Highlights

History, news, children’s program, special exhibits

www.archeoparc.it

The Haflinger Horse Race on Easter Monday has become a tradition. In addition to the actual horse race, the supporting program is all about these special horses with their distinctive blonde manes: In the morning there is a Haflinger parade in downtown Meran accompanied by bands and parade floats; between the individual horse races the riders organize trotting races, a race for three-year old stallions, whip cracking and western riding.

www.meraninfo.it

From the blossoms to the glacier – starting in Naturns and ending at the Schnals Valley glacier – this extraordinary competition takes participants from the white and pink sea of the apple tree blossoms in the basin of the valley up into the world of eternal ice in the Schnals Valley to over 3,200 meters.
The 42.2 km (3,242 m difference in altitude) long marathon route, of which 24.2 km must be covered by mountain bike, 11.8 km by foot (running trail) and 6.2 km on touring skis, passes numerous scenic highlights. No matter whether the event is done by individual competitors or by a team of three (one athlete per discipline), the “Ötzi Alpine Marathon” is certain to be a very personal challenge for each participant.

www.oetzi-alpin-marathon.com

The 19th major meeting of all snowboard fanatics with the most insane spring show at 3,000 m – live concert, shows and a great deal of fun, giant slalom and boardercross... so the season goes out with a bang!

www.sulden.com

This custom involves “awakening” the merry month of May during the night of April 30 to May 1.
Young boys, men and increasingly children who have mastered the art of whip cracking, crack their whips in the village’s streets and lanes as well as in the meadows above the village so as to awaken the ground and landscape from its long winter sleep.

Traditional giant slalom for the “Sulden Cup”

“Aquaprad” with its 14 aquariums and open-air pond, which visitors can look into, provides unique insights into the region’s underwater world. The upper floor is home to some special exhibits that encourage visitors to think about the topic of national parks.

Procession to the “Heilig Drei Brunnen” (Three Holy Wells)
From Trafoi you can take a half-hour walk to the popular “Heilig Drei Brunnen” (Three Holy Wells) pilgrimage destination. The view into the bottom of the valley surrounded by giant cliffs of rock and ice with the Trafoier Eiswand mountain is quite impressive. The pilgrimage church stands on ground that was buried by a mudflow. The miraculous image of the Mother of God is brought to Trafoi every year for the winter in a festive procession, where it is exhibited in the church until Whitsun (Pentecost).

www.trafoi.com

Up to 3,500 sheep are herded up to the Ötztal Valley to the summer pastures via the Hochjoch (2,857 m) and the Niederjoch (3,019 m).

Close your eyes and enjoy sweet fruits! - Martell Valley, the Vinschgau High Alpine Valley in Stilfserjoch National Park below “King Ortler”; 50 years ago strawberries were cultivated for the first time at altitudes of up to 1,700 m. Today the cultivation of these berries in Europe’s highest closed growing area has long achieved cult and cultural status. The outstanding quality of the Martell Valley strawberries is attributed to the mild winter, the warm days and the cool nights. A large strawberry festival is held at which a giant strawberry cake is cut by the Strawberry Queen.

Every year the famous herding of the yaks to the summer meadow near Madritsch takes place. Reinhold Messner will personally herd the scraggly four-legged animals from the Himalayas from the cableway valley station in Sulden towards the Schaubachhütte, together with friends, guests and curious onlookers. Meeting point: 8:30 a.m. at the cableway valley station in Sulden.

“Zieharmonika”, “Steirische”, “Knopforgel”, “Ziehorgel”, “Fisarmonica”, “Quetsche”, “Schwyzeroergeli” – the accordion has many names in German.
In the Alps it is a traditional dance and folk music instrument. So what could be more natural than making this instrument the focus of a festival?

www.dolomitisuperbike.com

Opening of the festival as part of “long Friday”. Saturday is then completely devoted to the crisp Vinschger apple! The innkeepers of Schlanders also invite everyone to enjoy the two-week long “Vinschger Apple” specialty weeks.

The 11th annual festival in the tri-border region of Vinschgau, Unterengadin and Oberes Gericht. In selecting the title for the 10th annual XONG Konrad Messner reveals that he allowed for a little joke: “Nature heals. Of course that is nonsense. Nature itself doesn’t actually heal. But it has the power to lead us to the topic of healing.”

Traditional celebration “Marble & Apricots”. Three days of special events like the visit of marble´s factories, apricots market, farmers market, food specialities, children programs ,a rich cultural program (exhibitions, visit of marble caves, concerts) and more...

www.marmorundmarillen.com

www.reschenseelauf.it

Once again this year, Schluderns offers the ideal setting for the South Tyrol Knight Games (Südtiroler Ritterspiele). In the historic ambiance of Churburg Castle, the Lichtenberg castle ruin, the Fürstenburg and Marienberg Monastery, spectacular exhibition fights will keep the audience enthralled.

www.ritterspiele.it

The scenery looked great by day, but when it got dark the ambiance was magnificent. A large fairground on the edge of the forest, a fantastic Western-style town, some small saloons, an underground bar, a tiny church, great bands on stage and a dancefloor. And everything was illuminated with lots of little lights. All of the musicians and bands played extremely well, but the “Cripple Creek Band” from Germany was the highlight of the evening. Over 4,000 visitors listened and watched with enthusiasm. For those who are country folk at heart – what more could you want?

The Stilfserjochstrasse closed to motorized traffic! A special kind of highlight! Once again this year the Stilfserjochstrasse will be closed for an entire day so that all cyclists can let loose! An exciting adventure.

www.stelviobike.com

The third Sunday in September, actually the national holiday of the brotherhood “Sieben Schmerzen Mariens” (The Seven Sorrows of Mary), has long been renamed by the citizens of Glurns as “Pala-Pira-Sunnta” and selected as their secret “Kirchta” (parish fair); a week-long supporting program is offered.

The arrival of the cows is celebrated with a festival that features a band, a farmer’s market, food tasting with typical and tasty products from the Alps, as well as presentations with traditional hand-crafted goods.

Herding of up to 3,500 sheep down from the summer pastures in the Ötztal Valley via Hochjoch and Niederjoch to Kurzras and Vernagt. Here the herds are received with a large shepherds’ festival.

www.alpinschule-ortler.com