Telling stories at Innsbruck’s Botanical Garden | Frühlingsfest: der berg ruft

Short & Sweet: Performing under my storytelling name, Ziyadliwa, I will perform two short storytelling shows inspired by mountain and Alpine traditions at the 2025 Spring Festival.

Innsbruck’s Botanical Garden is without doubt one of my favourite places in Innsbruck proper. With my storytelling hat on, and as my alter-ego Ziyadliwa, I have thought about running story walks and doing storytelling in the garden for years. Admittedly, I’ve always planned to do this in English, however for the 2025 Spring Festival, I will be performing two short shows in German.

Both will be family friendly BUT not designed specifically for children because I rather like telling stories for adult audiences. After some thought, here’s what you can expect from me:

Two storytelling shows in Innsbruck (in German)

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Set 1 | Peak to Deep: Traditional Tales from the Alps and Alpine Valleys

From misty mountain peaks to deep forested valleys, join me for traditional tales of hidden treasure, mysterious mountain spirits, and legendary women carved into local folklore. A mix of tiny tales and longer stories, this storytelling show offers a rich taste of Alpine storytelling heritage.

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Set 2 | The Star of the Alps: Tales of the Edelweiss

The Edelweiss flower has long captured the imagination of mountain people across Europe. Join me for folktales from Italy, Austria, and other Alpine regions, interwoven with curious short facts and true tales.

What to expect

This is an oral storytelling performance. Stories are told, not read from a book.
These are family-friendly stories for all ages, however they are not specifically designed for children. Very young children (0–6) and children with short attention spans might not enjoy these tales.

But the Frühlingsfest is about much more than my two story performances, of course!

This spring festival is all about celebrating (bio)diversity and the natural habitats in the mountains.

In addition to getting your story “fix”, you can look forward to:

Test your knowledge and win great prizes at the first Botanical Pub Quiz.
Find new treasures at the barter (swapping) station.
Food from Il Corvo and drinks at the garden’s “Flower Bar”.
Workshops.
Guided and self-guided walks.
A book stand where you can “check out” books from our local libraries for an hour or two.
And much more.

For details, see:

https://www.uibk.ac.at/de/botany/botanical-garden/news-und-veranstaltungen/fruehlingsfest/

→ This post originally appeared over at ziyadliwa.com.

Telling stories at Innsbruck’s Botanical Garden | Früh­lings­fest: der berg ruft