Located next to Keskustori, Children’s Cultural Centre Rulla and Culture House Laikku create a lively cultural hub throughout the winter holiday week, with daily activities that bring imagination and creativity to life. At Rulla, the programme leads visitors step by step into realms of fantasy and light.
In the action-painting workshop, participants can paint under the guidance of artists using anything that comes to hand – experimenting, playing and expressing themselves freely. For inspiration, visitors may even bring a personal object that sparks curiosity.
Throughout the week, Rulla also hosts The Garden of Light, an exhibition brimming with light art. The exhibition’s inhabitants prepare for their own garden party, and visitors can meet these luminous characters on pop-up tours while lending a hand with the preparations. Rulla also offers search-and-find tasks, bingo, and relaxed drop-in art sessions where guests can create friendship portraits and imaginative bookmarks.
At Laikku, audiences can experience the touching musical fairytale performance Who Sleeps a Dog’s Sleep?, which leads visitors into a dog’s dreamworld, exploring emotions and sensory impressions. In Laikku’s lecture hall, a Kalevala Day art lecture delves into the Kalevala-themed works of Tampere-based artist Joseph Alanen. Organised by Culture Companions, the accessible lecture welcomes everyone interested in art inspired by the Finnish national epic.
Laikunlava’s Winter Fun Day invites everyone to enjoy a lively and cheerful winter holiday event in Kirjastonpuisto! The programme features circus theatre, snowy creative activities, dog visitors and shared moments outdoors.
Säilättäret’s circus theatre performance BRR!!! The Return of the Ski Ballet draws inspiration from alpine skiing aesthetics and delightfully quirky artistic sport – and after each show, the audience can join a lively mono disco to warm up frozen fingers and noses. During the day, dogs from the Pirkanmaa Karva-kaverit volunteer group also visit Kirjastonpuisto.
Throughout the event, visitors can enjoy a fun activity trail, snow painting and the Youth Services’ pop-up kiosk. The event is weather-dependent; in case of poor weather, activities will move to Rulla and Laikku’s Music Hall.
Culture House Laikku opens two new exhibitions that explore themes of home, identity and the relationship between humans and the environment. Echoes of Two Homelands – a Czech‑Slovak group exhibition presents the largest joint exhibition of Czech and Slovak artists living in Finland. The exhibition reflects on how the sense of home transforms when shaped by more than one culture. Memories, places and experiences intertwine, revealing identities formed between a first homeland and a present one. A series of accompanying events – films, workshops and discussions – is arranged throughout the exhibition period.
In Laikku’s Studio, Garden of Possibilities by Brazil‑born, Finland‑based artist Andréa Vannucchi brings together photography and installation to create an immersive experience that moves from a hollow in a tree to a planet seen from space. The exhibition examines the foundations of being in an era marked by biodiversity loss and climate change. Vannucchi’s artistic practice works in collaboration with natural elements such as sunlight, organic matter and surrounding vegetation.
At Haihara Art Centre, the winter holiday begins with Kaukajärvi Winter Day, which fills the manor, the Stable building and the courtyard with music, laughter and outdoor fun. Visitors can slide down the sledding hill, watch snowmobile demonstrations (weather permitting), visit activity points and enjoy pea soup, grilled sausages and treats from the café. In the Stable, two performances of Nukketeatteri-ANNOS’ play Hölmöläisten hommaa offer family-friendly puppet theatre.
At the end of the week, Haihara’s Art Friday invites people of all ages to spend a relaxing afternoon drawing, painting and crafting. Elements of community art and a pop-up café create a warm and welcoming atmosphere.
At Hiedanranta’s Lielahti Manor, Children’s Holiday Hulabaloo! is a winter holiday highlight especially for families with young children. The manor park disco gets little dancers twirling, shimmering soap bubbles float through the air, and Taikamaa’s winter treasure hunt leads families on an adventure through a snowy landscape. SuperSam encourages everyone to get moving, and the musical theatre performance brings a touch of wintry storytelling magic.
Under the colourful play parachute, fun group activities take place throughout the day, and visitors can also meet friendly alpacas, which may be petted and fed. Indoors, families will find crafts, a cosy blanket nook and the winter treats of Café Kartano. Later in the week, Art Wednesday offers a peaceful moment for drawing and painting open to all.
At the Main Library Metso and the city’s regional libraries, the winter holiday programme combines creative activities for young people with first cultural experiences for the smallest visitors. Two highlights stand out during the week.
In the workshop for young people aged 12–29, participants can create their own designs using stickers and heat-transfer prints. They may bring their own fabrics or use materials provided by Visio, and the schedule is designed to ensure that everyone has the chance to try both techniques. For the youngest children, the libraries present Theatre Mukamas’ gentle performance Under the Story Parasol: Little Hedgehog. Performed in a cosy nest of soft cushions, the show follows the small wonders of Little Hedgehog’s day and is well suited as a first theatre experience for children aged 0–3.
The libraries also host storytimes and film days, and Koilliskeskus Library’s film marathon screens children’s films throughout an entire day.
The Art Afternoons held in Hervanta, Hiedanranta, Härmälä and Haihara invite people of all ages to pause for a moment of drawing and painting. These relaxed, low-threshold workshops require no previous experience, and each venue develops its own unique atmosphere – sometimes calm, sometimes lively and communal.
