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news 2012
Design
Twin Towns
Calendar
Santa’s Summer Reindeers
Guests from Alanya
Summer events in Rovaniemi
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Ten design reindeers in the centre of Rovaniemi The students of the international Arctic Circles Art & Design Summer School have livened up the centre of Rovaniemi with environmental and communal art. The design event was launched on the last week of May and it is one of the World Design Capital year festivities in Rovaniemi. The Arctic Circles Art & Design Summer School brings together dozens of Master’s degree level students and professionals in art and design from Russia, Poland, Holland and Scandinavia. The teachers include Professor Satu Miettinen, who specialises in service design. The theme of the year is “Building a better city together” and it is presented as a cooperation with local entrepreneurs, administration and other actors.
Santa’s Summer Reindeers The Santa’s Summer Reindeers art event aimed to put people in a merry mood and help each other, in the spirit of Santa Claus’ hometown. Ten design reindeers were made of willow and became part of the “Pororaito” series, a line of reindeer sculptures enlivening the city. When the summer school project ended, the reindeers were donated to the local small businesses involved with the “Find one, find them all” networking campaign. The reindeers will also be portrayed in a series of postcards.
News 2/2012
The art event aimed to put people in a merr y mood and help each other, in the spirit of Santa Claus’ hometown.
Rovaniemi residents invited to become local tourist guides The residents of Rovaniemi are being challenged to participate in the Anna Mieki Autan (“Let me help”) Campaign, which encourages people to share their tips and stories with summer visitors. In other words, the aim is to make Rovaniemi – Santa Claus’ official hometown – a place that is genuine, friendly and interesting all year round. The local guides, dressed in the Anna mieki autan T-shirts, will be patrolling around the city, attracting and guiding visitors on their way. The Anna Mieki Autan Campaign is organized jointly by Rovaniemi Tourism & Marketing and the Lapland Centre of Expertise for the Experience Industry.
a n n a e k a u t a n m
The local guides will be patrolling around the cit y, attracting and guiding visitors on their way.
Lordi Square and Pedestrian Street to host numerous events this summer The events at Lordi Square bring residents, visitors and tourists together at the heart of the city.
There is a multitude of events in summer 2012, including music, traditional Finnish dance and street markets. For two weekends in June, the pedestrian street will become a place for meeting politicians during the big party congresses held in Rovaniemi. Local entrepreneurs are also active in organising events. One of them is Matti Henttunen, the owner of the pub Oluthuone, who joins in to liven up the street with the free Lapin Kullan Kimallus
& Rovaniemen Irkkujuoma Festival in July. An entire week dedicated to dance will start on 17 July, as the Sääskisafari Tour arrives at Rovaniemi, transforming Lordi Square and the Pedestrian Street into a public festival area with a dance hall and summer terraces. The dance festival will be held from Tuesday to Sunday. A dance hall of 200 square metres and a number of free events will attract dance lovers to the square.
News 2/2012
Santa Claus responded to 42,000 letters in the spring.
Santa Claus, Finland’s busiest pen pal, received around 550,000 letters from around the world last Christmas.
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Santa Claus’ Main Post Office at the Arctic Circle busy answering Santa Claus’ mail The letters arrive at Santa Claus’ Main Post Office all year round, but the majority reach their destination just a week or two before Christmas. Most letters to Santa Claus come from England, Italy, Poland, Finland and Japan. Chinese children are also becoming increasingly interested in Santa Claus. Santa Claus responded to 42,000 letters in the spring, thanks to the merry elves of the post office and the volunteers of the Philatelic Association of Lapland. This spring, Santa Claus wrote about the northern lights, which have been unusu-
ally common in the northern night sky this year. Santa Claus also expressed his wish for keeping our natural surroundings clean. The letter also included instructions for making a yarn elf for those happy moments with friends and family. The letter was written in 12 languages: English, Italian, Polish, Finnish, Japanese, Chinese, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Swedish and Korean. Santa Claus’ Main Post Office hopes that the letter will once again inspire people around the world to visit Santa Claus and his elves at the Arctic Circle in Rovaniemi!
