{"id":4903,"date":"2024-08-22T08:27:00","date_gmt":"2024-08-22T06:27:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uni.lu\/c2dh-en\/?post_type=news&p=4903"},"modified":"2024-08-26T10:27:08","modified_gmt":"2024-08-26T08:27:08","slug":"from-luxembourg-to-chicago-how-a-funfair-went-global","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.uni.lu\/c2dh-en\/news\/from-luxembourg-to-chicago-how-a-funfair-went-global\/","title":{"rendered":"From Luxembourg to Chicago: How A Funfair Went Global"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Founded in 1340, the \u201cSchueberfouer\u201d, Luxembourg’s largest funfair, attracts every year visitors and goods from Luxembourg and abroad. Luxembourg emigrants in Chicago celebrate their own version of this fair as part of their heritage. V\u00e9ronique Faber<\/a>, doctoral researcher at the Luxembourg Centre for Contemporary and Digital History (C\u00b2DH), attended this year\u2019s fair and explores the fascinating story of this unique event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On August 23rd<\/sup>, the Luxembourg “Schueberfouer”, also known as the \u201cSchobermesse\u201d, opened its 682nd edition. Meanwhile, the Luxembourg Brotherhood of America marked its 87th \u201cSchobermesse\u201d celebration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Luxembourg Brotherhood of America, established in Chicago in 1887, is organised into several sections. In 1904, one of its Chicago sections wanted to boost membership during a time when interest in associations was declining by recreating the traditional Luxembourg fair. While today’s event is a lively picnic with raffles and music, it was a two-day fair featuring amusements, games, and both flower and agricultural exhibitions in its early days. The 1945 fair programme even celebrated it as \u201cthe banner festival of the Luxembourgers in the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nTransatlantic transfers and cultural integration<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Exploring how transatlantic transfers shaped the Chicago fair is part of a larger study on the intertwining of national, transregional, and transnational elements within Luxembourg’s popular fairground culture, using the \u201cSchueberfouer\u201d as a case study and on how this intertwining evolved between 1945 and 1975. The empirical case study is part of the \u201cPopular Culture Transnational – Europe in the Long 1960s\u201d project at the C2<\/sup>DH. The Chicago fair provides a unique opportunity to analyse cultural transfers and adaptation dynamics between Luxembourg and the USA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To fully understand the transfers between a fair in Luxembourg and one in Chicago, it is essential to consider the broader migration context. Most Luxembourgers who migrated to Chicago did so between 1840 and 1890, mainly from the Moselle region and the western part of Luxembourg. These migrants, predominantly from farming backgrounds, settled in the northern areas of Chicago, where land was affordable. Initially involved in gardening and farming, Luxembourgers in Chicago became well-known for establishing greenhouses for vegetables and flowers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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