Oulu’s newest festival does not announce its performers in advance, and does not intend to do so in the future – this is an experience-based event

/ Culture

The Taikasaari event featured, for example, medieval combat sports and mythical creatures.

Star motor performs on a small stage.
Producer/dj Tähtimotori thrives in the shadier alleys of machine music. He performed twice during the evening.

Oulu’s summer full of events got one more festival this weekend. A new type of Taikasaari event was organized in Lammassaari, whose performers were not announced in advance.

– We wanted people to come there for the experience, not after big artists.

In addition to music, Taikasaari featured, for example, various dance performances, medieval combat sports, mythical creatures and a fortune teller.

There were about 30 different performances in total.

– The event featured performers that are not normally seen at festivals. At the same time, we brought new names to people’s awareness.

An artist called Hämy performs on the main stage of Taikasaari.
Oulu artist Aki Vähäsarja aka Hämy on stage playing ethnic rock music.
Light show during the performance.
The performances were accompanied by a light show.
People are watching the show.
The audience did not know the evening’s program in advance.
Yasmine ry performed on stage.
Performers of Yasmine of Oulu Eastern Dance Association on stage.
Lalalow performed on a small stage in Taikasaari.
The electronic pop duo Lalalow performed on the small stage of Taikasaari.
In Taikasaari, you can also feel like a wandering and wild forest spirit, from Saagasi Events.
The romping and wild forest spirit of the program service company Saagasi Events entertained the audience.

Around 550 guests visited Taikasaari. The goal was about a thousand visitors.

– We took a conscious risk, because in practice the people who bought the ticket bought a pig in a sack. It was also difficult to market the event in advance due to its nature, says Pajunen.

Lanas and Pajunen organized the event without external financial support.

Despite the losses, they plan to organize the event next year as well, but bigger. Then there should be no more marketing problems.

According to Pajunen, Lammassaari can accommodate a maximum of 1,500 visitors, so there is no intention of making it a big event.

– We received a lot of good feedback from the audience and that encourages us to continue.

The public watches the performance at the Taikasaari event in Lammassaari.
In addition to the lights, the atmosphere was created with smoke.
People line up for a fortune teller.
Queues formed only at the fortune teller.
The performers on stage were Uleåborg Fighting Cocks from Buhurt.
Uleåborg Fighting Cocks’ performance featured the medieval combat sport buhurt.
Effort had been made in the details of the lighting.
The event was organized entirely by local forces. All the performers were also from the Oulu area.