Afro-pop, take to the stage, the hall is transformed into a magical place. Their unique blend of organic and electronic sounds, infused with heavenly vocals, creates a captivating atmosphere.

Afro-Classics, on the other hand, is the name of the series that also brings classical music to the stage in the Stadtkirche and Stadthaus. The market stage also offers many musical gems and during the market, music can also be experienced by street artists and on small stages.

Experience the market from Thursday to Saturday
The market transforms Winterthur's old town into a unique cultural highlight. From Thursday to Saturday, visitors can enjoy culinary specialties at around 300 stalls, stroll through the market and take part in activities. Talented artists from all over the world flock to the city and delight tens of thousands of visitors every year on the market stage and at the street art spots. They enchant the crowds with traditional and modern songs and dances and invite them to join in the celebrations from June 5 to 7. The whole city shakes a leg to the rhythmic melodies on the market and at the numerous concerts during Whitsun.

Learn, meet and pass on
Once again this year, Afro-Pfingsten offers a variety of inspiring workshops that enable encounters with multifaceted Afro cultures. The workshops guarantee an open exchange with the instructors, who pass on their knowledge and their dancing and drumming skills with great passion. Entertainment is also provided for our youngest guests. Exciting dance and music offers invite young and old to family and children's workshops, while the Family Disco inspires everyone to dance along happily. This year, Afro-Whitsun will also be part of the HER GAME CULTURE, supporting women's football with various activities.

Teamwork makes dreams work
Without our helpers, however, the whole thing would not be possible. Teamwork makes dreams work! Numerous motivated volunteers lend a hand and ensure that the numerous stands and stages are set up smoothly. During the festival, they serve drinks, wield the wooden spoon or the broom, answer questions at the information stands and help out at the cash desks.

As soon as all the visitors have danced, laughed, sung, feasted and celebrated, our hard-working helpers take care of the dismantling so that the city soon shines again in its usual splendor.


Note: This text was translated by machine translation software and not by a human translator. It may contain translation errors.