J o u n i P o r sa n g e r
Old Market Square Carnival of Rovaniemi
Working together for charity for the fourth time from 24th to 26th August, 2012 At the end of August, from the 24th to the 26th, the Old Market Square and J채tk채npuisto Park in Rovaniemi will host a three day festival for artisans, artists, local businesses, musicians and all people of Lapland. As in past years, circus shows, a downhill car race for children, dance events, live music,
films, theatre and the good old, down-toearth market spirit are in store. New volunteers are needed all the time to contribute to the shared cultural history of Rovaniemi. The market carnival, which was first organised in 2009, has become an annual festival for all people thanks to the many volunteers behind it. Donations of all shapes and sizes are also welcome. They help make this success story even bigger. Invigorating community spirit and the cultural identity of Lapland are the principal goals of the Old Market Square
Carnival. Another important theme is environmental friendliness, which can be seen in such aspects as the vendor stalls made of recycled materials and the attempts at making the event car-free. The Old Market Square Carnival of Rovaniemi is organised by a non-profit association and all funds are donated to charity. This year, the proceeds will be donated to the senior friend service of the Finnish Red Cross and the Cancer Society of Northern Finland.
News 2/2012
ICOM notes that the Rovaniemi Art Museum’s high class exhibitions have also aroused interest in Northern art in the South.
Rovaniemi Art Museum receives the Museum Achievement of the Year Prize The Finnish National Committee of the International Council of Museums, ICOM, has acknowledged the Rovaniemi Art Museum with the Museum Achievement of the Year Prize.
News 2/2012
Arto L i i t i
Good results from the Chair Campaign for the Korundi House of Culture The Korundi House of Culture approached the public with a Chair Campaign that turned out to be a success. Since April 2010, private persons, organisations and companies have been able to buy chairs in Korundi’s concert hall. Each of these chairs features its owner’s name on a brass plate. The chair price for private persons and organisations was EUR 400 and for companies EUR 2,100. The aim of the campaign was to raise funds for new concert hall chairs, thus enhancing the quality of Korundi’s premises, and to develop the repertoire of the Lapland Chamber Orchestra. The Chair Campaign brochure was posted to private persons and companies throughout Finland. The campaign was first managed by Marja Widenius, the Cultural Director of Rovaniemi, and after the building of the Korundi house was completed, by Arktikum Service Co. The prize was awarded for the museum’s contributions to Northern cooperation. According to the Finnish National Committee of ICOM, the museum’s activities demonstrate how remarkable cultural projects can be carried out by strengthening cooperation and building local networks. ICOM notes that the Rovaniemi Art Museum’s high class exhibitions have also aroused interest in Northern art in the South. The Rovaniemi Art Museum is the northernmost regional art museum in the EU. The museum engages in active cooperation with other art museums in Northern Russia, Northern Norway and Iceland, for example. At the moment, there are no art museums in Greenland or Northern Sweden, but the museum collaborates with other museums and organisations in the area. Plans have been made to broaden the network to include Northern Canada and Alaska. YLE Lapland
News 2/2012
First business mentors in Rovaniemi The first business mentors have started their work in Rovaniemi. A business mentor is someone who listens and supports. The mentor is an entrepreneur who volunteers to help another’s business confidentially.
News 2/2012
The first business mentors in Rovaniemi include the owner of a long standing restaurant, a clothes shop owner and an accounting office. One of the most experienced mentors is Antero Ikäheimo, the founder of Lappset Group Oy, who can now share his time to support, solidify and strengthen new businesses. “As a mentor, I see immense potential in immigrants, for instance. Hard-working people who have what it takes to become an entrepreneur still need someone to guide them on their path and help them with the bureaucracy,” Ikäheimo notes. Any entrepreneur can use a few tips at start-up. In business mentoring, a new entrepreneur is paired up with an experienced training partner. The mentor asks questions, provides networking support and helps process ideas and find solutions to problems. The main goal is to develop business. The business mentoring in and around Rovaniemi is part of the Hynttyyt Yhteen (“combined efforts”) Project, a joint initiative of the Rovaniemi Regional Development Agency Ltd and Rovaniemen Yrittäjät ry.
One of the most experienced mentors is Antero Ikäheimo, the founder of Lappset Group Oy, who can now share his time to support, solidif y and strengthen new businesses.
Home Help Coupon support for daily household chores A new form of financial aid has been launched to support the daily lives of the residents of Yläkemijoki, Rovaniemi. The Home Help Coupon is part of the Kyläpalvelut arjen tukena (“village services to support the everyday”) project. The Home Help Coupon is easy to claim and use, a benefit with minimum efforts from the user’s perspective. The coupon was launched in early 2012 and it can be used for cleaning and other domestic work as well as small maintenance and repair tasks, gardening and snow removal, IT support and installation and other daily chores. - “A maximum of half the price of the service can be covered with the coupon, the rest is paid for by the user. Statutory services cannot be paid for with the coupon and the part of the price covered by the coupon is not taken into consideration when counting tax allowance for household services,” Project Manager Jaana Kupulisoja reminds us. People with limited abilities due to old age, long term illness, de-hospitalisation or some other, temporary reason such as seasonal flu, are entitled to a Home Help Coupon. At the pilot stage, the maximum value of one coupon is EUR 200.
