Voices of the City: June's cultural walk invites you to join in the conversation

On Tuesday, 30 June 2026, the interactive cultural walk "Voices of the City" will take place in Bocholt as part of the "Stadt.Land.Bühne" project. The tour begins at 5.00 pm in front of the Historic Town Hall and combines stories submitted by local residents with artistic performances. Anyone interested is invited to take part in the event and round off the afternoon with a communal picnic.

The walk offers the opportunity to experience one's own town from new perspectives. In the run-up to the event, the people of Bocholt were invited to submit texts, poems, personal memories or wishes. Numerous submissions have already been received, which are now being adapted for the walk by two artists. The contributions will be incorporated into the walk along the way in the form of readings, performances and movement. The exact route will be based on the themes of the submissions, but participants can also help shape it spontaneously on the spot.

""The walk brings residents' thoughts straight onto the streets and creates a platform for direct, informal exchange,"" says Jule Wanders, Head of the Culture and Education Department at Bocholt City Council, looking forward to the event, ""The high quality and diversity of the texts already received clearly show just how deeply people engage with their city.""

Mayor Christian Mangen will also be joining the cultural walk. He will use the shared journey through Bocholt to listen directly to residents' ideas, stories and wishes and to engage in conversation with the participants. The walk is thus intended to promote informal dialogue and collective creativity in public spaces.

The event will conclude on the lawn behind the LWL Textilwerk Museum. There, the walk will end with a communal picnic, where socialising will take centre stage. With the support of IBENA, the organisers will provide blankets from the anniversary collection for this finale. Participants must bring their own food and drink. At the end, all those present will receive a printed reader summarising the contributions submitted by the public.

""The concluding picnic behind the Textilwerk combines the cultural tour with a convivial get-together, where the dialogue on the future of the city can continue,"" says Valentina Vlasic, director of the co-organising LWL Museum Textilwerk. 

The project is being carried out in cooperation with the LWL Museum Textilwerk. Funding is provided by the Ministry of Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, the Regional Culture Programme NRW, the LWL Cultural Foundation, the Werte-Stiftung-Münsterland and the Society for Friends of Music and Theatre.