Be a Snow and Ice Princess for a day.

Over the past few years we at Emagine have had the pleasure of arranging many weddings in the far north of Finnish Lapland at Hotel Kakslauttanen.  The couples have always been unique, varying in age, some travelling alone and others with hundreds of guests but the one thing they have all had in common is their dream of a winter wonderland wedding.

At Kakslauttanen they have created the perfect setting. Accommodation is in individual cosy log cabins set in the forest.  All have fireplace and sauna, ideal for those evenings in. Alternatively there is the Queen suite complete with four poster bed and private outdoor hot tub!

Weddings can be arranged in a simple wooden chapel or when conditions allow a stunning Ice Chapel. The most popular method of transport between the cabins and chapel has been reindeer pulled sleighs. Round the day off with celebratory drinks in a glass tepee and a wedding dinner in the hotels pretty log restaurant.

There is something else that adds to this special location…….igloos. You can choose between heated glass igloo’s that allow uninterrupted views of the nights sky and hopefully Aurora Boralis or the may braver choose Ice igloo’s that are created at the start of each winter.  In the Ice igloos you will be provided with cosy sleeping bags and sleeping hats to ward off the cold.

While at Kakslauttanen many of our wedding couples and their guests have headed out on exhilarating husky safaris and explored the beautiful nearby fells on snowmobiles. They certainly come home with pictures of their wedding or honeymoon unlike anyone else’s.

 For further details of weddings at Hotel Kakslauttanen in Finnish Lapland click here.

We would like to thank Mr & Mrs Greensmith for allowing us to use some of their photos of their special day.

Finlands oldest Festival.

For many years this has been an opportunity for all of the strawberry pickers to let their hair down for a few days during their busy season. The first Strawberry Carnival was held in1970 and takes place in Suonenjoki, in the Finnish Lakes region.

In the early days the Carnival attracted locals, berry pickers and summer vacationers but over the years the word has spread and visitors come much further a field. The influx in recent years of foreign berry pickers during the season has also meant a growing international interest.

The Carnival starts with a procession through the crowd lined streets of the town. Over the following days there will be an action packed programme with shows and concerts by popular Finnish artists. A jury will present the prize to the Strawberry Farmer of the Year and choose Miss Strawberry from among the local beauties.  A funfair sets up in town. The National championship in strawberry eating, strawberry joke competition, the best scarecrow competition, the run race, horse race and rally race among others are also included in the carnival programme.

There will of course be many opportunities to eat strawberries in many different ways; in milk-shakes, ice-creams, jams, purées, juices, cakes, and just as fresh, delicious berries!

For further details on visiting Finland’s oldest Festival click here.

Calling all aviators to northern Finland!

Pudasjärvi airport (EFPU), located in northern Finland just below the Arctic Circle will once again play host to pilots from around the world. The event makes the most of the regions never ending summer days.

The Air Rally will set off from Malmi (Helsinki) EFHF airport and make its way north via several airfields over the beautiful lakes region of Finland on 02 July 2008. During the journey their will be a number of tasks such as spot landings, observation and navigation tests.

Upon arrival in Pudasjarvi there will be a welcome ceremony, dinner and get together around the campfire with other aviators. Accommodation can be under canvas at the airfield or in nearby cabins, hotels and campsites.

Between 3 and 6 July 2008 there will be numerous activities such as formation flights, flying tours to Lapland, precision flying and landing competitions and skydiving. At the weekend airfield is open to the public so they can visit the aircraft and watch the competitions.

For those that wish to extend their visit it is worth noting that the region offers excellent hiking trails and canoeing, especially in the nearby Iso-Syote National park.

For the full programme and registration details click here.

The city turns out to party in style.

Thursday 12 June 2008 will see Finland’s capitol city, Helsinki, turn into one big party. The city was founded in 1550 and for the 50^th time the special event will be celebrated all over the city.

Stages will be set up in several city parks offering pop, jazz, dancers, magicians, folk, rock and opera guaranteeing something for everyone.

The day is at the heart of a week of events in the city that have included a Samba festival and harbour festival. A highlight of the week is the arrival of

Götheborg Tall Ship that will be located at Pakkahuone Quay, 8-13 June.

To visit Helsinki click here.

