Käkisalmi Festival 7–8 June – market hustle and bustle and a festive concert at the WPK House
The Käkisalmi Weekend, held in Heinola on 7–8 June, brings together lovers of Karelian culture amidst a market atmosphere, traditions and music. The two-day event culminates in a unique folk music concert that combines the myths of the Kalevala with the Finnish folk musician tradition.
Held on Saturday 7 June from 10 am to 2 pm, the Käkisalmi Market takes over the surroundings of the Käkisalmi Museum. The event encourages recycling and community spirit: participants have the opportunity to sell, swap or donate usable household items. The market atmosphere is complemented by Café Käki, the Heinola Karelian Society, the Käkipuoti shop and a market folk musician.
Pitching spots can be booked from the museum on 041 327 0433 – spaces are limited.
The programme for Sunday 8 June begins at 10 am with the Käkisalmi festive service in Heinola Church, where Bishop Emeritus Seppo Häkkinen will preach. After the service, a wreath will be laid at the memorial for those left in Karelia.
The venue for the main celebration is once again the Heinola WPK house, where you can enjoy self-service salmon soup from 11.30 onwards. Welcoming remarks at the main celebration at 13.00 will be given by Erkki Lindeberg, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Käkisalmi Foundation. Erkki Heiskanen will perform a dialect poem by Valto Sara. Parliament must be entered.
The celebratory speech will be given by non-fiction author, PhD Oona Ilmolahti, on the theme of Women of Kexholm. Between speeches and poems, traditional summer cake and coffee will be enjoyed.
As the climax of the main celebration, an atmospheric folk music concert will be heard ”Journey from the forests of Kalevala to the folk musician's bench”, featuring the multi-instrumentalist, violinist and singer Ulla Hillebrandt and both an accordionist and a harmonica player Jari Komulainen.
In the concert, the audience takes a time journey from the ancient sounds of the forest to the dance rhythms of traditional folk musicians. Traditional instruments such as the kantele, drum, jaw harp, harmonica, willow flute and fiddle guide the listener from the creation stories of the bear to the world of waltzes and polkas in industrialising Finland. The concert offers not only music, but also storytelling and audience participation through rhythms and songs.
”The audience can get into the mood both through the runic singing of the Creation Song of the Bear and in folk tunes driven by reminiscence and rhythms,” says Ulla Hillebrandt, who is also known as a nature connection guide and a reviver of folklore.
The concert encapsulates the theme of the weekend: Karelian tradition is not just history, but living, experiential culture.
The event is organised by the Käkisalmi Foundation and the Heinola Karelian Society.
