Art exhibition

Mikko Raasakka, clarinet

Meri-Lappi String Quartet

From Italy to the North Pole

The idea for a joint concert by the Meri-Lappi String Quartet and clarinettist Mikko Raasakka was born from Giuseppe Acerbi’s book Journey through Lapland in 1799. The Italian explorer and musician Acerbi (1773-1846) travelled through Finland and along the Tornio River as far as Nordkapp. He stopped in both Kemi and Tornio and performed quartets for clarinet and strings composed for the locals. The concert will feature parts of these quartets. The quintet Time around memories… (Speculum Arcticus) by Kai Nieminen, who spent his childhood in Ylitorno, is inspired by the nature and people of Lapland – perhaps seen through Acerbi’s glasses? In addition to the clarinet, Raasakka plays the Finnish shepherd’s pipe instrument, the liru. Kai Nieminen’s quintet was commissioned by Mikko Raasakka with support from the Finnish Cultural Foundation’s Lapland Fund. The closing number of the concert will be a clarinet quintet from 1815 by the early German Romantic composer Carl Maria von Weber, pulsating with spring-like joie de vivre.

Clarinetist Mikko Raasakka was born in Kemi and began his clarinet studies at the Music Institute of West Ostrobothnia. In 2005 he graduated from the Sibelius Academy of Music with a doctorate in music, specialising in contemporary Finnish clarinet music. Now living in Helsinki, Raasakka is a versatile chamber and orchestral musician, soloist, improviser, writer and pedagogue.

Giuseppe Acerbi: Menuetto and Runa Finoise from Clarinet Quartet No 3
Kai Nieminen: Clarinet quintet Time around memories….(Speculum Arcticus) Premiere
Carl Maria von Weber: Clarinet Quintet in B flat major, opus 34

Concert duration 1 hour 30 minutes including pause

Tickets 20 / 15 / 10 € (normal / pensioner / student) from Lippu.fi, or at the door one hour before the concert. For tickets purchased on Lippu.fi you get a 3 € discount (delivery fee 1,50 € / purchase)

ROBIN PACKALEN – no age-limit – show at 20.00, doors 18.00
Tickets Umpitunneli orLippu.fi:
https://www.lippu.fi/event/robin-packalen-umpitunneli-19707775/

ROBIN PACKALEN K-18 gig at 00.00, doors 22.30
Tickets Umpitunneli or Lippu.fi:
https://www.lippu.fi/event/robin-packalen-umpitunneli-19707776/

ANI in Umpitunneli – 28.3. Showtime 00.00!
Tickets for sale at Umpitunneli and Lippu.fi

ANI’s stage presence, lyrics and catchy melodies have made him one of the most exciting pop promises of the moment. The artist’s music combines Finnish soulfulness and poetics with a youthful sound and top-class production. The singer-songwriter’s contribution to the production has been heard on numerous gold and platinum streamed tracks featuring JVG, BESS, BEHM and Evelina, among others. Ani’s creativity and talent has also been recognised by critics with Emma nominations for Music Maker of the Year 2022 and Pop of the Year 2023 and 2024.

Fanny & Felix

Concert with Meri-Lappi String Quartet

Fanny and Felix Mendelssohn are perhaps the world’s most famous composer-sister duo. Fanny’s String Quartet in E flat major, her only work, is full of joie de vivre. Felix composed his String Quartet No. 6 in the last year of his life as a tribute to his beloved sister.

Fanny Mendelssohn: String Quartet in E flat major

Intermission

Felix Mendelssohn: String Quartet No. 6 Op.80 MWV R37

Duration approx. 1 hour and 15 minutes incl. intermission

Free entrance.

Juhana Inkinen, concertmaster

Petra Keinänen, 2nd violin

Weronika Skowronska, viola

Oskari Elomaa, cello

Green Zone Golf will once again be hosting a very special golf competition with golf professionals this summer! As it is possible to play in the middle of the night near the Arctic Circle, players will start the competition in the evening. The event is free to the public.

Toranda open 2025 – The big snowcross event brings together the best snowcross riders from Finland, Sweden and Norway to the border of Tornio!

In March 2025, a brand new snowcross mega-event will be launched, with the aim of making it an annual event.

It will be a top-class race atmosphere, excitement and speed, an unforgettable experience for all ages.

Tickets are on sale at Lippu.fi. For more information, visit the event website www.torandaopen.fi

Tickets on sale: lippu.fi

Samuels Polonesi Folk Music Festival takes place March 13-16, 2025 in HaparandaTornio with a Nordic theme
A unique folk music event between two places on the border between Finland and Sweden!

Samuels Poloneesi is a nationwide folk music event organized by the Finnish Folk Music Association and is one of the largest and oldest folk music events of the winter season. This year the event is organized together with the Lapland Folk Music Association and the cities of Haparanda and Tornio.

The theme of the event is Nordic music and for the first time it will be held on both sides of the border, in Sweden and Finland. The event will feature fantastic Nordic folk music in concerts at Folkets Hus in Haparanda and at Musiikkitalo and Joe’s House in Tornio.

The concerts are interesting, fresh and of high quality. They showcase the full spectrum of folk music from all over Finland, especially from the north. Young bands breaking the boundaries of traditional music as well as traditional bands and individual masters will be present. The event offers something for everyone!

For the full program and to see the event, visit the Finnish Folk Music Association website: https://kansanmusiikkiliitto.fi/tapahtumat/samuelin-poloneesi/

Welcome to the event!

Haparanda and Tornio, Sweden and Finland, were connected by rail in 1919. Passenger trains between Tornio and Haparanda ceased to run in 1988.

The rail connection is now electrified, enabling the return of passenger train services. This reflects the line’s strategic importance as a critical supply corridor linking Finland and Sweden to Europe, ensuring resilience and security in the region’s transportation infrastructure.

Why was the link built, what did it mean for traffic and why was it taken out of service? Today, the existence of the rail link is again seen as an important security of supply gateway to Europe, linking Finland and Sweden.

Own production.

We celebrate Midsummer big in the Swedish way. The traditional delicacies of summer and Kukkolaforsen are tasted in the rich midsummer buffet. Make your own flower wreath and wear a white dress, and you’ll blend in perfectly with the Swedish Midsummer tradition. At 16, the Midsummer pole is decorated and at 17 we dance and sing around the pole and celebrate the whole nightless night.

The Museum of Torne Valley showcases Torne Valley culture and history on both sides of the Finnish-Swedish border. We specialize in the local way of life and border region phenomena. Our permanent exhibition highlights the traditional means of living, the history of Tornio and Haparanda, border trade, smuggling and marriages across the border.

Visitors can also listen to local languages and dialects. The past comes alive through original artifacts and abundant picture and film material on display.