Program
The program of the Meidän Metsä! Festival consists of music and art performances, art installations in an outdoor gallery, as well as participatory and nature-oriented activities, including a poetry trail, a dance space, and forest yoga. The main venues are Bat hall (Lepakkohalli) and Flying squirrel hall (Liito-oravahalli), located in the Pieni Neulamäki forest area, where local live music and performances from Kuopio can be heard throughout the event day.
Flying squirrel hall also hosts the event’s information point, where you can find details about the Meidän Metsä! Festival, the Pieni Neulamäki area, and the proposed alternative land-use plan for the area. Flying squirrel hall also provides instructions for self-guided activities and for searching for natural treasures in the area.
The area is crisscrossed by gravel roads and forest paths, and the day offers a great opportunity to explore the local nature, such as the giant aspens. Maps of the area can be found here or at the information point.
Tinyhawk’s guitar-driven world is full of adventure, rapidly shifting landscapes, and dives into unexpected situations. What is lived and experienced is transformed into music. Spanish classics for classical guitar. A passionate love for Japanese culture sparked by Ghibli animations. Fearless musical eccentricity. Savonian roots. Massive walls of guitars. Frenzied euphoria on a disco dance floor. The deep warmth of melancholy. All of this can be heard in the music of Tinyhawk & Bizzarro, where the essence lies in the experience of feeling. Through it, connections are created across all dimensions.
Cancelled!
Dear Moon is a Kuopio-based band combining alternative rock and electronic music. Their second full-length album, “Dark Miles,” was released last autumn. The album was mixed by Grammy Award-winning D. James Goodwin. The band arrives in Pieni Neulamäki in a trio format, with an acoustic guitar and a drum machine transported on a bicycle rear rack.
YPP makes exactly the kind of music they want and is not afraid to break genre boundaries. Some madman might describe YPP’s music as angry prog punk that, with tongue firmly in cheek, complains about very ordinary everyday things.
The band consists of bassist Jami Junnula, drummer Teemu Töyräs, vocalist Atos Staufenbiel, and guitarists Oskari Mäklin and Lauri Karttunen.
Lehtisen Pojat is a children’s music band made up of boys from Kuopio. The band has been performing since 2023. In the same year, they won both the audience and jury awards at the Kuopio street music festival. Lehtisen Pojat are known for their catchy songs and original lyrics.
Childhood is a ship disappearing into the sea, one that the high school band Hiekkalapset is still trying to reach. Melodies and words intertwine into a single kind of magic that can soothe loneliness and trample seriousness. Hiekkalapset also aims to break musical boundaries and create a sense of homely warmth like a grandmother’s house, advocate for animal rights, and—above all—create fun moments regardless of age. The band in its current form was founded in 2024. https://www.instagram.com/hiekkalapset/
Vielä Eteisessä plays atmospheric pop-punk. Their lyrics explore, in a stream-of-consciousness style, topics that are difficult to talk about but easier to turn into songs. The result is an unashamed portrayal of both everyday thought patterns and the direct—and sometimes complicated—dynamics between people. In their live performances, the joy of playing, genuine presence, and connection with the audience come together. https://www.instagram.com/vielaeteisessa/
Surupuseroiset is a band operating across the broad field of alternative music, whose songs deal with the many shades of existence, the darker aspects of being human, and moving through them. Humu Records will release the band’s debut album, “Alle jään,” in May 2026. At the Meidän metsä! event, Surupuseroiset will perform their songs in stripped-down versions. https://www.humurecords.com/surupuseroiset.html
O.s.Holopainen & 0500Männistö, currently working on their debut album, move within the safe ground of neo-folk and alt-country. Strong lyrics and enduring melodies are present in their songs, creating a space where it is easy to breathe and feel at ease. The roughly six-member 0500Männistö enriches the music with a rootsy approach and rich instrumentation, where violins, accordions, and guitars create a dialogue-like atmosphere with the lyrics. https://www.instagram.com/o.s.holopainen/
Outi Markkula ja Jenni Venäläinen, metsätanssitupa
Welcome to experience the pulse and rhythm of Finnish dance and music tradition! At Kuopion Tanssistupa, participants learn traditional partner and group dances to live music. No prior experience or own partner is required.
The sessions are led by dance artist Outi Markkula and kantele player and musician Jenni Venäläinen.
Outdoor gallery:
Janne Erkkilä, Visual art
Heikki Heikkilä is a Master of Arts graduated from the University of Lapland, a painter, hiker, forager and collector of nature’s offerings, and a “double Kuopio native.” Chance and intentionality tend to search for a suitable balance in his works.
For the Meidän metsä event, Heikki is creating an exhibition inspired by the nearby nature of Kuopio, changes in the urban landscape, and the forest slopes of Neulamäki threatened by zoning and construction. In these works, he has used pigments made from fungi and plants, as well as recycled materials such as electronic waste.
Artwork pictured: Organic Continuum, 2021, plants and fungi on paper, 150 cm × 150 cm.
Outdoor gallery:
Ulla-Mari Lindström, video installation
“Animal Lives and Wonders” (2022), single-channel video, duration: 08:24 min
“Tropical Magic” (2019), duration: 2:56 min, single-channel photo animation
Ulla-Mari Lindström is a photographic and media artist as well as a researcher of natural art. Lindström examines the relationship between humans and nature in an era of environmental change, creating speculative worlds and alternative narratives of evolution in her works.
