Kaustinen Folk Music Festival

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Festival : Kaustinen Folk Music Festival
Interview : Anu Hokkala-Risikko

When was the festival first established and who's idea / project was it?
Kaustinen Folk Music Festival was first established in 1968 and has been arranged every year since. The festival was initiated by local individuals concerned of the lack of cultural events in the countryside.

How could you present your festival to our readers who don't know it?
Kaustinen Folk Music Festival is the largest folk festival in the Nordic countries. We have over 100,000 spectators (total of all concerts) nowadays each year and more than 300 concerts and performances. The repertoire ranges from traditional Finnish folk music to big names in world music and we also include top Finnish pop & rock performers.

When is it happening?
The third whole week in July. (19.-27. July this year.)

Why this period of the year was choosen?
Originally, that was when the hay had been cut down in the fields by the local farmers and there
was plenty of room in the fields for the festival to be arranged. Today, we follow the tradition of having the festival on the third whole week of July. Finnish people mostly have their vacation in July, so that is another reason.

Are there many changes / ameliorations from one year to another?
Arrangementwise, no. The festival has been growing steadily, so some expanding has naturally been done over the years. As for the performers, we have a different theme each year but the main "article" (Finnish traditional folk music)remains the same.

How the programmation of the festival is done?
It's put together by our programme director and approved by the board.

Are there many spectators coming from abroad?
Approximately 5 per cent of our audience comes from abroad, which makes quite many calculated from our total audience.

Do you advertise your festival abroad?
Occasionally. Luckily, our name is fairly well known in the folk circles around the world and we are quite a well-established festival so we do not need to do it very often.

Would you recommend some sites or places that tourists who come to your festival could visit at the same time?
The Folk Arts Centre is a sight in its own right and well worth seeing. There is a museum of traditional Finnish instruments among other things.

Are there many possibilities for accomodation? Would you recommend one particularly?
It is a good idea to book accommodation in advance, if possible, from our festival office (tel. +358 6 8604 111) Most people visiting the festival stay at local families who have been running B&B´s all these 35 years.

Do you have a web site? What kind of information / content do you offer?
Our website ( www.kaustinen.net ) provides information on the programme of the festival, traffic connections, tickets, accommodation, etc. among other things.

What is, to your point of view, the difference between a good and a "not so good" festival? Atmosphere. A festival goer coming home from a good festival is in a good mood. One coming from a bad one is not in such a good mood. The atmosphere catches on and it's something you can bring home with you.

How do you explain the popularity of festivals in Finland?
The summer is short and people want to make the most of it. We have a long experience in arranging festivals in Finland and good performers like to come and play in the midnight sunlight.

Do you work in collaboration with other festival abroad?
Yes, mainly with other Nordic festivals. We are also members of the European Forum of World Wide Music Festivals and CIOFF (= Conseil International des Organisations de Festivals de Folklore et d'Arts Traditionnels)

What are your projects for the coming years?
Our theme countries in 2003 are Greece and in 2004 Canada.

Interview by Vincent Lefrançois - 2003