Learn how to express feelings in new event for families with children

The Festival of Emotions offers free events for local families with children, such as theatre performances, music, visual arts, storytelling, and workshops. In the performances and workshops of various artists, we examine, among other things, where curiosity, joy, love, determination, and enthusiasm reside?

Public events in the Drama Hall auditorium of the main library:

• Performance workshops are arranged from 17:00 to 18:30 on Monday 6 March, Tuesday 7 March, and Wednesday 8 March.
• Dinner event for international families living in Vaasa from 17:00 to 20:00 on Thursday 9 March. Experience a stand -up comedy on Finnish SISU and share your stories at the open mic event. Children can participate in art and craft projects in Studio of Emotions.
• Learn about pantomime and the expression of feelings together with theatre pedagogues from Novia from 17:00 to 18:30 on Friday 10 March.

Pilot project in the background

The background of the festival is a pilot project that started last autumn, which has been implemented in schools and daycare centres in Vaasa under the leadership of cultural director Thomas Velissaris. In the programme, which includes creative pedagogy and theatre education, the expression of basic emotions has been practised through, among other things, pantomime performances and workshops.

The schools that have participated in the project are three classes from Onkilahden yhtenäiskoulu, six classes from Suvilahden koulu, one class from Vaasan Rudolf Steiner- koulu and students from Vamia.

– Children and students made visual art such as drawings, paintings and videos based on the idea of what it would look like if emotions had their own country. In some classes we didn’t have a common language, so we used pantomime for communication, says Thomas Velissaris.

Pupils perform for each other

During the festival, the pupils of the schools involved together with Thomas Velissaris, culture pedagogue Sanna Asikainen and Heli Säde, present a performance and hold a workshop, which is streamed to all the schools in Vaasa for the pupils to follow.

– During three days, we also have a connection with three Greek classes, and they present a project based on creative pedagogy, says Velissaris.

Teachers, pedagogues and education professionals also have their own workshop, which will take place from 12:00 to 14:00 on Friday 10 March in the Drama Hall auditorium.