Outdoor gallery:
Iida Valkonen, Pulse of the forest, 2026
“Pulse of the Forest” is a textile artwork suspended between trees, moving with the air currents of the forest. Green drawn lines repeat and curve like the growth rings of a tree, telling of the passage of time and growth. The work does not attempt to control the space; instead, it settles into its surroundings, blending into the forest’s own slow movement.
Iida Valkonen, a visual artist living and working in Kuopio, graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in 2016. Valkonen has worked with drawing for many years, which is reflected both in her way of working and in her choice of materials. Most of her work focuses on themes of landscape, movement, repetition, and the rhythms that emerge from them, explored through drawing and media art.
Outdoor gallery:
Maiju Ruuskanen & Jere Veijalainen, Majaleikki (participatory installation)
A hut is like a home. As children, people played house there, and it felt safe—yet it was annoying when they had to go in for meals and the play was interrupted. The “Majaleikki” installation is built from the remains of trees left behind after a stacked pile of energy wood was removed.
The forest in Pieni Neulamäki was cleared from the areas designated for road foundations in the detailed plan, and the trees growing there were stacked in autumn 2023. The detailed plan was overturned by the Administrative Court in February 2026.
Outdoor gallery:
Emma Fält & Anna-Maria Väisänen, Shared future
Emma Fält & Anna-Maria Väisänen 2021-2026 ( on going ) From the Shared Future project, 2022–2024(Available in Finnish and English)
Scan the QR code with your phone camera and listen while resting here, or return to it later in a peaceful moment, for example in your own favorite place.
Katarina Suviniitty, Tightrope walking
Katarina Suviniitty is greedy for art. She loves living on the edge, which is why tightrope walking draws her in. Suviniitty cannot understand why nature conservation and the pursuit of peace are not considered top priorities in this world.
Suviniitty performs together with the band Surupuseroiset.
Jaana Niskanen, Forest yoga
At Meidän metsä!, Jaana will guide a gentle forest yoga and sound bowl session starting at 17:00, departing from Liito-oravahalli. All you need to bring is comfortable clothing and good shoes that allow easy movement in the forest.
Yoga, sound bowls, and nature have, over the years, brought balance and well-being to my body and mind. Through them, I have found peace and harmony in my life, as well as strengthened positive thinking, body awareness, and the mind–body connection. This is what I also want to offer my clients. It is wonderful to be able to provide forest yoga and sound bowl relaxation for those interested at the Meidän metsä! festival.
Wellness by Jaana is a Kuopio-based company providing exercise and well-being services. Jaana has approximately 25 years of experience in the field of physical activity and has guided people of all ages and levels, from babies to grandparents. www.wellnessbyjaana.fi
Elisa Suonmaa, Kiskoteka
TRE® and Kiskoteka instructor Elisa Suonmaa will guide a Kiskoteka practice near the trees. Kiskoteka is based on the body’s innate potential for movement, which, through practice, can influence one’s energy levels, self-regulation, and interaction with others.
In this practice, we seek a meditative connection with the surrounding nature, calibrating the nervous system and the whole body to meet the environment through the Kiskoteka method.
Alma Tiitinen, Drama exercises
Come jump around, make noise, and express yourself in the natural surroundings!
The delightfully silly Expression Exercises are led by Alma Tiitinen, a student in an upper secondary school drama and expression program. The activity is suitable for all ages.
Terhi Martinez-Abarga , Haku the dragon
Terhi Martinez-Abarca is a puppet artist from Kuopio who has created numerous puppets for works aimed at audiences of different ages. Together with Anne Salmi, she founded the Pataluha collective, which seeks to promote contemporary puppet theatre in the Northern Savo region.
Haku the Dragon is a festival puppet inspired by the anime Spirited Away, bringing a touch of magic along with it.
The Finnish Nature Association’s branch and Sieppo Magazine: Forest of Your Dreams Drawing Competition
The regional branches of the Finnish Nature Association for Children and Youth are organizing a drawing competition together with Sieppo magazine. The competition is part of the branches’ 50th anniversary celebrations! The theme of the competition is the forest of your dreams. The competition runs until September 13, 2026. At the Meidän metsä! festival, you can find a participation point and all the necessary materials at Liito-oravahalli.
Poetry trail
When words grow among the moss and the wind carries verses. By stepping onto the poetry trail, you can slow down in the forest and discover poems written by Irina Niinivaara, inspired by the landscapes of Pieni Neulamäki.
The poetry trail can be found near Liito-oravahalli throughout the event day.
Vestäjät, Poems (in Finnish)
Vestäjät is a literary association for writers and people who love literature. Its activities include several writing workshops. Runopuu is a workshop that meets once a month, focusing on shared themes drawn from the pulse of life and each poet’s unique way of approaching them.
At the Meidän Metsä festival, the poets will present a selection of poems about the forest.
The Literary Association of Northern Savo, Vestäjät ry.
Picture: Esko Lovén
Silja Holma, Imagining the Future (in Finnish)
What might our forest look like in the future? This moment of presence especially welcomes those who wish to practice their imagination skills. Embodied future imagination and its shared visualization can hold the power to shape the present moment.
The guided imagination journey is led by Hengähdyshetkiä® recovery coach and doctoral researcher at the University of Eastern Finland, Silja Holma.
Lasse Forsgren, Forest tales (in Finnish)
Stage artist Lasse Forsgren reads forest tales in the forest. For those whose minds are open to imagination.