Käkisalmi Museum is opening its doors this year to a special anniversary-themed exhibition that highlights the long and vibrant history of the Käkisalmi Festivals. The exhibition takes the visitor across the decades through images, texts, videos, and a digital scrap book – all the way from the very first festival in 1947 to the present day. The themed exhibition is open from 12 December to 31 March 2026 and offers a rare deep dive into how Karelian communality has been built and lived in Heinola.
After the war, Heinola grew into one of the most important stages for Karelian culture. Heinola's population doubled when Karelian evacuees arrived in the town in the 1940s. They brought with them a strong sense of community that has endured over the decades: the Käkisalmi Festival is a symbol of their community's strength and resilience.
– The first celebrations were organised in the summer of 1947. Times were hard: uncertainty in the new places of residence weighed heavily on people's minds, and there was no certainty about the future. That time – with all its shortages and uncertainty about tomorrow in unfamiliar surroundings – had brought everyone's spirits down.
– But now there was an opportunity to meet neighbours and acquaintances. And the Heinola of that time, beautified by apple trees, brought Käkisalmi to mind, the flowing Kymijoki reminded one of the Vuoksi, recalled the late industrial counsellor Eino Kolli of the early days of the celebrations in 1987.
The celebrations brought together for the first time hundreds of uprooted people. At the heart of the festivities from the very beginning were Karelian culture and a shared memory. In 1947, the church filled up with revellers to such an extent that loudspeakers had to be placed outside so that everyone who wanted to could listen in.
At the main celebration, the artists from Käkisalmi performed: Tuure Ara and Kastehelmi Karjalainen. Teacher Arvi Räsänen promised at the very first celebration that the tradition would continue annually – a promise that has held almost uninterrupted for 78 years.
The Käkisalmi festivals have been more than just an event. They have been a way to cherish Karelian culture, support one another and remember the lost home region. Although the majority of the original evacuees have now passed away, the second and third generations carrying on the tradition have found their own roots in the festivals. Over the years, the Heinola Region Karelians have also been involved in organising the festivals, and the event has become a shared celebration for all Karelians in the locality.
The celebratory Sunday service, wreath-laying ceremonies at the heroes' graves and the resounding strains of the Karelian Song have remained the hallmarks of the festivals. The festival speakers have included figures of influence from Käkisalmi, researchers, business leaders and artists alike.
The Käkisalmi Festival is reputedly Heinola's oldest continuously organised summer festival, having been interrupted only during the two COVID years. The venues have varied according to visitor numbers, including the Kodinsuoja building on Lampikatu, Heinola Seminary, the Jyränkölä assembly hall, Lyseonmäki and Kymenkartano schools, the Heinola Parish Centre, and in recent years, the Heinola WPK House.
