Love Week in Janakkala is a joint cultural wellbeing initiative by many actors

In Janakkala, Love Week will be celebrated in February 9th-15th, bringing a diverse and warm-hearted program to the municipality.

The week’s program has been created through cooperation between several local and regional actors, offering residents and event visitors experiences, culture and togetherness. Most events are free of charge and open to all.

Love Week’s content ranges from touching art and music to joy for children and families, as well as sporting and community events.

The Love Week program begins at the Janakkala main library with Love Songs. In the atmospheric concert on Monday, 9 February at 6:00 PM, the soloists are Matti Hyvönen, Teuvo Berg and Jouko Viita-aho. Music is by Timo Hilden and poetry recitation by Leena Viita-aho. Matti Hyvönen became known in his youth, for example for winning the Finnish Ropertino Loretti singing competition and for appearing as Mauno Kuusisto in the film Kertokaa se hänelle. Since then Matti has sung at the Tampere regional opera. Teuvo Berg is a local singer who has been successful in several singing competitions. Jouko and Leena Viita-aho, who live in Janakkala, have held numerous joint concerts together.

At the Janakkala library the VEERAT project’s “Can You Listen to Me?” poetry exhibition will be on display throughout the event week. It has been compiled from poems created in women’s peer groups. The poems address life, intimate partner violence and hope. They were built through collaborative writing work, in which several women contributed to the creation of a single poem. The poems therefore carry both the voice of the individual and the community. The exhibition’s comics are the work of comic artist Emilia Laatikainen.

On Wednesday, 11 February at 6:00 PM at the Janakkala main library you can experience a calming music and nature photography performance when Rolf Wirtanen takes the audience to the Lapland wilderness through nature photographs and ballads born in the wilderness. Folk artist, wilderness walker, photographer and musician Wirtanen has selected 148 photographs for the presentation, which change slowly and peacefully alongside the music. Thoughts have been set to melodies and words played and sung on the guitar ballads born in the wilderness. The performance lasts about 50 minutes and offers listeners a therapeutic moment of respite in everyday life.

On Thursday, 12 February at 1:00 PM the Janakkala main library hosts a living room music session that invites people of all ages, from baby to grandparent, to sing and play together. The roughly 40-minute music session offers musical joy across generations. The session is part of the municipality-organized living room activities for older people and Love Week. Traditional children’s songs act as invisible bridges between generations and preserve cultural heritage. When a familiar tune begins to play, grandparents, parents and children find themselves humming, clapping or playing along to the same melody — each in their own way. The session is led by Janakkala’s cultural producer Satu Ristola.

On Friday, 13 February a water disco will be held at the Tervakoski swimming hall for children and disco-goers young at heart. On Valentine’s Day, Saturday, 14 February, the swimming hall will have a Valentine’s offer when two can swim for the price of one. At the Tervakoski cinema, in honor of Valentine’s Day, movie tickets and snacks will be available as a package deal for children’s and adults’ film screenings.

On Saturday, 14 February from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM Tervakoski library will host Children’s Saturday, featuring the Marjuttu puppet theatre’s performance The Snow Queen’s Secret twice, at 10:00 AM and 12:00 PM. In addition, there will be a jewelry workshop, face painting and magic balloon animals for children. The library will display friendship-themed books and a coloring station will be open until 2:00 PM.

On Valentine’s afternoon Saturday, 14 February from 2:00–4:00 PM the Vanaja Big Band’s Big Band Fiesta! concert will be heard at Turenki sports hall. Tickets are on sale at the door and via lippu.fi service. The roughly two-hour Vanaja Big Band Latin concert brings South American hot rhythms into Turenki’s winter. The concert takes listeners on a musical journey to Brazil and the Caribbean islands, and makes a stop in Hollywood as well. Expect gentle bossa nova and joyful samba, hot mambo rhythms and the groove of Latin jazz. Vanaja Big Band serves up Latin vibes with a big orchestra and three vocal soloists. The result is a rhythmically swinging concert. Vanaja Big Band is a large entertainment orchestra from Hämeenlinna, well known for performing in its hometown’s squares, parks and concert halls. The vocal soloists in the concert are Johanna Laukkanen, Anne Tamminen and Jaakko Kulomaa. The orchestra is conducted by maestro Viljami Heikkinen. During the intermission, a buffet will serve the audience at Café Kirjaston kulma.

Love Week culminates on Sunday, 15 February from 2:00–4:00 PM with a family Shrovetide celebration at Tervakoski Seuratalo. For the smaller children, aged 3–9, a story concert at 2:00 PM features the Children’s Orchestra Nukku, which combines musical storytelling with joyful music-making. The Nukku children’s orchestra includes musicians Josefiina Mustonen, Janne Tapani and Aino Juurilainen. The free concert in Janakkala is made possible by a working grant from the Finnish Cultural Foundation. At 3:00 PM Rapfaija will take the stage to bring energetic vibes and lift the atmosphere. Rapfaija’s concert is provided by Janakkala MLL, which also runs the event’s refreshment stall (payment methods: cash and MobilePay).

Love Week in Janakkala invites you to experience cultural moments together amid everyday life. To discover the joy of being together through participation and to strengthen sustainable wellbeing.

Welcome to the events!