Good Night, Helsinki! Night of the Arts in the capital on Thursday

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It is that time of year again, and so this is a "heads-up" notice for readers living in the capital region, to say that Thursday will see the 18th celebration of the Night of the Arts, one now-traditional component of the annual Helsinki Festival.
      The Night of the Arts is part street carnival, part cultural happening, and part a starting-gun for the autumn's literary market, and it seems to get bigger every year. Helsinki started the tradition off in 1989, and was immediately followed by similar events in Tampere and Turku.
     
This year the capital will see at least 140 separate events all over the downtown area and even out in the suburbs (with a samba carnival in Itäkeskus, for example), and the best way to find out what is going on is to check out the Helsinki Festival website, given below.
      Many people simply take pot luck and head for one of the core venues, for example the Cable Factory or the Töölonlahti area alongside Mannerheimintie, or if they are literature-minded, either the Academic Bookstore or Suomalainen Kirjakauppa, where numerous authors will be talking about their work and signing books.
     
It is already an institution, and one that has hitherto normally been blessed with good weather: 2004 was an exception, however, and the word from the Finnish Meteorological Institute this year is that it might be a good idea to take an umbrella along - scattered thundery showers could be in prospect.
      But there are a great many events that take place indoors, so this is no reason to stay at home! Things start at around 5 p.m. and go on into the small hours. Additional bus, tram, and local train services will be running to get latebirds home.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Night of the Arts passes relatively peacefully (26.8.2005)

Links:
  Helsinki Festival - Night of the Arts Programme (listed by venue)

Helsingin Sanomat