Hippalot is an arts festival especially for children. Festival offers many kinds of art experiences such as theatre, drama, arts and circus.

Hippalot –festival has been organized since 1978, so it has strong traditions in creating culture for children. The festival takes place to Arx Arts Centre, which is situated right in the centre of Hämeenlinna.

Hippalot festival has a different theme every year, and year 2009 the theme is nature. The theme will be explored through workshops, dance, theatre, visual arts and circus. The visual look of the festival is designed to be suitable for the theme. Especially the cafeteria “Café Magpie” (situated in ARX Centre) is styled to be “a calm place in the middle of the busy city”. There you can find for example a lake sight and a rock to climb on. This year Hippalot festival also has invested in recycling and reusable materials.

The programme is various including exhibitions, music, circus, workshops, theatre, etc. The international guests haven’t been forgotten: festival provides also shows and performances which doesn´t include speaking much or at all. At Hippalot festival you can enjoy for example these pieces:

Circo Aereo: Rusty Road Circus
This show is free of charge and suitable for the whole family!
Showtime: fri 31^st July, at 12am
Duration: 1 hour
Place: Hippo-stage

An old van arrives to the yard.
This simple setup provides the whole scene for this dynamic road-circus show.
Three acrobats lead the show jumping in and out of the van.

Show full of fun, action and excitement!

www.circoaereo.net

Zapshowteatre: HovHov, Denmark
This mime show is for children over 3 years
Showtime: fri 31st July, at 2pm and and 4pm
Duration: 40 minutes
Place: Verkatehdas Studio
Tickets: 7 €

A   h i l a r i o u s   s t o r y   f o r   c h i l d r e n

How big is small? Is it always best to get the biggest, or is it also possible to    squeeze something worthwhile from the smallest? Who`s fooling who? Does the wise man always fool the fool, or can the fool sometimes fool the wise man?These and other existential dilemmas will be explored through humour, music and artistry by Hovhov and Nå in a musical, and nearly nonverbal universe.

www.zapshowteatre.dk

Dance Theatre Hurjaruuth: The Song of the Snails
This wonderfull piece is for babies (0-18 months). 
Showtime: thu 30rd at 10am and 2pm
Duration: 30 minutes
Place: The city Theatre´s old main stage
Tickets: 7 € (baby + adult)

Song of Snails is a performance for babies, little people and others too. It´s based on the poem "Song of snails on their way to the funeral of the leaf of autumn" by the French poet Jacques Prévert. The visual performance features the dancer Leena Gustavson and has been directed by theatre director Arja Pettersson. The music is by Hannu Oskala and the animations and illustrations by Keanne van de Kreeken. The stage design is by Simon Le Roux and the light design is by Riku Virtanen.
Leena Gustavson portrays a gardener who has grown a tropical garden for arctic conditions. The spectators sit in the garden during the performace and have the chance to enjoy palms, paths made of sand and the events of an enchanted garden. The drawings and animations projected around the audience in a panorama move the story of the snails forward. There is time for an entire year to pass during the performance.

www.hurjaruuth.fi

The NEW, OLD, GREEN –exhibition
Place: Gallery ARX, the ARX Arts Centre, the 1st floor
Exhition is open every day during the festival from 11am to 5pm.

The exhibition deals with sustainable development in relation to architecture. It provides information and experiences in words, pictures, spaces and structures. Schoolchildren’s ideas are paralleled with the views of professionals. The visual narrative proceeds from large to small: from landscape and community to individual buildings, interiors and details. There are workshops in connection with the exhibition, and a website as well as teaching material for schools.

The exhibition was first shown at the Museum of Finnish Architecture from 15 November 2006 to 28 January 2007.

The exhibition is produced in collaboration with the Arts Council of Helsinki Metropolitan Region and The Lighthouse, Scotland as part of the EU-supported GAU:DI 2 -network.

TICKETS
If you wish to purchase tickets you can contact the Lippupalvelu ticket agency at
Tel: +358 (0)600 10800 (1,83 €/min + additional costs).

ACCOMMODATION
For accommodation there are several hotels in the City Centre, you can contact these at Hämeen Matkailu, tel: +358 (0)106172300 or info@hameenmatkailu.fi

FURTHER INFORMATION:

ARX Arts Centre

Address: Keinusaarentie 1
13200 Hämeenlinna
Finland

Tel. (03) 621 4722
email: hippalot@hameenlinna.fi