Moi!
Time flies. Today is the last day of 2020. Covid-19 taught us how precious and difficult that we spend just ”normal” life. How was the year 2020 to you? Yes, it has been a tough year but I would like to review what happened in Seinäjoki this year.
-
60th anniversary of Seinäjoki City and Lakeuden Risti
Seinäjoki and Lakeuden Risti celebrate 60th anniversary this year. Though Covid-19 epidemic situation had been quite controlled during summertime, unfortunately most of the big events were not held. Instead of that, we could see such ”60” logo with flowers,
And Arabia mug cups with previous Seinäjoki logo were produced again. The first limited edition has ”60” logo on the bottom.
I imagine that Seinäjoki should be very lively 60 years ago because Seinäjoki became a city and the first building (= Lakeuden Risti) of Aalto Centre was completed and other buildings were waited for being built.
The movie ”Suljetut ovet” has been published in Youtube. The theme is the history of Seinäjoki. You can see some actors/actresses who works for city theatre. The subtitle and spoken language are Finnish, but if you’re interested in it, please enjoy it.
Suljetut ovet
-
Kalevan Navetta
Art centre, Kalevan Navetta was open in March. Unfortunately, it had to be closed for about 2 months just after the opening party due to the government request. After 2 months closing time, it has been open.
Navetta means barn but it had never been used as a barn. This brick-made retro building was rebuilt and now used as Art Centre. Seinäjoki Art Museum, lunch and cafe restaurant, Äärellä and handcrafts shop, Taito shop are there. Culture related activities are sometimes organized here and many people enjoy them.
-
City Cycle rental service
City Cycle rental service has started in Seinäjoki in May. I was wondering whether it works or not because fewer tourists would come due to Covid-19 but it was vain. I sometimes see bikes are used. Not only tourists but also some citizens (students, maybe?) use it. I hope this service continues.
For example, you can easily walk from Seinäjoki Station to Aalto Centre, but if you would like to go to Kalevan Navetta or Ideapark, this bike would be useful because you don’t have to check the time table of a bus or you don’t have to use a taxi.
-
Piiri area
The opening event of redevelopment district, Piiri was held in September. It is about 3 km from the centre of the city (so, you can use City Cycle rental service), you can enjoy the beautiful big garden, retro buildings and small and unique shops.
-
Light events
Usually an outdoor big music festival, Provinssi or Tango Festival that attracts Tango fans all over the world are held in Seinäjoki but they were cancelled this year due to Covid-19. But a car race and music festival, Vauhtiajot was held. Additionally a light event Aalto Aesthetics was held in October and ValotOn was held in November as usual. Christmas market was also held in Central Market. All of them were held outside and it was easy to keep a social distance. Especially from October to December was tough time due to the bad weather and short daytime. So light events cheer us up.
The 3rd wave of Covid-19 epidemic is a little bit calm and vaccination has begun in Finland. Even so, the movement of people became more active during the Christmas holidays, so it is still unpredictable what kind of situation we may face next. Let’s hope the situation becomes better.
What kind of the year 2021 will be for you? I hope many people come to Finland and hopefully, Seinajoki soon without any concern.
Onnellista uutta vuotta! (= A Happy New Year!)