Night of the Arts at Kouvola House
The Kouvola City Arts Night offers the audience a diverse range of music, circus and activities for the whole family.
Kouvola’s cultural autumn kicks off with the traditional Arts Night on Friday, August 14th, starting at 4 pm. There are wonderful concerts for all tastes, circus acrobatics, birthday parties, local stories and tunes, and creative workshops for all ages.
Circus acrobatics and a rhythmic party and celebration atmosphere on the outdoor stage of Kouvola Hall.
Sirkus Bravuuri will start warming up the Kouvola Hall audience with their familiar rhythmic evening atmosphere with their skillful acrobatic performance. Kouvola stories will be heard in tune and with insightful lyrics when Kalevi Kullasvaara, who is celebrating his 50th recording career, takes the stage together with top musicians Puke Kataja and Tommi Toijonen in the “Matkalla kaupunkiin” concert. The trio will also perform at the Poikilo Museum later in the evening.
The German-style Beer Barrel Band of the Elimäki Brass Band, which specializes in Oktoberfest-inspired party music, will also provide a festive atmosphere. The members of the Beer Barrel Band will perform in styled dirndl dresses and lederhosen. As a highlight of the evening, the new Kouvola party band Mörkömiehet will invite the audience to dance to the party rhythm.
There will be plenty of speed and dangerous situations in the Kouvola Hall park
Skillful and entertaining acrobatics will be provided by the Kouvola circus artists Tykkimäen circus school and Sirkus Bravuuri with their performances in the park area. The students of the Kouvola Dance Institute promise a surprise dance with their spectacular Flash mob dance. Breathtaking excitement will be brought to the evening with their chainsaw show by Janne Mustonen, who has been awarded as performer of the year in the Evento Awards competition. You can juggle with Janne from 7 pm in the Juggling Workshop. The excitement melts into relaxed rhythms when the joyful and fast-paced performance of the Batucada carnival samba group with a wide variety of percussion instruments gets the audience’s samba feet moving to the beat of Latin music.
International stars and glimpses of history in Simelius Hall and Honkasal
The program in the Simelius Hall will open at 4 pm with Sri Lankan singer Upendraa Siriwardana, who charmed Finns in the Voice of Finland program in 2025, gaining an audience of millions on social media. The Karelian-themed Unteni mõusäperhonen concert will feature texts by Oiva Hyväri, a mason and poet from Vainikkala, Lappeenranta, and Finnish vocal and kantele music with piano accompaniment. Unteni mõusäperhonen is a text that Oiva Hyväri wrote after he fell in love with his future wife, Katri Pajar, from Mänttärinmäki, Sippola. The story serves as the framework for songs that tell of happiness, longing and abandonment, as well as nature and Karelia. The concert will feature songs from the most beloved Finnish composers, including Oskar Merikanno and Toivo Kuula. The evening’s program in the Simelius Hall will be concluded by the Valkeala Chamber Orchestra. The orchestra was founded in August 2023 at the initiative of Valerijs Avramenko. The core of the orchestra is a reinforced string quintet, whose sound is complemented by flute and bassoon. The orchestra features 13 musicians, including both music professionals and amateurs. The concert will be hosted by Riikka Luostarinen.
Flower wreaths, cards and decorations in craft workshops
In the Arvola meeting room of Kouvola Hall, spectacular wreaths will be tied. Bring wild flowers, grain or cultivated flowers! Shamaylo-Chalykh Anna will teach you how to tie a traditional Ukrainian women’s head flower wreath.
The program of the Kouvola Hall Community Center includes the Non-Stop Patchwork Jewelry and the Most Beautiful Patchwork Places workshop, the Non-Stop Stick Doll workshop, Theater workshops for children and the showcase exhibition Tastings from the fall 2026 craft courses.
History in Honkasalli
Local film history will be celebrated in Honkasalli. Kouvola Videographers is celebrating its 70th anniversary and will be presenting archive treasures from 1966 onwards as well as recent recordings of significant moments in Kouvola.
The doors of the Poikilo museums in the city of Kouvola are open
The exhibitions, galleries and museum shop of the Poikilo museums will be open until 10 pm, and admission to the exhibitions is free from 4 pm to 9 pm. The art museum will be displaying, among other things, the Circus exhibition, which contains colours, humour, skill, strangeness, drama and comedy, as well as works by Alma Jantunen and Johannes Rantasalo that combine playfulness, precise craftsmanship and bold use of materials.