Category: Yleinen

The programme and new visual identity for the Vekara-Varkaus Children’s Festival 9-15 June 2025 have been published.

The new visual material reflects the atmosphere of the festival

The new look is the work of Minttu Itkonen, marketing and communications expert of the City of Varkaus. It fits in with the Varkaus city brand and the design has been inspired by children’s ideas. The logo features a playful urban silhouette familiar to all Varkaus residents and the pink colour was chosen by the children.

The new illustrations were created by artist Miki Kuu. The marketing material features characters familiar from the festival bustle, such as the street train, the buddy dogs, the prancing horse and the Leaf Man.

Advertisements include pictures of different ages of the festival week’s activities. Children who visited the Vekara events have been photographed by photographers Henna Ikonen and HannaK.

The new visual identity is part of the branding work, where Vekara-Varkaus’s already strong brand has been polished in cooperation with partners and the public. The aim was to create a look that appeals to the Vekara audience of all ages and brings out the atmosphere of the event.

A week of events full of emotion and programme

With more than 80 different programmes, there will be no dull moment in Varkaus during the second week of June. The theme of the festival week is FEELINGS and the Vekara godmother is actress, director and children’s author Minna Kivelä. The programmes Minna has created are even crazier than crazy and you can see them, as well as the captivating Vekara godmother, from Monday to Wednesday. The Emotion theme invites people to express their emotions through art, and the library’s exhibition features artworks depicting emotions made by groups of children. Emotions are strongly linked to the performing arts and so the festival week will see performances that will make you laugh, surprise and move you. The Children’s Festival programme is already available on the Vekara-Varkaus website HERE. And in english HERE.

The Children’s LukuVarkaus Literature Prize is unique nationwide, as the winner is chosen by a panel of children from grades 3. to 6. The panel of six children comes from primary schools in Varkaus.

The national Children’s LukuVarkaus Prize, now in its 25th year, is a literary prize established by the City of Varkaus and Stora Enso Oyj Varkaus mills and awarded annually to a children’s novel published in Finland and in Finnish. This year, a jury of adults reviewed 89 children’s novels published in 2024 and selected six finalists for the category.

This year’s finalists were Sanna Isto’s Tonttu (Tammi), Satu Kontinen and Satu Rämö’s Lottalehto (Tammi), Roope Lipasti’s Lätkä-Lauri und nightmare game (WSOY), J.S. Meresmaa’s Pimeänkynsi (Karisto), Silja Sillanpää’s Ouroboros: Sateenkaarikäärme (WSOY) and Salla Simukka’s Poika ullakolla, poika kellarissa (Tammi).

– It has been a great pleasure to inform the finalists of the selection, as the authors value the children’s choice,” says Marketta Kosunen, secretary of the Children’s Council, from the City of Varkaus Culture and Event Services.

This year’s finalist books include fantasy, history, friendship and community, not forgetting humour and suspense.

– The final books also deal with difficult topics, such as bullying or diversity,” says Kosunen.

This year’s Children’s Council members are Aleksi Kuokka, 12, and Leenu Kilpeläinen, 10, from Könönpelto School, and Sofia Immonen, 12, Eevi Bäck, 11, Rilla Nissinen, 11, and Veera Pikkarainen, 11, from Lehtoniemi School.

During the spring, each member of the Children’s Council will read all six final books. At the end of the reading challenge, the jury will come together to choose the best book, which will receive a €3500 prize.

– This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be on the reading panel, so I wanted to be part of it,” say Eevi Bäck and Sofia Immonen from Lehtoniemi School.

The participants in the reading race agree that the mood is positive about taking up the reading challenge.

-‘It feels exciting, but fun,’ says Veera Nissinen, reflecting on her time on the reading council.

– And rich to be involved, adds Veera Pikkarainen.

The winner of the Literature Prize will be announced in June during the Vekara-Varkaus festival week at the Varkaus Library.

The Vekara-Varkaus festival week from 9-15 June explores different emotions through theatre, music, workshops and exhibitions.

