28 December 2009 – 01 January 2010.

Blow away the cobwebs after all the over indulgences at Christmas with an exhilarating activity holiday in Finnish Lapland. Emagine offers two brilliant locations.

For Adults and Older teens – Hotel Harriniva

In a pretty riverside location in Lapland on the Finnish-Swedish border this holiday offers extensive activities in a beautiful setting. Enjoy a 50km snowmobile safari, a husky safari, tobogganing, visit a reindeer farm and eat lunch in a Snow Castle. See in the New Year not once but twice!

For further details click here.

For everyone – Hotel Jeris

Set deep in the forest over a frozen lake Hotel Jeris is the ideal location for those wishing to get away from it all. Accommodation is in pretty cabins set in the forest or the hotel. The holiday offers the ideal combination of exciting activity (Snowmobiling and a husky sled ride)  and free time allowing you to explore this beautiful location and to enjoy your cosy accommodation as a family. You set the pace.

For further details click here.

Finland Name their Squad for the World Cup Qualifier.

The Finland National coach Stuart Baxter has named his squad for World Cup 2010 qualifier against Wales in Cardiff on

28 March 2009.

The squad is named below (caps / international goals) 

Goalkeepers: Jussi Jääskeläinen Bolton (48/0), Niki Mäenpää Den Bosch (2/0).
     

Defenders: Veli Lampi FC Zürich (12/0), Hannu Tihinen FC Zürich (69/4), Sami Hyypiä Liverpool (96/5), Petri Pasanen Werder Bremen (49/1), Toni Kallio Fulham (44/2), Niklas Moisander Alkmaar (2/0).
     

Midfield/Strikers: Markus Heikkinen Rapid Wien (42/0), Teemu Tainio Sunderland (46/6), Roman Eremenko Kiovan Dynamo (15/0), Joonas Kolkka Breda (91/11), Mika Väyrynen Heerenveen (41/3), Roni Porokara Örebro (4/1), Aleksei Eremenko Jr Saturn Ramenskoje (35/12), Daniel Sjölund Djurgården (19/2), Jonatan Johansson Hibernian (92/17), Jari Litmanen FC Lahti (120/30), Mikael Forssell Hannover (60/18), Shefki Kuqi Crystal Palace (53/6).

Coach: Stuart Baxter.

Emagine re-introduce their popular day visits for December 2009.

Emagine have re-introduced due to popular demand their day visits to meet Santa in Finnish Lapland.

They will offer 3 departures.

19 December from London Gatwick

21 December from Manchester

23 December from Leeds Bradford.

The Emagine day visits to Meet Santa in Lapland will include:

❄ Non-Stop flights UK to Ivalo. A hot breakfast on the outbound journey and a hot dinner on the return.

❄ Private coach transfers in small groups with dedicated guides to ensure a more pleasant and enjoyable day.

❄ Special thermal outer clothing (Suit, boots,woollen socks, hat, mittens and scarf).

❄ All activites as outlined in the itinerary which include:

Reindeer Sleigh ride, Snowmobile treks, Husky sledge ride, Tandem Skiing,

Tobogganing, Ice Fishing, Crossing the Arctic Circle ceremony

❄ Meet Santa one family at a time.

❄ A hot lunch featuring traditional Finnish Christmas fare with special favourites for the children.

❄ An Arctic Circle crossing certificate and a Reindeer driving licence.

❄ A gift from Santa for everyone.

❄ All airport taxes and personal service charges.

❄ Personal Service from experienced Emagine guides

For further details click here

Enontekiö Ice Fishing weeks 24 Apr – 01 May 2009.

Emagine Santa holidays for December 2009 go on sale.

Emagine have launched their Santa Holidays in Finnish Lapland and Northern Finland for December 2009.

The holidays are for 3, 4, 5 and 6 days. They have chosen beautiful locations that really allow you to get the most from this winter wonderland. Among the many activities included in the holidays are snowmobile safaris, reindeer sled rides, ice fishing, husky safaris and tandem skiing. Most importantly they include meeting Santa, privately as a family while he rests in the forest and then once again at the Christmas dinner when he brings gifts for everyone.

Hotel Harriniva in Muonio (Hotel room accommodation)                                                                                       

A cosy family run hotel sitting on the banks of Muonio River. Over 250 kms north of the Arctic Circle. Excellent safaris from the door of the hotel. 

11-14 Dec 2009/ 19-23 Dec 2009 / 23-27 Dec 2009 / 27 Dec 2009 - 01 Jan 2010

Hotel Jeris near Muonio (Cabin and hotel room accommodation)                                                                          

An stunning location deep in the forest overlooking a frozen lake. Ideal for those wanting to combine winter activities with quality family time. 

19-23 Dec 2009 / 23-27 Dec 2009 / 27 Dec 2009 - 01 Jan 2010.

