Next dates
2027 dates not yet announced — typically around May. We're watching and will update this page when they land.
Quick answer
Bad Aibling's Pfingstvolksfest runs 22–31 May 2026 during the Bavarian Pentecost holidays. After a Marienplatz beer send-off, the festival company marches to the Volksfestplatz for regional AuerBräu beer, Bavarian food, brass music, rides, and games — grounds admission is free, with rides paid separately. Signature highlights include the festive entry, a Wednesday family programme with Zwergerlpreise, and a Brillantfeuerwerk.
Ten-day Pentecost Volksfest in spa-town Bad Aibling with Festzug, family day, and fireworks.
Timed to Bavaria's Pfingstferien, Bad Aibling's ten-day Pfingstvolksfest fills the Volksfestplatz with rides, Spielbuden, and a Festzelt soundtrack of brass and Bavarian fare, poured by regional brewery AuerBräu. The festive entry from Marienplatz, a Wednesday family programme with children's-price rides, and a closing Brillantfeuerwerk are the week's calling cards — and grounds admission is free, with only rides and games priced separately.
The full story
Bad Aibling's Pfingstvolksfest is a ten-day folk festival built around the moving target of the Bavarian Pentecost school holidays, filling the town's Volksfestplatz with rides, game booths, and a heated Festzelt pouring beer from regional brewery AuerBräu. The 2026 run is 22–31 May, opening on the first Friday evening with a free-beer send-off on Marienplatz in the town center, followed by a ceremonial procession to the fairground — a lively, photograph-friendly start for anyone who arrives early. Because the festival is tied to Whitsun rather than a fixed date, its ten-day window shifts by several weeks from year to year, so visitors should always check the current year's calendar rather than assume last year's dates repeat.
Grounds admission is free — visitors pay only for individual rides, games, and attractions once inside. The week's calling cards are the festive Festeinzug procession, a Wednesday family programme built around discounted children's ride pricing (Zwergerlpreise), and a Brillantfeuerwerk that closes out the run on the festival's final Saturday evening, typically its best-attended single moment. Bavarian Schmankerl and brass-and-dance-band music round out a classic Festzelt atmosphere alongside the AuerBräu beer that anchors the tent.
The festival's own age isn't pinned to a specific founding year, but it's a long-running fixture of this spa town's calendar rather than a recent addition, and it has weathered at least one operator change without missing a beat: the Festzelt passed from the longtime Fahrenschon family — who also run the Volksfeste in nearby Dachau and Olching and a beer tent at Munich's Oktoberfest — to the Mörz family starting with the 2025 edition, while the venue and the AuerBräu beer supply carried through unchanged. That kind of continuity through a tent-operator handover is a good sign for a festival's staying power, even without a founding date to point to. See Pfingstvolksfest Bad Aibling page or explore Upper Bavaria.
History
The Pfingstvolksfest doesn't trace to a specific founding year — it's simply a long-standing fixture of Bad Aibling's spa-town calendar that moves each year with the Bavarian Pentecost school holidays rather than sitting on a fixed date. The Festzelt changed hands in 2025, when the Mörz family took over hosting from the longtime Fahrenschon family — who also run the Volksfeste in Dachau and Olching and a beer tent at Munich's Oktoberfest — while the venue and the AuerBräu beer supply carried through the transition unchanged.
On Tap
- Local focus
- Regional beer follows a festive Marienplatz send-off, with the festival company marching to the Volksfestplatz to open ten days of Pentecost festivities.
- What to try
- Catch the opening march from Marienplatz, then settle in for Bavarian food, brass music, rides, and games at the Volksfestplatz.
- Food pairing
- Bavarian food stands sit alongside the beer tents.
- Best for
- Families — Wednesday brings a dedicated programme with Zwergerlpreise for kids.
- Bavaria On Tap take
- The Brillantfeuerwerk caps off a Pentecost Volksfest that leans on tradition as much as rides.
Practical tips
The English-language details German fest pages usually skip.
- Kids / family
- Official highlight list: Wednesday Familienprogramm with Zwergerlpreise (children’s prize/price offers).
Frequently asked questions
- When is the Bad Aibling Pfingstvolksfest 2026?
- 22–31 May 2026 — a ten-day run tied to the Bavarian Pentecost school holidays, so the exact dates shift each year with Whitsun.
- How does the festival open?
- With a free-beer send-off (Freibierausschank) on Marienplatz, followed by a ceremonial procession to the Volksfestplatz to open the fair.
- What are the programme highlights?
- The festive Festeinzug procession, a Wednesday family programme with Zwergerlpreise, and a Brillantfeuerwerk near the festival's close.
- What food and drink are typical?
- Bavarian Schmankerl and regional AuerBräu beer, with brass bands keeping a classic Festzelt atmosphere; a 2026 Maß price hasn't been set yet.
- Is entry free?
- Yes — admission to the festival grounds is free; individual rides, games, and attractions are paid separately.
- Family-friendly
- Indoor / rain-friendly