KASSU HALONEN ART HOUSE

The Art House, which was named after the Finnish pop music composer, the phenomenal 'hit maker' Kassu Halonen, was opened in the summer of 2000. The new centre was designed to promote Finnish popular and folk music as well as traditional craftsmanship including also a lot of courses and concerts on its program. Children and adults are offered musical entertainment and education in combination with sports, adventure and recreation. In the Art House premises there is a restaurant with delicious menus composed by Kassu himself.

Location
The Art House is located on an island (75 km2 in size) called Manamansalo, in the Oulujärvi lake in the north of Finland. The closest cities are Kajaani at a distance of about 85 kilometres, and Oulu at some 130 kilometres from the Art House. Every year the beautiful island is visited by 60.000 tourists. The Kassu Halonen Art House exhibitions are well worth a visit too! The café & restaurant provides a variety of delicacies to everyone's taste, not to mention the souvenir shop where you can find a lot of small, very Finnish pieces of handicraft as well as fine samples of Kassu´s large production.

Art House events
The permanent exhibition in the Art House Museum, that portrays Kassu Halonen's career and sums up his production to date, will be open all summer. In addition, you can admire the prizes and awards won by Kirka, one of the country's most beloved singers.

Moreover the Kassu Halonen Art House arranges concerts and pop music festivals where not only the established stars perform their pieces but where also rising stars are allowed to show their skills. The traditional Manamansalo festival in July will be a great forum for Finnish popular music, already for the 15th time.

Furthermore the Art House offers facilities for different kinds of venues. Meetings, conferences and other events can be arranged here in a quiet and harmonic atmosphere, far away from the noise of hectic cities. The beautiful landscape forms the most fascinating frames for all events and the personnel of the Art House will do their utmost to give you the best of service!

The Art House building, finished in the spring of 2000, is a masterpiece of Finnish wooden architecture and was therefore chosen as one of the official destinations of the Kajaani Housing Exhibition 2001.

Accomodation
The holiday village of 'Kultahiekat' on the golden sand shore of Oulujärvi lake is an attractive camping site with accomodation possibilities in small private loghouses for some 60 persons, 3 km away from the Art House.

How to find the Kassu Halonen Art House?
Airborne visitors can choose to fly either to Kajaani or Oulu. The airports of both cities are at a 1- hour distance by car. The road connections are good and the Manamansalo island can be reached either by a bridge or ferry boat.

For further information, please contact
Kassu Halonen Art House
Puh. +358-8-874 202
Fax +358-8-8744 212
e-mail: kassuh@saunalahti.fi
Address: Kivarinperäntie 24
88340 Manamansalo
Finland

OULUJÄRVI

Known locally as ”Kainuu’s Sea”, Lake Oulujärvi boasts Finland’s largest expanses of open water, Ärjänselkä and Niskanselkä.

The breadth of L. Oulujärvi from east to west is approximately 70 km and it’s length from north to south is some 30 km. The lake is divided into two parts by the spectacular Manamansalo island. There are few other islands on the lake. Those that are found are generally ”oases” with raised sandy banks and shores where Scots pine grows and pale hued lichens strew the ground. The average depth of the lake is about 7 metres, the deepest parts of Ärjänselkä descending to 38 metres.

The waters of L. Oulujärvi are gathered from Hyrynsalmi and Sotkamo waterway routes of the northern and eastern borders of Kainuu. The major rivers are R. Emäjoki (R. Kiehimänjoki), flowing through northern Kainuu, and the R. Kajaaninjoki coming from the eastern border. Lying at around 120 metres above sea level, the lake is regulated, but over several decades its fish stocks have grown used to the fluctuating water level. The river draining out of L Oulujärvi is the R. Oulujoki. Oulujärvi freezes over on average early November, thawing in mid May.