Here are 5 interesting summer and autumn events in Salla that truly brings out the region’s fun character and unique charm!
You may have heard of Salla, maybe for their magical winters or through the bold local storytellers from the Save Salla 2032 Summer Games video… But how much do you know about Salla’s other seasons?
Salla’s summer hosts an amazing show of nature, from the beautiful midnight sun and the lush green forest landscapes, slowly turning into a tapestry of deep oranges as the autumn “Ruska” season begins to creep in and the Northern Lights return. I am sure that those who have visited during these seasons will agree!
Salla – in the middle of nowhere, as the name suggests, isn’t just home to this vast beautiful nature but is host to many interesting (and fun!) cultural events, rooted within the very nature that surrounds them, showcasing the unique character and charm that represents both this region and Lapland!
The people of Salla warmly welcomes everybody to join in with these unique events!
Salla National Orienteering Competition Weekend
8 – 9.7.2023
Orienteering is a competitive and adventurous sport, popular in the Nordics, where you must make your way through unfamiliar rough country to find markers in the shortest time possible. Armed with just a map and a compass, it’s up to you to find the fastest path there! This sport not only puts your fitness to the test but also your brain and map reading skills. This is the perfect sport for those seeking an adventure- in the middle of nowhere. For an orienteering competition, you need 2 things, a vast wilderness and a dedicated group of athletes, luckily, Salla has both!
Sallan Karhut, one of the oldest sporting teams in Finland, with their dedicated and lively orienteering team, will host the Salla National Orienteering Competition, in conjunction with the Lapland Regional Championship throughout the 2nd weekend of July. This event will host exciting medium and longer distances throughout the weekend, located within both the Sallatunturi area and Salla National Park, starting at Salla Ski Resort.
This is the first time an orienteering competition of this size has been held in this part Salla, providing brand new terrain and a special adventure for Orienteerers! This new map and terrain, with its typical eastern Lapland swamps, forests, and rocky climbs, often located within Salla National Park will be an exciting adventure for both athletes and spectators!
Sallan Karhut hosts orienteering events every Monday throughout the summer, open to all that are interested! Whether you are a keen orienteerer, who knows the forest like the back of their hands or a first timer, wanting to explore the Salla wilderness in a unique and fun way, Sallan Karhut has 3 different orienteering courses for you, depending on your ability, that you can take at your own pace. (You don’t have to run!)
To learn more about orinenteering, click the link below or find a handy youtube tutorial that covers the basics here!
Äinpäin Päivä – Upside Down Day
Friday 14.7.2023
Äinpäin Päivä, translated as” Upside down day” really reflects the great sense of humour in Salla. This event began 10 years ago as a joke regarding the 24 hours of daylight that comes with the midnight sun, the typical Salla summer and how easily someone could accidently mix their day and night up. “What if someone accidently had their dinner in the morning and did their daily activities such as shopping, for example in the middle of the night” one chuckled to themselves… and so Upside Down Day was born!
As you can imagine, Upside Down Day begins, you guessed it… at night! Both local entrepreneurs and Salla locals really bring this event to life by hosting fun activities for the whole family! Breakfast will be served throughout the evening at Pizzeria Akkavaara, with lots of fun and crazy events around the village, such as outside karaoke at the Rautatori hardware store and the popular shoe throwing competition at the Simpsetti clothing store.
As it doesn’t get dark during Upside Down Day, you can also take a hike to a local fell or through Salla National Park to observe the never ending “golden hour”, or even enjoy a peaceful midnight canoeing trip, hosted by Salla Wilderness Park. If you fancy something “quirkier”, the fun and energetic Bat&Ryyd, from Eastern Lapland, will be performing at the finest midnight breakfast joint in Salla – Akkavaara!
Salla Päivä – Salla Day
Wednesday 19.7.2023
Salla Day (Salla Päivä in Finnish) is Lapland’s largest home village festival and is celebrated on Salla’s name day, July 19th. Beginning in 1981, Salla Day is celebrated with thousands of people, who have previously left Salla, returning from all over Finland and from abroad to celebrate everything that is “Salla” with their loved ones who stayed. This celebration, filled with loving reunions, reminiscing stories, and teaching the younger family members about their family origins, can double the region’s population over these days!