Hotel Syote Keskus, Syote (Hotel room accommodation)                                                                                   

 Set on top of a fell in Northern Finland this hotel offers a warm welcome and amazing views. Excellent family accommodation and safaris. 

18-21 Dec 2009 / 21-23 Dec 2009 / 23-27 Dec 2009. 

Hotel Iso Syote, Syote (Cabin and hotel room accommodation)    

Very popular fell top cabins and hotel in Northern Finland with breathtaking views and memorable activities.

18-21 Dec 2009 / 21-23 Dec 2009 / 23-27 Dec 2009.

Hotel Riekonlinna, Saariselka (Hotel room acommodation)     

A popular hotel located in the pretty resort in the far north of  Lapland. Excellent facilities and an exhilirating toboggan run close by. 

19-23 Dec 2009 / 23-27 Dec 2009.

Simply Saariselka                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Hotel Tunturi, Saariselka (Apartment suite and hotel room accommodation) and Hotel Holiday Club Saariselka (Hotel Room accommodation)  

The Simply Saariselka holidays offered to both hotels allow guests flexibility to design their holiday to meet their needs and budget while still experiencing the highlights of a Lapland holiday.   

19-23 Dec 2009 / 23-27 Dec 2009.       

Lapland Day visits. Due to popular demand they are also reintroducing Day Visits from London Gatwick 19 Dec 2009, Manchester 21 Dec 2009 and Leeds Bradford 23 Dec 2009.

For full details of Emagine Lapland Santa holidays click here. 

Takes place in Kemijärvi, Finnish Lapland, 3 – 5 April 2009

Finland 4 – 8 March 2009

This popular event is one the leading short film festivals in the world.  The event takes place from 4-8 March 2009 in the city of Tampere in the lakes region of Finland.

The festival puts an emphasis on documentary, fiction and animation films. There are three competitions: Finnish, International and Lab10.

Finnish competition:

This year, about 350 films were offered for the Finnish Competition.  The Finnish Competition is divided into two categories; Films over 30 minutes and films under 30 minutes.

11 films were selected in the over-30 minute category and 25 films in the under-30 minute category.

Jury for the Finnish Competition 2009 are actress Anni-Kristiina Juuso, artist Teemu Mäki, and producer Shane Smith from Canada.

The prize money for the Finnish competition is:

Under-30-minutes category main prize €5000 (Finnkino Oy) and special prize €1500.
Over-30-minutes category main prize €5000 (Oy Yleisradio Ab) and special prize €1500.

The films in both categories also compete for the Risto Jarva Award (€10.000, the Finnish Film Foundation), and for a resourse award (€3400, Digital Film Finland & Finnlab).

International Competition:

A fair 3000 films from 73 countries were offered to the International Competition. Sixty-nine films were selected. Most, 31 of them, are fiction. There are 15 animations and 19 documentaries, and four experimental films. Well known entries include: Nick Park (UK) with his new Wallace & Gromit animation, Hazim Bitar (Jordan), director collective BIF (France), and Mikhail Zheleznikov (Russia).

Jury for the International Competition are Ngo Phuong Lan (Vietnam), Mia Maike Höhne (Germany), Kristiina Pervilä (Finland), William Sloan (USA), and Montserrat Guiu Valls (Spain).

The prize money for International Competition:
Grand Prix €5000, Best Animation €1500, Best Fiction €1500, Best Documentary €1500, as well as nomination for European Short Film Awards.

The winners of the International Competition Grand Prix and the main prize for under-30-minutes in the Finnish Competition get to compete for the nomination for Best Live Action / Animated Short Film

LAB1O Competition

LAB1O Competition, characterized by films that stretch the limits of cinematic expression, launched in 2008. This year 19 films were selected, and they will be divided into three screenings.

Jury for the LAB1O Competition are director of the Mumiá Underground Worldwide Animation Festival Sávio Leite (Brazil), executive manager at Espoo Ciné Jenni Ukkonen (Finland), and program manager at Finnkino Toni Lähteinen (Finland).

Prizes for the LAB1O Competition:
Main prize €2000.

In addition, all competitions have honorary awards and audience awards. The Finnish Competition also has a youth jury award and a student award.

For full details of the competition and festival click here. 

16 – 19 Dec free child place if booked by 10 November 2008*.

A free child place when travelling with two adults to the beautiful Hotel Jeris in Finnish Lapland.  Offer applies on 16 – 19 Dec 2008 departure from London Gatwick.

A choice of accommodation in hotel rooms and lovely cabins. Cabins all have a private sauna.

The holiday includes a snowmobile safari, husky safari, reindeer rides and meeting Santa twice; once as a family and once again at the Christmas party. The holiday also includes full board and upon arrival you will be provided with outer clothing (Outer thermal suit, boots, mitts, balaclava and thick socks) for the duration of your stay.

For full holiday details and prices click here.

* subject to availability.