Traditions, community and cheerfulness

For me as a child, August 1st meant spending a cozy celebration with our family. Even today, I still think that being together is something very important at the National Day celebrations. So I am delighted that I - together with my team - am able to organize a festival for our town on our national holiday. For me, this big celebration, which is attended by around 800 people, is also about community. Many different people meet in a relaxed atmosphere and enjoy the time together.

Traditions

We can also take Switzerland's birthday as an opportunity to reflect on how wonderful it is to live in this peaceful and well-organized country. On this small island in the middle of Europe, we enjoy many privileges for which we can be grateful.

For me, August 1st is also a day of traditions. So it is important for us to keep these alive at our national celebration in Rheinfelden. There are therefore always some traditional program items at the celebration. This year, a traditional choir, the Rheinfelden Male Voice Choir, is taking part. The lantern parade through the old town - the highlight for our younger guests - is also a very important tradition for us. The colorful, illuminated procession is always led by our town mayor Franco Mazzi.

The joint celebration of our national anthem is very traditional, with Angelo Pisano and his band providing musical support. For me, this is always a very moving moment when all those attending the festival rise from their benches and sing together.

This year's festival will once again end with the big fireworks display - accompanied by music - on the Inseli. We hope that the public will enjoy our large and beautiful fireworks display and that the need to set off small fireworks will diminish or even disappear.

Speeches on the theme of the year

An important part of our celebrations is the keynote speech. We choose our keynote speaker based on our annual theme. This year's motto "Rediscover Rheinfelden Old Town" inspired us to request two city guides for our traditional celebration. Robi Conrad, linguist and city guide, has a lot to say about our little town and will give the official speech. We are very much looking forward to this. We are also delighted that we have been able to attract another personality from our region, Roland Graf. The actor from Magden conceived and embodies the scenic city tour "Rudolf von Rheinfelden" and will host our national celebration.

It is a great pleasure and honour for me to have been able to organize and coordinate the 1st August celebrations for our town for 19 years. I am very grateful to my team, who give me a lot of support with everything.

Year after year, we also receive a great deal of support from the employees of our maintenance depot, who are responsible for setting up the festival sets, the stage and the marquee, among other things. We are also grateful for the support of a number of companies and institutions who ensure that everything runs smoothly at the celebration: catering, technology, fireworks, music and security are just some of the many important pieces of the puzzle of our wonderful celebration.

The weather

The only thing we can't organize in advance is the weather. That's why I'm always pretty tense a few days before the Bundesfeier and consult the various weather apps on my cell phone almost every hour. Although there have been a few small thunderstorms in the past, we have always been able to hold our Bundesfeier outside for the last 19 years.

I very much hope that this will also be the case this year and that we will enjoy a wonderful celebration outside on the Kurbrunnen grounds.

A joyful celebration with lots of nice encounters, music, delicious food, fireworks, a lantern parade, exciting speeches and living traditions.

Stéphanie Berthoud, Head of the Town Office and Managing Director of Rheinfelden Tourism, is coordinating and organizing the national celebration on 1 August on the Kurbrunnen grounds.