Spread across Varkaus and the surrounding municipalities, this summer’s children’s cultural festival will focus on emotions. The content of the programme is based on the idea of children’s emotional skills.

-Today, more and more attention is being paid to emotional education. The festival week will therefore seek to approach emotions through workshops, performances and adventures. Children will be able to identify their own emotions through art. At the same time, they can think about how to act smartly when emotions take over,” says Marketta Kosunen, Event Manager.

This year, Minna Kivelä, an actress, director and screenwriter, was invited to be the festival’s godmother. Kivelä is familiar with the world of children through her background as a hospital clown and the storybooks she has written with Paula Noronen. Kivelä has also been involved in numerous children’s theatre productions. The idea of calling Kivelä to agodmother started to emerge from the children’s programme Närpiäiset on Pikku Kakkonen, in which two characters with very different emotions live under the same roof.

-“I am so happy and honoured to be asked to do such an honourable task. The feelings of excitement and excitement were immediately aroused. And with emotions as the theme, it immediately brought bubbles and butterflies to my stomach and my head. As a performing artist, I work with emotions all the time, so the subject is close to my heart, Minna Kivelä says.

As usual, godmother of the Vekara-Varkaus will be present during the festival week and children will be able to participate in the godmother’s workshops. Minna Kivelä is also involved in putting together the programme for the week, including performances.

-I want to experience different emotions myself when watching the performances. And how nice it is to talk after the show about the feelings that came up and why I felt that way. A shared experience can be the start of talking about feelings, first in general and then even in a personal way. So in the summer we will know and feel, Kivelä says happily.

Vekara-Varkaus is a children’s festival week for the whole family. The community-based festival week, built by the whole city, is being celebrated this year for the 30th time in Varkaus and its surrounding municipalities. The largest children’s festival in Eastern Finland will offer around 100 different programmes. This summer’s theme is CELEBRATION, because the summer event that brings together the whole of Varkaus, the golden pearl of children’s culture, is worth celebrating!

Talvi-Vekara will be held again from 4-10 March 2024.The theme of the children’s winter event week is “Under the Fairy Tale Tree”.

In 2024, the centenary of the birth of the beloved poet Kirsi Kunnas will be celebrated. Talvi-Vekara will explore Kunnas’ diverse output through storytelling, adventures, concerts and workshops. The week of events is rounded off with popular discos, sports activities and a programme of animal farms. In addition to the city departments, the programme is organised by associations and businesses in the area. This means a varied programme of events for children of all ages and for the whole family in different parts of the city of Varkaus.

Winter-Vekara’s highlight is the TipTop Walkers’ contemporary circus show Night Village for the whole family on Tue 5 March at 18.00 in Warkaus Hall. The library has a Poetry Lounge, where you can listen and make your own poems and perform them for others. Workshops include graphic art and painting with gouache paints. There are colour baths and music sessions for the youngest members of the family, and youth services organise activities for young people.

The national Kirsi Kunnas centenary year focuses on Finnish children’s poetry, play, the joy of reading and children’s cultural participation. Talvi-Vekara invites everyone under the magic of the story tree to listen to stories, play with poems and create their own word art.

On Tuesday 5.3. at 6PM, Warkaus Hall will host a contemporary circus show for the whole family, Yökylä (Sleepover), performed by the circus group TipTop Walkers.

Yökylä (Sleepover) is a humorous and exciting contemporary circus show about friendship, sleep and the power of imagination. The show focuses on the familiar childhood setting of a sleepover. The performance gives the viewer an interpretation of an ordinary situation, which the virtuosity of the circus performers elevates to an astonishing experience. Read more here!

The festival offers many opportunities to experience beautiful moments together with family.

As a festival with a wide range of different activities, Vekara-Varkaus has brought joy to children and families for 28 summers. 

The program includes crafts, sports, science, and arts. There are also competitions and challenges. A lot of program is free of charge or low price tickets.

Vekara-Varkaus wouldn’t be as colorful and diverse without our partners. A big acknowledgement to them.

Watch the Vekara-Varkaus Children´s Summer Festival and Varkaus summer moods on the video