What makes the spring festival Yläkaupungin Yö meaningful to the people of Jyväskylä?

As you walk along Kauppakatu towards the Seminaarinmäki university campus, you may find yourself climbing a steep hill all the way up. Before long, you'll come across interesting boutiques, street art and galleries, and legendary cafés. You've arrived in yläkaupunki (the Upper Town).

Jyväskylä's Upper Town caters to your cultural appetite all year round, but in May the city comes alive in a truly unique way. It's the Yläkaupungin Yö, a weekend-long city festival that's completely free of charge.

The festival started back in the early 1990s as an initiative of students at the University of Jyväskylä, but has since expanded into a joint celebration for all residents of the city. Hundreds of performances and an entire city festival do not come out of nowhere, but are the result of dozens of volunteers, artists and trustees who donate their time and expertise for the benefit of Jyväskylä as a whole. What is it that makes them get excited about the Yläkaupungin Yö year after year?

Image

Pauli Hytölä, volunteer:

"A milestone of spring, the right reference point in Jyväskylä's spring. A good start for the beginning of the summer."

This is how Pauli Hytölä, who has been a trusted supporter of the Yläkaupungin Yö event since 2013, describes it. Since the beginning, his main volunteer job has been driving a van, but he also works as a roofer and electrician when needed.

Hytölä, who describes himself as a "background hero", still remembers his first day of volunteering more than ten years ago. His very first task was to get behind the wheel of a van, but the car refused to move from the university car park. There have been many more such incidents over the years, but they have always been overcome.

It's not worth asking this hero for tips on where to go, as he's not in the habit of checking out the festival programme beforehand.
"General, aimless rambling pays off. It's the great atmosphere of the festival that gets you going."

Piia Pirkola, musician:

Musician Piia Pirkola says she is a true uptowner, who writes songs at the Vakiopaine bar and enjoys greeting familiar faces on the street. She considers the Yläkaupungin Yö event to be one of the best weekends of the year.

"Yläkaupungin Yö is the heart of Jyväskylä. A new city centre is born."

Last year, Pirkola founded a band called Sumukuu, whose music he calls "the Upper Town Indie." According to the musician, it is a genre that is easily overshadowed by Jyväskylä's prestigious rap scene.

Fortunately, Yläkaupungin Yö is a night of both rap and indie, and Sumukuu will also take to the stage at the prestigious Ilokivi venue on Saturday at 22:30. The show will feature tracks from Sumukuu's debut album, aptly titled Kaupungin kadut.

"You'll definitely dance, you'll definitely cry," Pirkola promises.

Anniina Hartikainen, the chairwoman of the Yläkaupungin Yö Association

Anniina Hartikainen describes the Yläkaupungin Yö festival as a real cornucopia. In addition to diversity, she considers the festival's accessibility to be important, which has been an important value throughout the history of Yläkaupungin Yö.

"The festival was founded during the recession in 1992. The spirit of the time may have been to have a multi-arts festival that was open and accessible to all. The thickness of your wallet doesn't matter."

You can learn more about the history of Yläkaupungin Yö in the festival's history book, which will be published at the university library on Saturday at 16:20. It's Hartikainen's only must-go for the festival weekend - the rest of the time he relies on the power of aimless wandering.

"It's quite extraordinary that an event of this size is organised free of charge and with such high quality. The whole event exudes such a good Jyväskylä spirit." Hartikainen sums up.