Rovaniemi adopts ePrescriptions At the beginning of March, Rovaniemi switched to the electronic prescription system. Electronic prescriptions make health services easier to use, both in public health care and in pharmacies. The system also prevents overlap among service providers. All customer information is strictly secured. Switching to the ePrescription system does not require a home computer or an internet connection. Health care professionals will provide the patient with a manual and a printed summary of the ePrescription. Personal ePrescription details can also be checked through the eAccess service at www.kanta.fi. Login with the online banking user ID. Before writing an electronic prescription, health care providers will inform the patient about the ePrescription system.
Esko Lotvonen becomes new Mayor of Rovaniemi Esko Lotvonen has been elected as the new Mayor of Rovaniemi. 59-year-old Lotvonen is leaving his post as County Governor of the Regional Council of Lapland to become Mayor. Esko Lotvonen has been County Governor since 1995. Before that, he worked at the County Administrative Board of Lapland, as Development Counsellor in 19941995 and as Planning Secretary in 19901994. He is a Master of Social Sciences by education. Lotvonen spends his free time exercising or at his summer cottage and has reported his latest hobby to be dancing. In addition, he writes song lyrics and sings karaoke. Lotvonen is married with five grown-up children. He also has four grandchildren. Lotvonen will start as Mayor of Rovaniemi on 1 August 2012 when the current Mayor, Mauri Gardin, retires. YLE Lapland
News 2/2012
Jutajaiset Folklore Festival welcomes guests from Alanya Alanya, the twin town of Rovaniemi since 2008, will be widely represented at this year’s Jutajaiset Folklore Festival. Like Rovaniemi, Alanya lives on tourism. The Alanya delegation at Jutajaiset will feature over fifty people. - “This is a return visit. Rovaniemi visited Alanya’s Tourism and Art Festival last year and now we have invited them here. The visit is a good fit for the festival thematically, as well,” says Tuula Rintala-Gardin, Director of Tourism, Rovaniemi. The group from Alanya consists of artists, artisans, performers and representatives of the city. Turkish dance and music performances will also be featured in the programme of the festival. - “An Alanyan silk and photography exhibition will be curated at the Lappia House. The daily opening hours are WedSat 27-30 June, 12-4 pm. There will be six cottages displaying Alanyan culture at Lordi Square. The cottages feature arts and crafts, glassblowing, food tastings and a gift shop,” Tuula Rintala-Gardin elaborates.
A first class concert at Korundi The city of Alanya will treat the residents of its twin town Rovaniemi with a free Turkish Wind Singing and Piano Concert on Wednesday 27 June at 6 p.m. The stars of the night are pianist Burcin Buke, who became famous as a “wonder kid” of the musical world, and soprano Feryal Turkoglun, who has starred in various productions worldwide.
News 2/2012
Slavetrade wins Simerock band contest
Lordi to set Rovaniemi on fire in the summer
The band contest, organised by the Simerock Festival and Rovaniemi Youth Services, has already become a tradition, and this year, it took place at the youth centre Monde in mid-May. There were 14 contestants. Seven bands made their way to Saturday’s final. This year’s winner is Slavetrade from Rovaniemi, ranked number one by both the judges, including Mr Lordi, and the audience. The winner will play at the Simerock Festival in August.
The horror rock band will celebrate its 10th anniversary at Simerock in Rovaniemi. Lordi, the horror rock band from Rovaniemi, will reward its hometown with a show this summer. Lordi will celebrate its 10th anniversary at the Simerock Festival, which takes place on 10-11 August at Ounaspaviljonki, Rovaniemi. The show at Simerock will be the only chance to see the band play with the Rock’n’Rollo Choir, made famous by the Finnish hit TV show, Kuorosota. The show is also Lordi’s only performance in Finland to include a fire and explosion spectacle.
Slavetrade: Jesperi Mommo – Guitar and Backing Vocals Teemu Huhtala – Vocals Josse Karjalainen – Bass Vesa Kuusijärvi – Drums
YLE Lapland
The second Men’s 100M celebrates the Queen Mother The Men’s 100M sprint has already become a tradition and it will take place in Rovaniemi in August.
