The Austrian Communist Party’s mini Fête de l’Humanité is held every year in the Jesuitenwiese section of the Prater. Intended as a playful mix of political education, musical entertainment and boozing, the Volksstimmefest attracts most of the local left who wander from splinter-group stall to beer tent to one of the three stages in the knowledge they are among the like-minded. Reputedly the wealthiest political party in Austria, the Communists can afford to put on an entertaining festival with multi-ethnic musical attractions including Munich’s Chicks on Speed, superb Brazillian songstress Celia Mara and Irish folk from Cran.
Alan Davie
One of the most inventive artists of the post-war era, Grangemouth-born Alan Davie’s 80th birthday is celebrated with an exhibition of oils, drawings and prints from the 1930s to the present day.
In A Soulful Mood
The natural amphitheatre at Am Himmel in the rolling hills overlooking Vienna is the scene of a programme of jazz recordings by the likes of Keith Jarrett, Abdullah Ibrahim and Miles Davis are played over a magnificent soundsystem. Amidst the vineyards of the Cobenzl hill on the edge of the Vienna woods, punters can picnic with a splendid view over the city while soaking up some of jazz’s most relaxing sounds. The event draws attention to need to protect one of Vienna’s most beautiful areas and visitors are asked dispense with their cars and use public transport.
