Helsinki Day at Stoa: Helsinki Circus Festival Preview Party

Pro sirkus organizes a preview party for the Helsinki Circus Festival on Stoa's square on Helsinki Day from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Admission is free.

Performers include Blind Gut Company with the show Viihdy! Viihdy! Viihdy!, Olli Vuorinen / Nuua Company, Kalle Lehto / Race Horse Company, Haidi Ilona / Fragile collective, and juggler Leo Kaipiainen, who hosts the event. Blind Gut Company's street circus performance brings the old tradition of jesters into the present day: audiences can order various circus experiences, such as acrobatics, juggling, and interactive tricks. Kalle Lehto performs acrobatics with a gym ball and hobby horses. Olli Vuorinen takes the audience into an abstract juggling work where the repetitive movement of rings and slowly building patterns form a meditative whole. Haidi Ilona performs solo pieces on aerial trapeze and spiral, combining contemporary dance and aerial acrobatics.

The square also hosts several workshops: Chloé Mahy-Hulk's plasticine modeling of balance art (Finnish, English, and French), Greta Isola's stick-puppet carnival workshop using collage technique (suitable for children over 4), Sirkus Magenta's circus skills (juggling, ring, balance board, handstand), and Kiksu the clown's giant soap bubbles. The Adventure Art School arrives on the Summer Art Bike: colorful flying butterflies are made from origami paper.

At the Itäkeskus Library booth, visitors can spin a wheel of fortune and choose a withdrawn book as a prize; the library also features a circus-themed book exhibition until 6 p.m. In Stoa's gallery, the exhibition Relationships with Nature opens the same evening from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., featuring works by the KATOAVA collective, Olli Kaukonen Lindholm, Lauri Lähteenmäki, Minttu Pyykkönen, and Emiel Riiko.