Events and activities are mostly located in the Salla village centre, with a wide range of market stalls, from local vendors and local exhibitions, local hobbyists eager to show-off their passions, local photographers, authors and of course, the Salla Museum of War and Reconstruction opens its doors for everyone. In the main stage there are plenty of shows throughout the day for the whole family, including comedy, music and award ceremonies, recognising local entrepreneurs and local people who have made a positive impact within the municipality. There is a strong underlying theme of hometown pride and a real feeling of togetherness throughout Salla Day.
This is a must-experience event for everyone who is in the area, whether you are living in Lapland or visiting as part of your holiday! You are welcome to come and experience everything that is “Salla” and learn what it really means to be “Sallalainen” – in the middle of nowhere.
Find the official programme here (released closer to the event)
Sallan Rykimät Viikko – Salla Rutting Week
5 – 13.9.2023
As we move into autumn, with the colder air, the orange hues and as the darker days draw in, doesn’t mean that Salla slows down, it’s the opposite! In September the northern lights return, lighting up both the sky and the lakes below, with the forest becoming a buzz of activity, especially in the reindeer’s world as this is their rutting season. You can hear the smashing antlers of the rutting reindeer stags throughout Salla, clashing together with incredible strength to determine who becomes the chief of the forest!
These weeks of battling and love is celebrated in Salla through the Sallan Rykimät Week. The week not only celebrates the reindeer rutting season but also the “Ruska” season, a small window of time where the forests turn a bright orange before the trees finally shed their leaves as they prepare for the winter. Ruska season in Salla is famous for its beautiful orange and brown shades, attracting nature lovers from all over the world to witness this quick but beautiful natural event.
There are many special events for the whole family over the Sallan Rykimät week. There is a variety of hiking and camping activities to help you experience the best of these “Ruska” colours. In addition, there is also a yearly cultural theme, this year it’s music, with performances from several different genres. There is a wide programme of events including documentary screenings at the Salla Museum of War and Reconstruction, Finnish music concerts at Salla Wilderness Park and the famous Papana fest at the Papana Pub (keeping with the reindeer theme, Papana is an old word for reindeer droppings, hence the festival’s logo). Papana fest, a weekend long music festival, hosting the best Finnish and Lappish musical talents is an exciting weekend filled with celebrations of all things musical!
Sallan Rykimät Week offers a fantastic variety of nature, culture, and music for all! It seems in Salla, its not just the reindeer causing a buzz in the forest…However we do hope that the people of Salla wont clash like their reindeer!
Nothing is Happening Week
23 – 29.10.2023
What do you mean nothing is happening? Unlike the other events in the article that are full of excitement and activity, this event takes a completely different narrative. For many of us, every day life is a balancing act, having to keep up with work, constant deadlines, home life, family life… well the list goes on!
But then, when you go on holiday, you feel like you have the need to do everything and a little more, all with the pressure of posting your activities on social media because “it didn’t happen if you didn’t upload it!”
“What if there was a destination where there were no events… because nothing was happening?”
Sleep as long as you want, wake on your own schedule, and do what you want, when you want at your own pace. You could spend hours just watching the beautiful scenery, maybe with some snow cover, pack a backpack full of your favourite snacks and go on an adventure with no pressure to return by a set time, then in the evening you could spend hours by a campfire just waiting for the northern lights to fire up the sky, with no pressure to be up by a certain time the next morning.
Sounds great right? Salla offers all of this during their “Nothing is Happening Week”, the berries have been collected, the busy winter season won’t begin for a few weeks and all the locals are away, deep in the forest hunting. During this week there is nothing to do but relax and explore, nothing to see but the vast beautiful wilderness, all at your own pace – in the middle of nowhere.
Salla has a wide variety of events and activities throughout the whole year, suitable for the whole family. Check out the “Events in Salla” page to find the full weekly schedule of all events in the Salla villages and of course, everyone is welcome!
