Stories

Idän Taiga Association – Developing Kalevala for the International Tourist.

The Idän Taiga association has about 60 member companies mainly located in Kuhmo and Suomussalmi areas in Eastern Kainuu, marketed under the Wild Taiga brand name. The network of member companies offer opportunities to hike in magnificent, unspoiled nature, watch and photograph wildlife, and also enjoy cultural activities.

Our Literary Tourism Plans:

The network of member companies participating in The Spot-lit Literary Product Innovation Programme have begun work on the development of activities for both domestic and foreign tourists. The activities will bring the Kalevala to life across a range of products and services and support the newly established status of Kuhmo city as a UNESCO City of Literature. Find Out More HERE.

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Veikko Huovinen Society.

Veikko Huovinen (1927 –2009) was a novelist who lived in Sotkamo in the Kainuu region. He was trained as a forester and practised this profession from 1953 to 1956, he then began a career as a writer. His writing is known for its realism, pacifism, sharp intellect, and especially a peculiar humour, Huovinen observed and analysed the world closely, often through satire.

Our Literary Tourism Plans:

The sites related to Huovinen in Sotkamo include his grave found in Sotkamo, as well as a statue “Havukka-ahon ajattelija’ by artist Nina Terno and a memorial forest dedicated for him. The Huovinen society also arranges many kinds of annual activities. A replica of his study is open to the public in summertime where items from his original office can be viewed.

Veikko Huovinen society plans to further develop the study of Veikko Huovinen and offer year-round activities. New guided tours based on storytelling will be launched with partners. Connected to this process is also raising awareness of the forgotten writers Heikki Meriläinen and Viena Korhonen of Sotkamo. Find Out More HERE.

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Culture Cooperative G-voima & Vaara Collective: Developing a Dramatic Eino Leino Product Family.

Cultural cooperative G-voima was founded in 2006. Vaara-collective is a performing arts collective founded in 2014, producing high quality creative performing and applied art locally and nationally.

Our home base is at Generaattori (in English, “the Generator”) house of performing arts situated in the centre of Kajaani. Generaattori is managed by G-Voima and the space is shared by contemporary dance production group Routa Company, Kajaani Amateur Theatre and Vaara-Collective. Our operations are quite diverse, annually producing 5-10 theatre and dance premieres, guest performances, residencies, training, concerts, discussion events and other events.

Our Literary Tourism Plans:

In summer 2019, we launched our first Literary Tourism product; the Eino Leino cruise on The SS Kouta, a Finnish steamship built in 1920, with actor Sami Sainio in charachter as the late poet Eino Leino. The cruise will be offered for the full summer 2020 season. (Due to the ship capacity, numbers are limited.)

We plan to develop a full product family related to the famous Finnish poet Eino Leino, suitable for different environments and audiences. We are partnering with Luonnollisesti Oulujärvi LP, a small family business offering nature-related recreation and excursion packages in the fascinating surroundings of Lake Oulujärvi . Finland’s fourth largest lake, it offers, among other things, Finland’s largest inland backs, shallow sandy beaches and clean water.

We welcome other potential partners to join with us in developing the Eino Leino product family.

Contact us:

  • Our premises are located at address Kauppakatu 36, 87100 Kajaani
  • Visit vaarakollektiivi.fi and follow us on www.facebook.com/vaarakollektiivi
  • The key contacts related to Spot-lit Literary Tourism product development at the organisation are Chair of the board/ Event producer Veikko Leinonen and actor Sami Sainio.

Kainuun Opisto Oy – Cultural Trips in the Footsteps of the Kalevala.

Kainuun Opisto is a community college and course centre open to all. The institution is located in Paltamo, on the shores of Lake Oulujärvi. They offer conference and training services, facilities for parties as well as accommodation and catering services. The story of the institution goes back more than 100 years.

Our Literary Tourism Plans:

Tours of 1-4 days to destinations around Kainuu region that Elias Lönnrot visited when he was the district doctor and was collecting the poems for the Finnish national epic The Kalevala. Combining literature with culture, landscapes and nature bringing the tourists a broader understanding of the literature. In addition to culture (music, theatre) and literature, the tour products will involve different experiences such as wellness, exercise, traditional medicine (Kalevala style), nature experiences etc. Transport, accommodation and meals will also be arranged.

The products are targeted both for domestic and international audience, since the work of Elias Lönnrot has given inspiration to international authors, artists and other national epics.

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“VIENA – Epic Kalevala Adventure”.

In spring of 2020, Spot-lit project partners in Kainuu, Finland selected seven product development ideas related to literary tourism for development and funding. Today, we are showcasing the seven selected Finnish organisations participating in the Literary Product Innovation Programme (LT-PIP).

Vienan Portti Oy as one of the seven applicants received support for the development of the free, adventure mobile game “VIENA – Epic Kalevala Adventure”.

The game is based on kalevala’s stories and authentic local history and sites in the poetry villages of  Viena Karelia. The starting point for the design of the game was to make the themes and items it presented known and to attract interest in them, thereby also increasing the tourist potential of the region. In collaboration with Vienan Portti Oy, the game has been completed by Kajak Games Osk, run by students from Kajaani University of Applied Sciences, and its internal game team Radical Red Games.

The game is made in Finnish and English and is available for free download on Android 10 mobile devices from the Google Play store.  Find Out More HERE.

Dark Sky Pages.

