The Carnival Society "Land of Smiles"

Every year at carnival time, thousands of foolish "Helau!" echo through the streets, pubs and festival halls in Bocholt and elsewhere.

This was already the case in the last third of the 19th century, when the carnival societies "Fidelio" or "Atthuuuh" enlivened the fifth season with their colourful hustle and bustle. In 1889, people enjoyed themselves in the "Ulk" and "Cosmos" clubs, while eleven years later the "Hallotria" carnival club in Bocholt made a name for itself. According to press reports, the city was "black with people" when a carnival procession made its way through the centre on the so-called Dullen Tuesday (27 February 1900).

Founded in 1958

During the Second World War, the carnival came to a complete standstill in Bocholt and was not revived until the early 1950s.

A good three years after the "BoKaGe" was founded, the carnival society "Land des Lächelns" officially came into being on 15 July 1958 with its president Theo Achterhoff. However, its members, an association of carnivalists from the Fildeken housing estate, had already established themselves several years earlier under this name as a regulars' table or house party at the Matschke restaurant and held a carnival meeting there every year on the aforementioned Dullen Tuesday.

On 9 July 1964, newspaper readers learned that the "Land des Lächelns" society would be celebrating its 35th anniversary at the next session. This claim promptly led to disgruntlement among the 1st Bocholt Carnival Society ("BoKaGe"), whose president Franz Lohscheller denied the anniversary in a letter to the editor.

In a joint press release from both groups on 16 July 1964, the disagreements were cleared up so that "the successful start of a growing carnival tradition" would not be disrupted. Both societies ended the disputes with the aim of: "To give the Bocholt carnival the best together."