The Sauerland's event calendar is just as varied as its landscape. The region offers year-round highlights that captivate visitors from near and far. Mountain bike fans, for example, get their money's worth at the iXS Dirt Masters Festival in Winterberg or the Continental Bike Festival in Willingen. From summer onwards, it's time for the big funfair events, which come to a climax in November with the traditional All Saints' Fair in Soest.
Equestrian sport also finds its place in the Sauerland's event calendar. With the Longines Balve Optimum and the Vosswinkel Riding Days, the region is well known to equestrian enthusiasts from all over Germany and even Europe, while fans of old cars can watch historic vintage cars drive through the countryside at the Sauerland Classic.
Things get really impressive in the fall at the Warstein International Montgolfiade, when countless hot air balloons take to the skies in spectacular fashion. And the region also scores top-class events in winter. The world's best luge, skeleton and bobsleigh athletes compete for the best times in the ice channel of the Veltins Eis-Arena, while the World Cup on the Mühlenkopfschanze in Willingen is about distances of up to 150 meters.
And these are just the big highlights in the calendar. Countless small cultural events, traditional regional events and sporting competitions enliven the Sauerland year after year and show how much life there is in the region.