Local fairs fall victim to the certificate requirement

The chilbis in the canton are falling like dominoes. This is shown by a small survey of the municipalities. Nevertheless, not everyone wants to give up.

Practically at the same time as the Federal Council announced its decision on the extension of the Covid certificate requirement, an announcement also came from Holzhäusern: the Chilbi (fair) in the "Rosengarten" on 23 and 24 October will not take place. It’s not possible for the organisers to "arrange the personnel area of the Chilbi in accordance with the required specifications". The Holzhäusern Chilbi is not alone: those in Rotkreuz and Walchwil are also being cancelled for similar reasons. The latter has also had a hard time with an implementation under these new circumstances, according to Manuel Studer, head of the Cultural Commission in Walchwil.

Good news was also hoped for in vain in Steinhausen. But last Friday, the municipal council decided to cancel this year's fair, which would have been held from 22 to 24 October. "The necessary protective measures would have led to major restrictions for the stand operators and all the chilbi visitors," says the media release of the municipal council. It hopes, however, "that the Chilbi can be carried out again in its usual form in 2022".

Not possible, even on a small scale
The chilbi In Neuheim was scheduled for the weekend of September 25. The cultural commission there organises the village fair in close cooperation with the associations involved, explains mayor Daniel Schillig. The showman family that dedicates itself to the Chilbibahnen (fairground rides) every year had already de-registered from the event in the summer, however. As a result, it was decided to carry out the fair on a smaller scale and at a different location, as Mayor Schillig relates. After the decision of the Federal Council, however, Neuheim has also had to capitulate: The Cultural Commission and all the associations involved have unanimously decided to cancel the slimmed-down version of the Chilbi 2021.

Whether the huge Lunapark in Baar will be erected again this year is still in the stars.
Image: Stefan Kaiser

The largest Chilbi in the canton of Zug was not yet able to provide detailed answers regarding whether it would carry out the annual fair. The responsible Baar municipal councillor Sonja Zeberg says:

"Whether and in what form the Baarer Chilbi can be carried out has not yet been decided."

The responsible Department of Real Estate and Sports, together with the municipal council, will examine possible scenarios and solutions in the coming weeks. "The department is therefore also in regular contact with the market stall operators, the Chilbibahnen operators and the various festival business groups," summarises Sonja Zeberg.

Reaching the goal with separate protection concepts
The plans in Cham are already more concrete: a draft of the protection concept has already been worked out for the Chomer Märt, says Gisela Bucher, who works at the municipal workshop and is the representative of the Market Commission. They want to carry out the traditional market in as usual a way as possible – and some adaptations are still needed. The Chomer Märt is to be divided into different areas: the classic outdoor market stall without a certificate, but gastronomy and railway visits with a certificate – and consequently also with entrance controls.

The organisers in Oberägeri seem to be even less deterred by the extension of the Covid certificate requirement. The market will not be affected by this, and an additional protection concept is sufficient for the Lunapark, as Remo Abegg, President of the Organizing Committee, informs on request. Only the festive bars with interior areas will not be possible at the Chilbi in October.