Helsinki hosts free events for children during autumn vacation

The City of Helsinki will host dozens of events and activities for young people and families with children during the upcoming autumn vacation from October 17 to October 23, said the city in a press release on Tuesday.

Various events for children and young people will be organised all over Helsinki. The venues include local youth centres, event and sports venues, libraries, cultural centres and museums.

“We want to organise a wide range of autumn break programme to children and young people of all ages. That is, activities for children and their families and new kinds of programme for young people that reflects their interests. We will be organising free events all over the city throughout the break week to give as many children and young people as possible the opportunity to enjoy an eventful autumn break,” said Laura Aalto, Executive Director for Culture and Leisure Division at the City of Helsinki.

During the autumn break, libraries will be hosting crafts events, and young people can also go there to play board and console games.

Libraries will also host various story times for the youngest members of the family. For example, visitors to the Children’s Saturday event at the Munkkiniemi library will get to explore the theme of space in the form of stories, planet orienteering and a astronomy presentation aimed at children.

Art also provides an excellent opportunity for engaging in joint activities.

The abstract-themed Square / Cube exhibition at Annantalo will be opened with a painting party. At the party, visitors of all ages will be given paintbrushes and asked to create their own artwork. The art workshop “sketches of the mushroom scientist” is an opportunity to examine mushrooms and other natural materials through drawing.

Various sports venues of the city will give the children the opportunity to try out different ball games and tricks during the autumn break and enjoy physical activity. The city’s swimming halls will also be open during the break week.

The autumn break in Helsinki will also be full of music. Tiivistämö will be hosting free gigs with no age limits by artists like Pehmoaino, known for her hit song Haluun takas mun perhoset and Nuppu Oinas, who is popular in TikTok. Tiivistämö will also do its best to offer other gigs for audiences of all ages during the break week.

“This year we want to organise a varied programme that reflects the current interests of children and young people. The coronavirus pandemic hampered children’s and young people's opportunities of enjoying cultural experiences so we are now doing our best to give them the opportunity to once again see, participate, and experience,” said Maria Karppinen, Tiivistämö producer.

Young people will get to spend time together on courses of various themes. The Heartbeast workshop on film script writing will give adolescents the opportunity to express themselves through script writing.

The course participants will also be invited to a special free screening of the film Heartbeast. The Supersafkaa cooking course will focus on making responsible choices when cooking, and social media personalities will teach the attendees how to take good food pictures.

Helsinki youth centres will be organising a variety of activities together with young people during the autumn break.