In Tampere, November arrives with jazz and literature festivals. The 45th international Tampere Jazz Happening takes over the venues in the Tulli district and opens the renovated Tullikamari to the public, whereas Kirjalitta – Children’s Literature and Literary Art Festival opens up boundless worlds of texts, stories and imagination for readers and writers of all ages.
Tampere Jazz Happening
29 October–1 November 2026
Tampere Jazz Happening showcases contemporary artists from Finland’s and the international modern jazz scene. Each year, the festival features a different guest country, traditionally celebrated with a free club concert on the opening day. This year, the spotlight is on Netherjazz — talented musicians from the Netherlands, performing in groups including Neon River, Raw Fish, AWICHAS, MESTIZX, Benjamin Herman Trio ft. Tomoaki Baba and Beiggja.
This year, Tampere Jazz Happening returns to its familiar home at Tullikamari, where jazz will fill the venue from afternoon until late at night throughout the weekend. The programme at Pakkahuone opens on Friday 30 October with the presentation of the Finnish Jazz Federation’s Yrjö Award. Over the course of the festival, around 15 international groups will perform at Tullikamari, alongside Mikko Innanen’s Celebration Ensemble: Jazz Suomi 100 Nyt!, celebrating one hundred years of jazz in Finland.
Most of the festival’s other Finnish acts will perform at Telakka, where both Friday’s and Saturday’s concerts are sold out. At the Laikku Cultural Centre, audiences can still experience something intriguing in Finnish jazz. The free Saksofoni x Jokellus concerts bring together Sami Sippola’s saxophone and recorded sounds of babies and toddlers. The sound work has been created by sound designer Edit Viljamaa.
More information about the Tampere Jazz Happening programme:
https://www.tamperejazz.fi/
Kirjalitta, 9–15 November 2026
The diverse programme of the Kirjalitta festival celebrates children’s literature and the joy of reading, writing and storytelling. Now in its 12th year, the festival’s theme is “A Wild Time with Books and Animals” (in Finnish: Eläimellistä menoa).
The festival’s main event will take place at Tampere City Library Metso on Saturday 14 November. The programme features a performance by Soiva Siili, presenting songs set to children’s poems by Jukka Itkonen, and talks with authors and illustrators Henna Helmi Heinonen, Marika Riikonen, and Anni Nykänen. The programme includes also rhyme sessions, workshops, word art activities, a children’s literature quiz and the fluffy company of reading dogs.
Another highlight of the festival week is the Poetry Celebration at the Rulla Children’s Cultural Centre, inviting the youngest members of the family to enjoy animal poetry and clowning on Wednesday 11 November. The special guest in the programme is children’s author Veera Salmi, who is known for the Puluboi series. Salmi will talk about the poetry book A, B, C, kabybara lomailee, published in 2025, and create a collaborative poem with the audience.
More information about the Kirjalitta festival week programme:
https://kirjalitta.fi/
Kuva: Roni Kaspi Trio at Tampere Jazz Happening 2024, photo by Riikka Vaahtera
