The crowning glory of the summer holidays: The summer festival in the Pestalozzi Children's Village awaited with games, fun, sunshine and soft ice for young and old and showed that the children's village is a place of encounter, inclusion and joy.
The laughter of children could be heard from afar, the hissing of the drinks bottles was accompanied by the hum of the soft ice machine. There was a scent of bratwurst, Thai curry and cake in the air. In the children's village, the paths were filled with visitors hungry for adventure. The last Sunday of the summer holidays waited with fantastic weather. Perfect for the summer party. The starting shot was fired at 10 a.m., when the first guests had already arrived in the children's village. The stage was opened by Asrat and Abate, owners of Nubia Brew and former residents of the children's village and Martin Bachofner, chairman of the board of the Pestalozzi children's village. They talked about what it was like to live in the children's village, why African millet goes perfectly with Swiss hops and how it feels to make friends for life. Martin Bachofner says on the occasion:
"I was very pleased that we were able to show the visitors our children's village in all its diversity and that we were able to give them an understanding of our commitment."
Versatile program
Meanwhile, the first children went stamp hunting and discovered the children's village on their own. They tried their luck with children's rights memory, with rifle shooting, learned to write their names in Cyrillic and asked for their favorite song on powerup_radio. The diligent stamp collectors who had visited all thirteen stations were rewarded with a surprise. The Enderlin Chicks performed on stage, enthusing young and old and hardly letting a leg stand still. The sun continued to shine happily on the children's village. Tranquillo Barnetta, President of the Special Olympics Switzerland Association, spoke to Carmen Lopes Sway, artist Aunt Carmen, about how wonderful it is that every child finds a place in the children's village. Afterwards, the Unified Team of FC St. Gallen 1879 and Team St. Gallen fought for every ball. In the end, thanks to the fantastic atmosphere and the many fans, both teams left the pitch as happy winners of the friendly game. After the game was before the penalty shootout. The children queued up to try their luck with Lukas Watkowiak, goalkeeper of FC St. Gallen 1879. Fabian Schubert, striker of FC St. Gallen 1879, slipped into the role of referee for once and kicked off the 11-metre throw.
Next stop: Summer Festival. At least for Aunt Carmen's bus. The artist delighted the children with a show full of surprises. The children were not only allowed to watch, but also became part of the show themselves. The visitors happily strolled around the children's village, enjoyed a Thai curry, Ukrainian samsas, a peace beer from Nubia Brew or the well-deserved soft ice in the shade of the large lime trees.