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Kisses and mulled wine!
The Kissing Bench is located on the pedestrian street next to the entrance to the former Hotel Hospits Betel (now Scandic Plaza), designed by Architect Erik Bryggman. This charming little nook gives you the chance to enjoy each other’s company and capture the moment in a beautiful photograph. Take a photo on the Kissing Bench and show it at Bryggman’s Restaurant – you will get two portions of non-alcoholic mulled wine for the price of one until the end of the year! You can take a seat on the Kissing Bench until Valentine’s Day, 14 February 2025.
Children's Christmas Weekend brings holiday joy to the city center
Turku’s city center has a festive weekend on December 13–15, featuring programs designed for children, families, and those young at heart. Events will take place at various locations throughout the city center.
Children's Christmas Weekend locations:
Christmas Land at Hansatori, December 13–15
Daily schedule and program:
Christmas in the city center is full of magic and experiences
The Grand Opening of Christmas marks the beginning of the Christmas season in Turku city center on November 30, when the lights of the Christmas tree at the Cathedral Square are lit, and the traditional Christmas parade heads towards Yliopistonkatu. The opening also kicks off the holiday season in shopping centers, which host their own festive programs. You can also enjoy the warm atmosphere at the Old Great Square's Christmas every weekend until December 15.
Rising from the courtyard of Hotel Kakola, Sleep of Light is a light installation that features an enormous blue light beam cutting through the sky. This majestic beam symbolises the intersection of sleep and reality, inviting the viewer into a realm of tranquillity and rest. The depth of the blue shade reflects the quiet power that links the terrestrial and the celestial, as well as sleep and light.
Step aboard the ferry, where rhythm and lights unite!
Turku’s iconic river ferry Föri is no longer just a means of transport, but also an unforgettable dance stage right at the heart of the river! On the river ferry, music throbs with a rhythmic pulse, while a disco ball dazzles like a star in the dark of night. It takes only two minutes to cross the river on Föri, but this trip is full of joy and dancing.
The bay barnacle, merirokko in Finnish, which is the most prevalent non-native species in the Baltic Sea, has made its way onto land and started to colonise the structures of the Forum Marinum Maritime Centre. When dusk falls, the growth of this true marine monster emits a vibrant green light.
Love You too!, or Niin määki sua! in the Turku dialect, is a symbol of love for Turku and one of its most beautiful streets.
Oumua is a six-metre-high and ten-metre-wide three-dimensional artwork combining light and sound. It was named after the first known interstellar object to pass through the Solar System (1I/2017 U1). Oumua is a scout or messenger sent to us from a distant past.
“I want to show people just how much we take our vision for granted”
Rays of Light consists of hundreds of thin fluorescent lines. When the UV light hits the lines, they seem to turn into pure rays of light. This allows the viewer to focus on the beam of light itself, rather than on any specific object it illuminates.
The Rays of Light was made for the Joensuu Visual Festival in 2023. Frank is now creating a new version of it over the River Aura, designed specifically for Turku.
With more than two decades of experience in organising events, Tuomo Lehikoinen is a multi-expert in event production. Check This is Lehikoinen’s debut piece in light art, and it has already been presented at several events around Finland. The work is based on ultraviolet lights and fluorescent wires.