For further details on the weeks events click here.

Over 100 dance events in one action packed week.

The oldest and most extensive Nordic Dance festival, Kuopio Dance Festival, opens a new window onto the world of international dance. The programme includes fresh pieces, Nordic premieres, classics revisited and current themes on everyday life, communality, and the great issues facing the mankind. During the festival week there will be more than one hundred different dance events, performances, Q and A sessions, courses, club nights, and cruises.

This year’s undisputed highlight will be a visit from the Ballet du Grand Théâtre de Genève. The company will bring to Kuopio works by three of the most sought after choreographers of our time, Saburo Teshigawara, Andonis Foniadakis and Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui.

The Festival opens with a themed evening – From Sevilla to Lapland. The evening features a Spanish flamenco artiste Belén Maya and a contemporary folk dance theatre from Finnish Lapland called Rimpparemmi...

Israeli Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company’s piece Ekodoom grapples with current issues. Communality is also the topic of the Finnish premiere of the year, Eeva Muilu’s Jossain on jotain (Finland). The stage will be occupied by elderly people and one young dance artiste.

The winner of the choreography competition Nordic Grand Prix 2007, Alan Lucien Øyen (Norway), searches for beauty in the mundane through humorous sentimentality in his work What's not to love.

Nordic collaboration has produced Petri Kekoni’s choreography Glow of Dimness (Finland).

An Ivory Coast atmosphere will be brought to the Festival by Compagnie Georges Momboye (France/Ivory Coast), with their piece Boyakodah – an ode to life! This French company, made up of African dancers, has performed at Lyon Biennale and at Sadler's Wells in London, amongst other venues.

The classic works Huuto and Petrushka by the Festival’s Artistic Director Jorma Uotinen (Finland) return to stage refreshed after many years. The children’s dance house programme features Simo Heiskanen’s choreography Parrots, performed by Glims & Gloms Dance Company, and Kuopio Music and Dance Academy’s Aika Öykkäri (Finland).

Hundreds of dance professionals, enthusiasts and beginners flock in to dozens of popular dance courses as well as festival clubs, Market Square programme, Paikallisliike and other festival events.

For the full programme details click here. 

Short breaks throughout December at cosy Hotel YlläsHumina.

For those wishing to visit Lapland but wanting greater independence we strongly recommend our Exclusive Arctic breaks to Finnish Lapland in December 2008. Direct flights from Gatwick throughout December 2008 including Christmas and New Year make visiting this winter paradise a breeze.

Hotel YlläsHumina is a friendly family run hotel in western Finnish Lapland at the foot of Ylläs Fell in the village of Äkäslompolo. It is the ideal base for winter activities. If it is skiing that you are looking for, downhill and cross country, the ski centre of Ylläs is just 5km away and cross country ski trails run through the village. Alternatively you can choose from an exhilarating range of husky, reindeer and snowmobile safaris from the village.

You are guaranteed a warm welcome to this hotel. At its heart is the reception building also home to a popular restaurant and the Humina pub where you can relax in front of an open fire. Its cosy accommodation is located in individual rustic log houses each of which has four comfortable hotel rooms.

Holiday dates: 12-15 Dec / 15-19 Dec / 19-23 Dec / 23-28 Dec / 28 Dec - 02 Jan 2009.

For full details of the holidays click here.

To download the information click here.

Snowmobiling Lappish summer style!

In the far north of Finnish Lapland in the small town of Ivalo the locals obviously just couldn’t survive a whole summer without their beloved snowmobiles so they came up with a unique and crazy annual event……The Water Cross Races.

As the snow has long melted the competitors decided to race their snowmobiles across the Ivalo

River that flows through the town. The event attracts competitors and spectators from all over Lapland.

For details of visiting the nearby resort of Saariselkä throughout the year click here. 

Turn back the clock to 1413………..

Over 4 days straight after Midsummer the heart of the town of Turku in southern Finland will turn back the clocks to the Middle Ages. The Medieval Fair will be made up of a market selling traditional crafts, activities such as jousting, knights showing their combat skills and demonstrations of traditional trades.

Jesters and musicians will be mingling with the crowds and each day in the market over a hundred actors will perform a play among the crowds.

To learn more about the event click here.