Saskia McDonagh is the woman of the hour. It’s still quite cozy at the Isarinselfest early Saturday afternoon, but a line has formed at McDonagh’s booth of the German Federation of Trade Unions. No, she hasn’t had a break yet, says the woman with the big, colorful make-up case. And then the next child jumps onto her chair. She wants to be a “purple tiger,” says the girl, who is just under three years old. Purple tigers, mermaids, labradores – there are many different wishes when it comes to face painting. McDonagh fulfills them.
Ronja (left) and Judith had their makeup done as mermaids.
(Photo: Florian Peljak)
A few meters further, at a huge Ludo game at the stand of the workers’ welfare, you meet Ronja, five, and her friend Judith, six years old, both made up as mermaids. It’s a family festival that takes place this weekend along Steinsdorfstrasse, between Ludwigsbrücke and Maximiliansbrücke. In 2020 the Isarinselfest was canceled due to the corona pandemic, last year there was only a mini version. It turned out a bit smaller than usual this time, too, in the 13th year. This is due to the large construction site on the Ludwigsbrücke.
Nevertheless, visitors can choose between four stages and more than 50 acts. One of them is The Kuehnemann with her chansonesque songwriting, as the musician describes it herself. “I must be crazy, I must be crazy,” she sings, “I’m crazy and I didn’t get it”. Judith and Ronja, the two little mermaids, are also in front of the stage.
At least 120,000 visitors came by Sunday afternoon, says Julia Schönfeld-Knor, one of the chairmen of the Isarinselfest association. And that despite the heavy rain on Saturday afternoon and the Superbloom Festival in the Olympic Park, as she emphasizes. The rain drove many people home, “but then they came right back.” From 6 p.m. the bands would have played again. Schönfeld-Knor’s interim conclusion: It was a bit like before, “only nicer”. Because the festival could finally take place again.
The Munich SPD member of the Bundestag Sebastian Roloff meanwhile tweeted a photo of himself painted with a Spiderman look: “If there are no public talks at the Isar Island Festival due to the rain, you can also test the DBG children’s face painting.”