Dark Sky Pages is a home-based small business in Wigtown, run by Gillian Hamnett. Gillian provides commercial and editorial services to the literature sector on a freelance basis. She supports bookshops, writers, publishers and literary festivals and her services include bookselling, consulting, proofreading and copy-editing. She also runs a book group, and in time expects to offer bookseller training and a micro writing retreat, all of which will accompany ‘Stellar Words’, a new Spot-lit funded annual event.

Stellar Words will be an annual publishers’ fair held in Wigtown, Scotland’s National Book Town. Petite presses, large independent publishers, pamphlets, periodicals, journals, zines and book ephemera will all be showcased during an informal sales fair. This will start as a one-day commercial event open to the public and grow into a weekend-long feature of the Scottish and UK literary calendar, with a light programme of activities connected to writing, publishing and bookselling.

Strabane Business Improvement District – Flann O’Brien Literary Programme.

Strabane BID Company was set up in 2016 to increase the prosperity of Strabane town by delivering a programme of events and supports to encourage people to live, shop and visit the town. This is delivered via three strands – supporting local businesses, accessing finance and delivering an arts and culture calendar of events for the town. In addition to supporting local musicians and artists through our annual festivals and events, it was recognised that further development was needed on the literary tourism offering. Strabane has a rich culture of poets and literary greats, including the greatly talented and globally celebrated Flann O’Brien and the Strabane BID wanted to celebrate his work and showcase his heritage.

With support from the Spot-lit project, a programme of events will be developed to celebrate Flann O’Brien and his work. This project has the potential to become a very significant cultural tourism product for Strabane as Brian O’Nolan / Flann O’Brien / Myles Na Gcopaleen is a literary figure of international renown and his birth place originates within the Bowling Green Square of Strabane Town.  It is envisaged that the project programme will be launched in October as this is the month of Brian O’Nolans birth and will be hosted in various venues across Strabane Town. These connections will be explored and exploited through music, drama, heritage and discussion.  A programme of literary initiatives will be developed to celebrate the life of Flann O’Brien (Myles Na Gcopaleen) and his world-renowned works. These will build on the grass roots appreciation of the author, as well as developing school and community group workshops, and completing a hiking trail.

 

The Bookshop Band.

The Bookshop Band is a musical duo, formed ten years ago as a creative collaboration with an award-winning independent bookshop called Mr B’s Emporium of Reading Delights. They write songs inspired by books and have toured extensively across bookshops in the UK, Europe and North America, and have released thirteen studio albums. Ben and Beth moved to Dumfries and Galloway in 2017.

Their project is to write and record an album of songs inspired by children’s literature in Scotland, both classic and contemporary, including the famous story of Peter Pan, which has direct links to Dumfries and Moat Brae. The album will be produced in a way that may be adapted for performance and also as a self-run educational and fun activity for children’s groups.

 

The Armagh Rhymers Literary Trail.

Based on a piece of original art by Dara Vallely, ‘Macha, The Horse Goddess’ The Armagh Literary Trail takes you through some of the most important literary locations in and around Armagh City, told through the work of the Rhymers.
Each icon featured on Macha represents a different literary location around Armagh, click through to read more about them and how they have featured in or influenced the work of the Rhymers. Play videos of Rhymers performances at that location or listen to audio recordings of poetry or music.
👁️ The Eye represents Aonach Mhacha the cultural hub based in the historic shambles which is home to the Armagh Rhymers.
👑 Brian Boru’s crown leads you to the walls of St Patrick’s Church of Ireland cathedral which stands next to the Robinson Library.
🎵 Musicians play their tunes, whether on the bodhrán, the uilleann pipes or the Lambeg Drum, telling stories passed down through the ages.
⛪ The Holy Man takes you to Armagh’s famous cathedrals and St Patrick’s College alumnus John Montague who wrote of his time as a boarder in the school.
🌠 The astronomer looks to the skies to tell his story, as John Hewitt wrote “Over us all is the self-same sky and who shall mock at the steadfast stone.”
⚔️ The chariot takes you to ancient Emain Macha and the Horse Goddess from whom Armagh got it’s name.
🥁 The Lambeg Drummer represents Orange Heritage and the Mumming & Drumming project.
🍎 The orchard celebrates the Orchard county and the Wassail, Blossom & Load.
🖊️And of course, the writer who holds a pen in one hand and a mirror in the other, reflecting the vibrant literary heritage that continues in Armagh to this day. 
Follow the Literary Trail HERE
Courtesy of  The Armagh Rhymers.
This project was developed as part of the spot-lit.eu program.

Lurgan & North Armagh George Russell Festival Society (GRFS)

The Society runs an Annual Festival in Lurgan, County Armagh centred around the heritage of George Russell – better known as ‘A.E.’.

Russell, from Lurgan, was one of Ireland’s most important public figures over the period 1895-1930, a celebrated writer, poet and painter. He became the intellectual powerhouse of his time and the key figure in Ireland’s cultural revival.

The festival includes various talks and a historic walking tour as well as poetry readings and ‘open mic’ nights. As Russell was a fantastic artist as well as poet, author, editor and publisher, the Festival includes exhibitions of his art.

The Spot-lit helped to build the AE Annual Festival in Lurgan to be a successful and sustainable literary tourism offering. The first step was to establish a strong online presence. Spot-lit also helped to create a literary hub based on AE’s myriad literary connections within a 20-30 mile radius of Lurgan working with the support of the John Hewitt Society.

Partners:

 

Associate Partners: