Olten Carnival parade: a carnival that opens in January — and starts the day before Dirty Thursday
✓ Checked at the source · as of 7 October 2026
In Olten, carnival starts twice. First at Hilari, on Saturday, 16 January 2027, 19 days before Dirty Thursday. Then for real: on the Wednesday evening before, with the Naarestopf on the Ildefonsplatz. The parade sits in the middle, on carnival Sunday.
📅 2027 dates — every event with its source
Day by day, what's on when. Where the committee only gives its rule, the calculated date appears — marked as such.
Oltner Fasnacht
confirmedWednesday, 3 February 2027 – Tuesday, 9 February 2027 · 7 days
- Organiser
- FUKO Olten
Olten starts on the eve of Dirty Thursday: on Wednesday 3 February 2027, with the 'Naarestopf'.
Source: To the organiser's page · checked on 6 October 2026
Fasnachtsumzug Olten
confirmedSunday, 7 February 2027 · 1 day
- Organiser
- FUKO Olten
The parade falls on carnival Sunday, in the middle of Olten's week — four days after the Naarestopf, two days before the end.
Source: To the organiser's page · checked on 7 October 2026
🗓️ What's on when?
Type a date instead of leafing through the programme.
📅 Visit-day check
Pick the day you are free — the answer comes from the verified ConvivaPlus dataset, not from a run you have to work out in your head.
| Session | Run | Opening hours | Date set? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oltner Fasnacht | Wed 3 Feb – Tue 9 Feb7 days | — | confirmed |
| Fasnachtsumzug Olten | Sun 7 Feb | — | confirmed |
Calculated from the ConvivaPlus dataset — every row with its own source above.
🎭 Carnival calendar — a date in, carnivals out
Which carnival runs on which day — in 2027 and the years after, calculated from the Easter rule.
🎭 ConvivaPlus Carnival Calendar
Calculated dates follow the Easter rule: Ash Wednesday = Easter Sunday minus 46 days. Cross-checked against the date tables of the committees in Lucerne, Basel, Bern and Solothurn.
- Dirty Thursday
- Thursday, 4 February 2027
- Ash Wednesday
- Wednesday, 10 February 2027
- Basel Morgestraich
- Monday, 15 February 2027, 04:00
Pick a date — the calendar shows every carnival running that day.
3 events 2027, by date
🥁 Programme from the committee
- It opens as early as Hilari: on Saturday 16 January 2027, with the fez handover on the Ildefonsplatz — 19 days before Dirty Thursday.
- 2027 programme according to FUKO: Naarestopf 3 Feb (Ildefonsplatz) · Schnitzelbank evening 4 Feb · lantern festival 5 Feb (Ildefonsplatz) · Potpourri 6 Feb (Schützi) · parade 7 Feb · seniors' afternoon 9 Feb (Stadttheater).
- The 2027 Obernaar is 'Margot I.' — Margot Heule of the Aente Büsi Guggemusig Olten — with the motto 'Sonneklar'.
🎉 Highlights of this carnival
What sets this carnival apart from every other isn't in the date.
If you wait for Dirty Thursday in Olten, you're a day late. Carnival starts on the Wednesday evening before with the Naarestopf on the Ildefonsplatz — and it has been open for weeks by then. The real kick-off comes in January, at Hilari: on Saturday, 16 January 2027 the fez is handed over on the Ildefonsplatz, 19 days before Dirty Thursday.
Hilari takes its name from Hilary of Poitiers, whose name day is 13 January — his Latin name means 'the cheerful one'. But Olten doesn't stubbornly stick to the 13th. The FUKO publishes its dates up to 2037 as a table, with no rule. We looked for the rule behind it and recorded it as the ConvivaPlus Hilari formula: Hilari is the Saturday closest to 13 January. It matches 11 of the table's 11 years.
| Year | Hilari | Dirty Thursday | Days between |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2027 | 16 January ✓ | 4 February | 19 |
| 2028 | 15 January ✓ | 24 February | 40 |
| 2029 | 13 January ✓ | 8 February | 26 |
| 2030 | 12 January ✓ | 28 February | 47 |
| 2031 | 11 January ✓ | 20 February | 40 |
| 2032 | 10 January ✓ | 5 February | 26 |
| 2033 | 15 January ✓ | 24 February | 40 |
| 2034 | 14 January ✓ | 16 February | 33 |
| 2035 | 13 January ✓ | 1 February | 19 |
| 2036 | 12 January ✓ | 21 February | 40 |
| 2037 | 10 January ✓ | 12 February | 33 |
And the table gives away something else: the gap between the opening and Dirty Thursday varies from year to year. In 2027 it is only 19 days, in 2030 a full 47. The reason: Hilari is tied to January, Dirty Thursday to Easter — and Easter moves by more than a month. Seeing the fez in January tells you nothing about how long you'll wait for the Naarestopf.
And 2027 is led by a female Obernaar: 'Margot I.' of the Aente Büsi Guggemusig, with the motto 'Sonneklar' ('crystal clear') — in the year her Guggen band turns fifty.
When are you at Olten Carnival?
One click – anonymous, no sign-up required.
🎯 Tips for visitors
In Olten, wait for February and you miss the opening — wait for Thursday and you miss the first night. Four things to know.
- 1One evening ahead5 places in our survey start on Dirty Thursday (4 February 2027). Olten alone starts the evening before, on 3 February 2027, with the Naarestopf on the Ildefonsplatz.
- 2The parade only comes on day 5Naarestopf on Wednesday, Schnitzelbänke on Thursday, lantern festival on Friday, Potpourri on Saturday — the parade only comes on Sunday, 7 February 2027. Come just for it and you miss 4 evenings.
- 3Friday glows instead of boomsOn the Friday of carnival week the Ildefonsplatz glows — the lantern festival is the quieter evening, good with children.
- 4Carnival starts in JanuaryOn Saturday, 16 January 2027 the fez is handed over on the Ildefonsplatz, 19 days before Dirty Thursday. If you want all of Olten's carnival, come then.
📊 Carnival dates compared
Where these days fall between January and March — and who celebrates before and after.
Each bar is an event. Dark = this town, light = the nearest ones. Reading a single date, you would never see that the next town sometimes celebrates a whole week earlier or later.
- OltenOltner Fasnacht · Fasnachtsumzug Olten
- LucerneLU
🗺️ Carnival nearby
On the same days Lucerne celebrates with the Dirty Thursday Urknall; a week later Winterthur begins. The whole canton is on the canton of Solothurn page, every date in the Swiss carnival calendar.
The ConvivaPlus carnival calendar, which holds these 2 Olten events, works out Dirty Thursday from Easter (28 March 2027 minus 52 days) and checks every date again at the FUKO.
Carnival nearby
❓ FAQ about this carnival
What visitors want to know before they go — date, time and place from the committee's programme.
People also ask
Related questions from our magazine
From Dirty Thursday up to and including Ash Wednesday.
On Dirty Thursday and Güdismontag, from 2 pm.
The carnival calendar shows every event by date.
The ConvivaPlus verdict
Olten is a carnival for people who want to be there all week: every evening its own event, all around the Ildefonsplatz, a short walk from the station. Hilari in January is its hidden beginning.
The trap is the calendar: wait for Dirty Thursday in February and you have already missed the January opening and the first evening. If instead you want to plan the parade to the minute, Lucerne suits you better — every event there has its start time. The ConvivaPlus verdict rests on the calendar's 2 Olten events and the FUKO date table up to 2037.
Freshness note: Dates from the FUKO table. Parade time and route will follow with the programme — check shortly before.
Check the latest: ConvivaPlus carnival dataset 2027 – Olten →
- ◆One evening ahead: 5 places in our survey start on Dirty Thursday — Olten alone starts the evening before.
- ◆Hilari isn't a date but a formula: the ConvivaPlus Hilari formula — the Saturday closest to 13 January — matches 11 of the FUKO table's 11 years.
- ◆19 to 47 days of run-up: that's how far apart Hilari and Dirty Thursday fall depending on Easter — shortest in 2027, longest in 2030.
- ◆One day early: the Wednesday-evening Naarestopf opens carnival week before Dirty Thursday.
How we check
Every date comes from the organiser's, the municipality's or the canton's own site — never from an aggregator, never copied over from last year. Next to each source is the date we last read it.
Where only a fixed rule is published, such as the eve of St Nicholas' Day, we work out the date and label it “calculated from the fixed rule”. Anything not yet published stays open — we don't guess.
Something missing or changed? A note below is enough; we check it at the source.
ConvivaPlus Editor · Family & Day Trips
Writes about day trips, family and local life – honestly assessing what's worth it.
- Day trips
- Family
- Local
- Cities & regions
All information without guarantee. Found an error? → support@conviva-plus.ch
Olten opens its carnival in January — at Hilari, the Saturday closest to 13 January.
Found an error or have feedback? Let us know or write to us directly.
🎭 Carnival · 9 October 2026