Rare sand animation is part of Espoo’s Children's Weekend programme
The programme of the sixth Children’s Weekend includes the Oscar-winning animated film Flow, children’s music group Meritta and Sekometelisoppa – which is a Jellona Gala nominee – a rare sand animation and plenty of other events for the whole family all around Espoo. This year’s artist is poet Harri Hertell.
Children’s Weekend at Espoo’s cultural centres and libraries will once again bring joy to the darkest time of the year at the end of November: 20–22 November 2026. As in previous years, Espoo will be filled with children’s culture and events. Children’s Weekend will begin with the Joyful flag raising at Children’s Cultural Centre Aurora on 20 November.
Children are open-minded poets
Since 2025, the Children’s Weekend has highlighted a field of art that changes each year. Last year visual artist Anna Salmisalo designed a new creative look for Children’s Weekend. This year, the focus is on poetry and literary art, as poet Harri Hertell inspires children to write poetry.
“The thing I really enjoy about working with children is how they seem to lack the prejudices sometimes associated with poetry. Children get excited about poetry, because writing poems gives them a chance to let their imagination run wild and play with words,” says Hertell, who has been running poetry workshops for over a decade.
At the Children's Cultural Centre Aurora, children can write poetic New Year's speeches with an adult according to Hertell's instructions.
“My dream and my goal is to get children to describe how Finnish society looks like to them right now and what they hope it will provide in the future. All of this can happen through storytelling and poetry. I hope that as many adults as possible would start reading poems to children from as young an age as possible. Poems are a game of words, language and thoughts that is good for people of all ages,” adds Hertell.
Harri Hertell received the Uusimaa Art Prize in 2021(external link, opens in a new window) for his work to promote spoken word poetry and he has also led poetry projects for children and young people in the past. Hertell says that he has previously met children from Espoo in connection with his book Absurdit aakkoset (Absurd Alphabet).
Oscar-winning animation at Kannusali
The Children’s Weekend programme at Kannusali includes the award-winning animated adventure film Flow, in which animals get to behave the way they do in the wild. Scheduled for presentation on 22 November, Flow (for over 7-year-olds) has received Oscar and Golden Globe awards for best animated film (2025).
Jellona Gala nominee at Children’s Cultural Centre Aurora
The Meritta ja Sekometelisoppa concert for the whole family will be held at Aurora on 22 November. This is worth a visit, because the group has been nominated in the artist/group of the year category at the 2026 Jellona Gala.
The Jellona Gala celebrates children’s music creators on 20 November, which is Children’s Music Day.
Rare sand animation
Children’s Weekend will also include a rare field of art: Planeetta nimeltä Maa is a performance for the whole family that combines sand animation, puppet theatre and beautiful music into a captivating story. It is a collaboration between puppet theatre artist Terhi Tuomikko, sand animation artist Amadeu Vives and composer Marko Häkkinen that encourages people to believe in the future and the goodness of people.
The performance will be held in the cosy Meijeri building at Children's Cultural Centre Aurora on Saturday 21 November, and is intended for families with children aged 5 and older.
The audience is the judge
On Saturday 21 November, Espoo Cultural Centre will host the interactive Aikasoppa performance, where the audience will be the judge! On the following day, Exhibition Centre WeeGee, located near the Cultural Centre in Tapiola, will be hosting WeeGee’s Children’s Book Bash. The venue will be filled with children’s literature, workshops and performances.
The Saturday of Children’s Weekend will be Family Day at the Tapiola and Iso Omena libraries and Children’s Saturday at Entresse Library.
See the full Children’s Weekend programme on the Children’s Weekend website LINK
The event organisers include the Espoo Cultural Centre, Sello Hall, Exhibition Centre WeeGee, Kannusali, Children’s Cultural Centre Aurora, Vindängen, Espoo City Library and the Espoonlahti cultural project.
Children’s audio installation
Members of the Association of Children’s Culture in Finland from across the country will present a new Kuule minua! (Hear me) audio installation during Children’s Rights Week on 16–22 November 2026. This work of art was created with children’s voices, bringing together the thoughts and stories of children about things that are important to all of us around Finland. The Kuule minua audio installation was produced by Children’s Cultural Centre Aurora in Espoo, and the campaign was coordinated by the Association of Children’s Culture in Finland. Kuule minua! – audio installation – Association of Children’s Culture in Finland(external link, opens in a new window)