Leipzig Events: Weeklong city festival celebrates 1000 years of Leipzig with different themes, parties, concerts, lectures; Plagwitz goes music-wild Saturday night

There’s so much happening in Leipzig these days, in terms of party and arts and culture, that it’s difficult to keep track. You may have noticed, for instance, the thematic floats parading around town this weekend (“Lipsias Löwen,” or “Leipzig Lions”). It was the opening of the “festival week” going on right now celebrating 1000 Years of Leipzig – the StadtFestTage – with a different theme everyday based on groups of people. Monday, June 1st, the theme was children, with the performance of the Kids Jazz L.E. band, made up of youngsters, scheduled for the evening in the Market Square. Tuesday‘s theme is sports enthusiasts, with a Zumba flashmob slated to congregate at the market square at 5 p.m. Wednesday it’s “everyday heroes” who get honored with special events, while Thursday is dedicated to students (with interesting-sounding lectures to go along with it), and the whole weekend is filled with live concerts, as the culmination of the weeklong party. And if you’ve still got stamina for more, check out the Plagbeatz music festival in Plagwitz, starting at 10 p.m. Saturday.  You can get tickets beforehand.

Earlier this week on Monday evening, an even more alternative activity was planned, starting from Werk 2 in Connewitz: a tour going around different shops and other sites in the neighborhood. It’s part of an initiative called Leipzig Stadtteilexpeditionen, an ongoing arts and community showcase project led by Diana Wesser around Leipzig’s quarters. They’ve been to Eisenbahntraße before and will keep moving across the town, so keep an eye on their progress if you’re interested in joining up at some point.