Karneval der Kulturen 2012

My second year at the Karneval der Kulturen in Berlin back in May. Amazing time again and loads of good music, friendly people and great food. Last year I missed the Jamaican jerk chicken, not this year. REALLY good, best thing to come out of an oil drum ever.  And a few strange folks dressed up for the occasion, see below:

This guy was not part of any parade. He was just sitting on a bench in the middle of a park with the Karneval all around. An example of the bizarre side of Berlin. He was holding a bike pump handle and pumping it which seemed to be inflating his helmet....? Gas mask, webbed flippers and not a word said to anyone. I doubt anyone would get away with this kind of outfit in this situation in the UK or USA.

All over for another year...
Andy

Karneval Der Kulturen

A few blocks from the flat was the huge annual 4 day cultural festival celebrating the blend of people in Berlin. Huge turn out with loads of stalls selling food (lots of BBQ), beer, art, crafts etc. Big parade on Sunday.

There's 1 BBQ for every 3 people attending :)

This woman can SING!  First group in the parade, Brazilian's know how to get the party started.

Amazing group of puppeteers.

Some really amazing sculpts from this group. I'm not sure what they're all about but it looks great. They're something called Körschtal Hell Guard.

www.koerschtaler-hoellenwaechter.de

Amazing work and very detailed.

That last shot is from a display of Mexican artists work at one of the stalls. Some figures from day of the dead festivities but this skull (and a more from the same artist) is truly amazing in its design and intricate detail. This skull is about the size of a softball so the fine lines are done with very small brushes and controlled strokes. The pigments are ground by the artist and made from natural sources. Unfortunately they're very expensive but I'll keep these in mind should that lotto ticket hit.
laceiba-arts.de

Cheers
Andy