Revitalization of the city center is needed – and it’s good to see that the marketplace can be really crowded. This was the case with the cinema summer evenings last year. On saturday in particular, the crowds were so great that there was not even a standing room left from which to see the screen. The newly conceived street food festival in march 2019 was so well received right away that people had to stand in line for a long time to get something to eat. From these experiences the city is this year around optimization strives, as mayor andreas hugerich (SPD) lets know. The new edition around the sales open sunday on the 15. March will be larger, planned with more vendors and already includes the preceding saturday. For the open-air cinema experience, there are plans to change the set-up so that there is room for more spectators. City manager steffen hofmann provided information on this when he recently presented the event planning to the urban development committee.
Hofmann, who is also head of the office for economic affairs, tourism and culture, always sees things for himself and keeps in touch with the people involved. He is also a member of both the city marketing association and the "treffpunkt" action group board member. According to him, the long-planned merger of the two organizations is now only a formality – albeit bureaucratic and therefore time-consuming – and should finally be completed this year. In any case, the efforts to attract visitors and customers have long been in harmony.
Actions such as children’s adventure day ( 30. May), wine festival (18.-21. June) or dammers(c)hoppen (10. October) are financed by a project fund, half of which is financed by private individuals, i.E. Business people, property owners, citizens and associations. The other half is public money from urban development subsidies and from the city itself, again in the ratio 60:40 percent. In total, around 50,000 euros are drawn from the fund each year.
The money is also used, for example, to support the lichtenfels music nights. By providing support and taking over advertising, the city helped to revive the events formerly known as pub nights. Four of them are on the calendar again this year, the first on the 22nd. February. Just last wednesday, there was a joint discussion with seven restaurateurs who are happy to participate again, as steffen hofmann reported. "We have a very nice and lively pub scene in our town", he noted. Conclusion: if the offer fits, the people come too. City councilor andrea starker (CSU) praised the commitment in this direction, especially the courage to dare something new.
"Much more is not possible"
In 2019, there were a total of 317 events, 178 of which were our own – not including the 80 or so braiding courses. If one takes into account that events lasting several days were also included and that set-up and dismantling days still have to be added, the city manager’s assessment is clear: "much more is not possible."
Lif-card
In the fifth year since the introduction of the "lif-card" voucher card the 20,000 mark was exceeded for the first time. Exactly 20,199 copies of this lichtenfels currency, each worth ten euros, were sold in 2019. This corresponds to a turnover of 201 990 euros. 2014, it stood at 30,500 euros. Because companies also issue the lif-card to their employees, people from outside lichtenfels can be won over as customers for local businesses.