[ I asked Claus Kucher and Ingmar Krause to tell us about "Memusi",
 [ the annual organ rally centered in the park called Boehmischer
 [ Prater in Vienna.  They corrected my impression that Bohemian
 [ Prater was the home of the world's largest Ferris wheel.  -- Robbie

Well-known is the big Wurstelprater where the giant wheel is located.
The Bohemian Prater is in a comparatively small area called Laaer
Berg, located in the south of Vienna in the Favoriten district
nearby Simmering.

 [ Ingmar wrote:

> the "gathering", as you call it, is an organ-festival, that
> takes place at several places in the city with a quite rigid
> order of activities:
>
> - playing in geriatric care centers and similar institution
> - playing in Favoriten
> - playing in other parts of Vienna and even other suburban towns
> - ecumenical church mass with consecration of organs and players
> - playing in the very inner city and the Bohemian Prater
>
> ... here and there they must to struggle for the money
>  (makes the world go round)

The official program is:

30.9.
  playing at retirement institutions in Vienna and
  Niederoesterreich ('Lower Austria')
31.8.
  Day of 'Good Mood', same as above
01.9
  10-12:30 / 15 - 17:30 playing at pedestrian precincts of
  Favoriten & Moedling
02.9.
09-12:30 Moedling pedestrian precinct (town nearby Vienna)
  10-12:30 Mariahilfer Strasse (shopping road nearly closed to
  motor traffic)
  14:00    Lugner City (shopping mall)
  14-18:00 Boehmischer Prater
  15-17:30 Mariahilfer Strasse
  16:00    Lugner City
  19:00    Evangelische Kirche Ottakring
03.9.
13-18:00 Kaerntner Strasse - Stephansdom - Graben
pedestrian precinct at the old town of Vienna
  14-18:00 Boehmischer Prater
  16:30  Festgottesdienst in Kath. Kirche St.Anton/Favoriten

 [ I translated from German this description of the sponsoring club:

 - - -

 Club Monte Laa

 One can look back on more than 20 historical years of the Club Monte
 Laa, located in the Wien-Favoriten district.  The original idea was to
 revive the Bohemian Prater, the tradition-steeped recreation area in
 the south of Vienna, after the turmoil of war and new highways brought
 it to oblivion.

 Courageous showmen and a few risk-taking businessmen got together and
 established the club "Monte Laa" to bring about this revival, which
 was propelled by the passions of its leader, Hr. Otto Geissler, who
 collected crank-organs and mechanical music instruments.  To this end
 it was necessary to keep in touch with domestic and foreign collectors,
 to obtain rare examples and innovations.  From the mid-1970s he
 displayed his collected rarities to the public, and in 1982 he was
 ready to invite like-minded friends to Vienna.

 The club members perform for retirement homes, on prominent plazas and
 streets, for advertising functions and family celebrations.  They also
 play religious programs, and on 2 September 2000 they will play a
 concert on the stage of the Protestant church in the 16th district
 of Vienna. The program will include serious opera and light operetta
 music, which should convince the listeners of the capability of the
 crank-organ!

 - - -

Just a small note:  Year after year, for 18 years, club chairman Willi
Heidenhofer has been doing his best to get support from private sponsors
as well as the Municipality of Vienna.  Last year the contribution of the
cultural department for the whole festival was exactly ATS 40,000 (about
USD 2,800); you can say each participant got about $50 -- ridiculous!

Food for thought: Austrian (Viennese) citizens remit one of the highest
tax yields worldwide; the "MeMusi" festival compares badly with similar
events, many which receive ten times the civic donation.  The programme
announcement of the new government (zero deficit) promises even less
money in the future.

Servus!

Claus Kucher