At the end of the press tour of the spring Dippemess, Thomas Roie felt it was an urgent matter to get a note out to the people.

Against the background of a stop sign, all possible cost drivers were listed that are currently burdening the showmen’s trade after two largely sales-free corona years.

The folk festivals are also suffering from the price increases, which were not least provoked by the Ukraine war.

Daniel Meuren

Editor in the Rhein-Main-Zeitung.

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"When we fill up our trucks, a thousand euros are gone before we have our equipment on site," says Roie, chairman of the Frankfurt/Rhine-Main Showmen's Association.

The explosion in electricity and propane gas prices is also hitting the industry directly.

“In addition, there are delivery problems, from stuffed animals to spare parts for the rides, and difficulties in getting frying fat.

Actually, we should increase our prices by 30 percent.” The showmen at the Ratsweg fairground want to avoid that because they don't want to alienate their customers.

On Roie's chain carousel, for example, children can find their place at a stable price.

It is gratifying that far fewer showmen have given up than feared at the beginning of Corona.

The state aid and alternative jobs for the showmen apparently saved the industry from the crisis for the time being.

It was correspondingly easy for the Dippemess' organizers from Tourismus und Congress Frankfurt (TCF) to allocate the 120 stand numbers.

That is 25 more than at the autumn Dippemess, when the number of visitors was limited to around 5000 at the same time on a fenced-in site including access controls according to 3 G and a one-way street system for the tour of the site.

No family Thursday

Compared to the times before the pandemic, when 140 operators were approved, there is still room for readjustments in the case of hotspot regulations.

Wearing a mask is only recommended at the moment.

"But we are counting on the fact that the stand operators actively encourage people to wear masks when there is a crowd," says TCF Managing Director Thomas Feda, who is largely responsible for the festival, which dates back to a medieval trade fair for commodities such as pots (Dippe), first documented in 1392.

Under the new conditions, he hopes for 750,000 visitors and sales of up to eight million euros for the showmen, who urgently need the income.

In order to avoid too much crowding, however, the previously customary family Thursday, on which children could use the rides for less, is no longer applicable.

In addition, there is no marquee, the Hausmann family relies on an open-air beer garden instead.

The opening hours vary according to the day of the week, it is open until 11 p.m. and on weekends until midnight.

Details at www.frankfurt-tourismus.de.

Days off are Good Friday

and Mondays except Easter Monday.