In addition to three new attractions, many fair classics will be returning. Among the new rides is "Ghost Rider", where you can experience a ghost ride upside down: The ride accelerates its platform to top speed before the gondolas mounted on it flip sideways.

Ghostly is also the name of the game at "Ghost - Der Geisterdschungel" (Ghost - The Ghost Jungle), which is making its debut at Pützchens Markt. Here, visitors can expect a combination of glass maze and ghost maze.

Another premiere in Bonn is the "Aeronaut" chain high-flyer, which carries visitors through the air at a height of 80 meters and in retro design.

Some popular rides from previous years are returning to Pützchens Markt this season: The looping carousel "Infinity" is not for the faint-hearted. With a flight height of 65 meters and a flight radius of 61 meters, it is the largest of its kind. Three gondolas with 360-degree rotation reach a top speed of 125 kilometers per hour. In the "Frisbee" gyro swing, passengers sit on a huge turntable that rises to a height of almost 20 meters. The "Big Bamboo" running course takes visitors to the South Seas. Here, visitors experience water games, a raft ride, a ten-meter suspension bridge, and paths with obstacles.

Among the 170 vendors in the main area are 24 rides, 13 children's rides, a ghost train, a maze and three raffle booths. The traditional Pluutenmarkt, which recalls the origins of the traditional fair, will also be back.

Fair fans can also look forward to the two roller coasters "Alpen-Coaster" and "Wilde Maus". The "Europa-Riesenrad" and the propeller "Apollo 13" will also be there. Of course, classics such as "Voodoo Jumper", "Nessy", "Break-Dance" and "Octopussy" are back as well.

The fair will open with the historic parade on Friday, September 9, starting at 1:30 pm. More than 50 groups from German fair workers’ associations have announced their intention to march through Pützchen. And the old traction engines from families long involved in the fair will remain a top attraction for those watching the procession.

After the procession arrives, all participants march to the Bavaria Event Hall. Festival official Jan-Patrick Wolters will welcome 900 residents from the district of Beuel on this day. They are all 65 years old and are invited by the city to the opening event of Pützchens Markt - a nice tradition.

The opening ceremony in the marquee begins at 3 p.m. with the traditional tapping of the barrel by Mayor Katja Dörner. For the main act, guests can look forward to the performance of the Rhenish dialect band Klüngelköpp.

The Rhenish evening on the Sunday of the fair is organized this year by a private organizer with the support of the Friends of Pützchens Markt. On stage, after the official opening at 6 p.m., are the bands Miljö, Räuber, Paveier and Kasalla. Before that - at 3 p.m. - the Telekom Baskets present the team for the new season in the marquee.

On the Sunday of the fair, as always, the fairground mass is on the program. On Kirmes Monday, the Association for the Promotion of the Elderly, Physically Impaired, Children and Orphans organizes a free fair visit for these target groups. The fireworks display on Tuesday starts at 10 p.m. and traditionally brings the fair to a close.

After two years of pandemic pause, GA reporters Jana Henseler and Michael Wrobel are back on the air with their web show "PüMa Daily". Already one day before it opens, the two will be reporting from the fairground with their first episode. Then Jana and Micha will do their already legendary ride test and test the new rides and traditional ones before all other visitors.

Every day until September 13, the two web reporters will report live on Facebook and Instagram, which can be accessed on demand at www.ga.de/puema - with lots of background information, exciting looks behind the scenes, interviews and all the news and trends about Pützchens Markt. "We are really looking forward to finally going on air again with PüMa Daily," they said. "And this year we have planned a few very special highlights.”

The fact that the Covid pandemic has also left its mark on the fairground industry is demonstrated by the number of applications for a stand at Pützchens Markt. Whereas up to now around 1,200 vendors have normally applied, this time there were only 801.

Peter Barth, chairman of the Schaustellerverband Bonn, expects that the prices for the rides will be between ten and twelve percent higher than in 2019. In 2020 and 2021, the fair was canceled because of the pandemic. "The cost of food and drink will be similar to the prices at the Bonn Christmas Market in 2021," Barth told the GA.

Kathrin Krumbach is the first woman in the long history of Pützchens Markt to be appointed as fair director. As of April, she will be the contact person for fair workers, fairground residents and visitors. Former director Harald Borchert, a "market manager with heart" retired. Pützchen's market is not new territory for Krumbach. During her training at the City of Bonn, she worked in Harald Borchert's department in 2004 and already got a taste of the fairground life.

(Orig. text: GA / Translation: Carol Kloeppel)