This year, the event is organised in honour of the late and beloved Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother on her birthday, 4 August 2012. The first prize is a trip to the Tomato Carnival in Närpiö. Last year, the Men’s 100M proved to be a crown jewel among the hilarious summer events in Rovaniemi. Almost 300 wild boars sprinted on the pedestrian street, admired and cheered on by an audience of around 2,000 spectators. The next Men’s 100M will take place on the first weekend of August at Lordi Square in Rovaniemi. This time, the race is also a commemoration of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, who lived for 101 years and whose birthday happens to be on the race day, 4 August. Finnish women have been organising their own, long distance running events for years now. Now the time has come to return the balance to the world of sports. The Men'’ 100M on Lordi Square is a tough competition in the noblest of sports, men’s 100m run. This traditional sprinting event is now being organised for the second time in a row. The sprint is for men only and all runners will start at the same time. There is no need to hurry, because dehydration is a serious problem which even the toughest boars might have to address. It is therefore recommended that each runner keep himself hydrated by stopping at the official drink points during and after the race.
News 2/2012
Summer events in Rovaniemi June Tue-Sun 5-10 June Sat 9 June, 8 p.m. Sun 10 June, 8 p.m. Sun 10 June, 7 p.m. Fri-Sun 8-10 June Fri-Sat 15-16 June Fri 16 June 17 June - 29 July
Fri-Mon 22 June - 9 July Fri 22 June, 7 p.m. Tue-Thu 26-28 June Mon 25 June Wed-Sun 27 June - 1 July Wed 27 June, 6 p.m. Thu 28 June and Fri 29 Fri 29 June, 10 pm Sat 30 June, 10 pm Fri-Sun 29 June - 1 July Sat 30 June Sat-Sun 30 June - 1 July
August Circus Finlandia at Konttinen Field “Rakasta silmiini tähdet” - poems and music at Rovaniemi Church Zambian Vocal Collection - Concert at Rovaniemi Church La Pandilla - Flamenco ensemble at the Korundi House of Culture Fish Market by the River Kemijoki Rovakatu Street Market Santa Claus Marathon Cinderella - Musical theatre production for the whole family at the Konttinen Summer Theatre (in Finnish) Suomen Tivoli amusement park at Ounaspaviljonki Suvilaulujen Ilta - Summer songs at Rovaniemi Church Summer Market at the Rovaniemi Market Square Nightless Night event at the Sampokeskus shopping centre Jutajaiset Folklore Festival Turkish Wind Singing and Piano Concert at the Korundi House of Culture June Design Strolls in Rovaniemi irrosis ihkosis -Piilossa Itkulta Concert at Rovaniemi Church Pelimannivesper at Rovaniemi Church Kultavaskooli XXXV Volley Ball Tournament Rovaniemi Marathon Arctic Circle All Breed International Dog Show
Sat 4 August Fri 3 August Sat-Sun 4-5 August Tue 7 August, 7 p.m. Fri-Sat 10-11 August Fri-Sat 10-11 August Sat 11 August Fri-Sun 24-26 August
Men’s 100M at Lordi Square Cloudberry Seminar in Ranua Cloudberry Market in Ranua Cello duet at Rovaniemi Church, Anna-Mari and Olli Varonen Simerock Festival at Ounaspaviljonki Harvest Market in the centre of Rovaniemi Jätkänkynttilä Fishing Event and Fish Market by the River Kemijoki Old Market Square Carnival in the centre of Rovaniemi
September Mon 3 September
Pianistit tunturissa Piano Concert at Rovaniemi Church Sat-Sun 8-9 September Harvest Market in Pöykkölä Tue-Thu 18-20 September Autumn Market at the Market Square Fri-Sun 21-23 September 7 Solos International Puppet Theatre Festival
July Thu-Sun 12-15 July Fri-Sun 13-15 July Fri-Sat 13-14 July Sat-Sun 14-15 July Tue 17 July Tue-Sun 17-22 July Fri-Sat 27-28 July
Lapin Kullan Kimallus Festival at Lordi Square Auttiköngäs Medieval Fair in Autti village Summertime Blues at Restaurant Valdemari MTB Enduro Race at Ounasvaara Sääskisafari Tour at Lordi Square, Rovaniemi Dance Festival at Lordi Square Down by the Kemijoki Rock Festival
Rovaniemi Tourist Information Maakuntakatu 29-31 FI-96200 Rovaniemi Tel. +358-(0)16-346 270 travel.info@rovaniemi.fi
Rovaniemi Regional Development Agency Ainonkatu 1 FI-96200 Rovaniemi Exchange +358 20 152 5000 Fax +358 16 347 351 rovaniemenkehitys@rovaniemi.fi