City News

In terms of breadth and scope, the Helsinki Festival (August 14-30; helsinginjuhlaviikot.fi) has no parallel in the Nordic countries. For two whole weeks, dance, theatre, music, circus and numerous other creative media performances will be held at various venues throughout the Finnish capital. Among the expected highlights are the guest performances by teatr.doc of Moscow, which is one of the few Russian theatres to analyze events in the country in a directly documental manner and without censorship. teatr.doc will be putting on two shows in Helsinki: 150 Reasons Not to Defend the Motherland and Bolotnaya Square Case, the latter concerning a criminal case regarding a mass demonstration in Moscow in 2012.
The festival also provides a unique insight into modern Chinese art, with performances of one of the country’s most popular ballets The Red Detachment of Women, a kite festival and a 25-hour underground art marathon titled 25x25 – Close Encounter.
Anthology of Finnish Fashion. Photo: Paavo Lehtonen
The Helsinki Design Museum, for its part, is hailing Finnish fashion from an unusual standpoint. While the sources of inspiration for many designers around the world are practically endless, in Finnish design the main inspiration has traditionally been… winter. The Anthology of Finnish Fashion is thus offering a wintry look at the history of Finnish fashion from the 1950s to the present (until September 20; Korkeavuorenkatu 23; designmuseum.fi).
Block by Dylan. Photo: Pauliina Salonen
Those who wish to experience a special aspect of Helsinki’s vibrancy should head straight to the city port. With its ferries, ships, yachts, fishing boats, seafood market and throngs of both locals and tourists mixing together in a sea of colour, the port is a destination in itself. If at one point you wish to take refuge from the screeching and perpetually hungry seagulls overhead – who seem to know nothing about Scandinavian reserved manners – then there is hardly a better place to go than Block by Dylan (Eteläranta 18; dylan.fi/block), which recently opened its doors in the port territory. Owned by well-known Finnish restaurateur Kim Heiniö, it is the fifth branch of this growing chain of restaurants offering affordable fare. The design is laconically Scandinavian, with the ascetic atmosphere being punctuated by a few bright accents of colour and amusing interior details.
Intro photo: Anthology of Finnish Fashion. Photo: Paavo Lehtonen