Epping Forest Band recently undertook a trip to Epping’s twin town of Eppingen to join in the Heimattage festival. As usual, the band were hosted by local Eppingen families, and had the opportunity to participate in many of the events on offer. The town is always busy at the Heimattage weekend,so there was plenty to see and do, including a guided tour of the town and a trip to a winery to sample some of the local vintage.

However, the weekend was not just about having fun and drinking wine - Saturday evening saw the band on the main stage where they entertained the crowds along with some of the bands and dance groups from Eppingen’s other twin towns.

On Sunday morning the band met up again to provide an hour of lunchtime music on the main stage. Following this, the band took part in a procession through Eppingen consisting of 68 groups and floats connected with the town. This is a new experience for Epping Forest Band, who are more used to playing sitting down, so, prior to the visit, the band had to practise marching (and stopping!) in the bandroom car park.

The weekend was a great success. The band enjoyed themselves enormously, and are now refreshed and ready for their next outing, a Proms Concert on Epping Green, which takes place on Sunday 1^st August at 3pm.