DAY 3 AT THE DSTNCMP²³.

May 11, 2023, BY WOLFGANG WEILER

A successful surprise

Traditionally, the venue for the netzvitamineABEND during DestinationCamp is a well-kept secret. This time, too, with the exception of a few particularly sharp participants, none of theDSTNCMP²³ attendees knew where they would be spending Thursday evening. The “oohs” and “aahs” were all the more astonished when, after a few minutes’ bus ride, the iconic architecture of the Erl Festival Hall came into view behind a cow pasture.

Set into the adjacent rocky slope, the anthracite-colored facade appeared to be a dynamically “folded” extension of the landscape. To some, in contrast to the white, soaring Passionsspielhaus next door, it looked like a futuristic UFO parked unconventionally at the edge of the forest.

MORNING SESSIONS, AFTERNOON ADVENTURES
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After the morning sessions and workshops, many participants headed out again to take part in the various activities. Options included a trip to see the “blondes” at the foal farm of the Haflinger breeding stud in Ebbs, a visit to the Riedel glassblowers, or a tour of Manfred Höck’s “Crownhill” distillery. The raw materials for his award-winning fine brandies and liqueurs grow on the roughly 150 apple, pear, and plum trees in the meadows surrounding the secluded Kronbühelhof near Schwoich.

The yoga and herbal workshop in the Riedel Ballroom was well attended, as were Herbert Plangger’s Felsenkeller cheese dairy and the guided tour of the Heldenorgel at the fortress.

To put it simply: work plus free time equals a workation.

AN ARCHITECTURAL GEM ON LÖWENZAHNWIESE

And now, stretching out before everyone behind the dandelion meadow, lay the rain-glistening, jagged facade of the Erl Festival Theater, made of concrete, glass, and black fiber cement. And next to it, contrasting with and complementing the ensemble on the outskirts of this community of 1,200 residents, stood the soaring white circular building of the famous Erl Passion Play Theater.

After the obligatory group photo for the WERKSCHAU, the ushers led us into the concert hall, which soared steeply upward. As impressive as the space was, it was not to be the main venue for the evening.

To kick things off, the 160-square-meter proscenium stage, featuring the three singing members of“Die Herren Wunderlich,” rose from the three-meter-deep orchestra pit. The powerful tenor turned out to be Herbert Oberhofer, head of the cultural affairs office—the alter ego of the retro drag queen from opening night. Die Herren Wunderlich went on to make several more contributions to the successful evening.

THANKS TO THE DSTNCMP PARTNERS

First, netzvitamine managing directors Benjamin Buhl and Stefan Möhler expressed their gratitude the partners for their support theDSTNCMP²³.

Host Bernhard "Börnie" Lingg welcomed Natascha Müllauer, the director and commercial managing director of the Tyrolean Festival Erl. She charmed the audience with her refreshing manner and eloquent insights into the festival hall.

The Festspielhaus maintains its own orchestra of over 100 musicians, its own costume workshop, and a 32-member choir.

"The acoustics in this hall are among the best in Europe,"Natascha proudly reports. Thanks to the freestanding walls made of Canadian acacia wood, the sound is perfectly clear even with large ensembles.

PASSION PLAYS SINCE 1613, FESTIVAL PLAYS SINCE 2013

But how did this small town come to have such a collection of buildings? The reason dates back centuries: Like Kufstein, Erl belonged sometimes to Bavaria, sometimes to Austria; it was repeatedly ravaged and completely destroyed twice. Finally, the residents had had enough and vowed to perform the Passion of Christ every six years if the town were spared from war. It was spared, and the residents fulfilled their vow in 1613. Since then, the Erl Passion Play, along with the one in Oberammergau, has been among the oldest in Europe.

The Passion Plays take place every six years in the summer. The white Passion Play Theater, built in 1959, was also designed without heating, meaning it could not be used for long stretches of the year. For this reason, an architectural competition was announced in 2006 to design a festival theater that could be used year-round. The Viennese firm Delugan Meissl won the competition in 2010.

More than 100,000 metric tons of rock were blasted from the hillside to make room for the architecturally sophisticated Festival Hall, without visually overshadowing the Passion Play Theater. The town of Erl owes the 40-million-euro construction project largely to the private foundation of construction tycoon and Strabag owner Hans Peter Haselsteiner. The Festspielhaus opened on December 26, 2012; the first festival season took place 400 years after the first Passion Play.

GREEN EVENT AND DSTNCMP FOREST

Then a number flashed across the screen: 2,776. That’s how many trees have already been planted to offset the CO₂ emissions generated by DestinationCamp over the past two years.

The event has been certified as climate- and water-neutral since 2017. And at its inaugural edition, theDSTNCMP²³ was also recognized by the Austrian Ministry of the Environment as the first major GreenEvent in Tyrol .

WIESBADEN IS THE WINNER OF THE DSTNCMP CHALLENGE CUP

Then, five finalists competed for the DSTN Challenge Cup DSTNCMPAward.

The votes of the four-member jury accounted for 49.9% of the overall result, while the volume of the audience’s applause over a ten-second period accounted for 50.1%. As a result, the winners were soon announced: Third prize went to“FöhrGreen,” a network on the island of Föhr made up of businesses actively committed to sustainability. Second prize went to“First Date Tourismus” from Thüringer Tourismus GmbH in Erfurt for its pop-up stores showcasing careers in tourism.

Finally, last year’s winner, Kathrin Dürr of Alpsee-Grünten Tourism, presented the challenge cup to the winner, “Plazy – the Art of Lazy Planning". The PWA aims to make it easier to plan last-minute, target-audience-specific city trips—in this case, to Wiesbaden.

The DestinationCamp challenge cup will now remain until the DSTNCMP²⁴ in Wiesbaden.

CLASSICAL CHAMBER CONCERT AND A MEAT-FREE DINNER
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Festspielhaus Music Director Beomseok Yi at the piano, orchestra manager Allegra Camici Roncioni on the oboe and Anastasiya Sychova on the violin captivated the audience with a chamber concert arranged especially for theDSTNCMP²³, drawing thunderous applause, and then, after dinner, created a cheerful, relaxed atmosphere with lively operetta melodies.

Then the huge stage curtain opened: Eyes filled with wonder turned toward round tables of eight, set in white for a festive dinner. The participants entered the world behind the curtain via the side stage—and suddenly became part of their own production.

The festive dinner was further proof of the DestinationCamp organizers’ courage in pursuing unconventional and sustainable solutions: The menu consisted entirely of vegan and vegetarian delicacies —kohlrabi carpaccio, lettuce risotto with an onsen egg, jackfruit burgers, and passion fruit sorbet. All were superbly prepared and served by the catering team at Festungswirtschaft Kufstein.

And then the party really got going: DJ Pyrit had everyone on their feet. Everyone was dancing—except for those who let Natascha lead them to the costume and prop storage room. Unfortunately, the last of the six shuttle buses left at 1:20 a.m.—twenty minutes late.