VAPPU with ESN

VAPPU - the Biggest Student Party of the Year!

Our beloved international students,

the academic year is almost over, but luckily that doesn't mean all the fun should be over! In fact one of the highlights of the whole year is just coming up, the legendary VAPPU, May Day.

What is it all about?

Being originally celebrated as the international Labour Day, in Finland Vappu has evolved more into a massive one-week binge of students, and it reaches its peak on the Vappu Eve, the 30th April, which happens to be Friday this year. Different kind of traditions take place that week (e.g. Vappu pranks, sitz parties, sports, races, fresher students thrown into the freezing river/sea, Vappu magazines etc.)

What to do, where to be?

You can start the party week by getting your overalls ready sewing all those missing patches in the ESN sewing evening. It will take place in the Student Village 3C middle floor kitchen on Wednesday 27.4. at 6-9 pm. ESN will bring the needles, threads and help to get you started and all you need to do is to bring your overalls and the patches and do the sewing yourself! You can attend even if you don't have overalls of your own, this is a nice way to socialize, too ;)

Remember also the ESN Farewell Party Thursday 28.4. 22-04 in Club Syke. Free entrance with the ESN card, free overall patch and most of all, the amazing company of your friends and ESN people from all three Turku sections. Come and say goodbye the ESN way!

On the 30th, the culmination of that crazy week, almost every student organisation in Turku has some kind of programme around the campus area. In the afternoon there will be a traditional Vappu Ball of the student association Index in front of the Educarium from 12.00 to 16.00 with live music, punch and smiley students. This is the high time to start partying if you haven't done that earlier that day!

ESN Uni Turku wants invite you all to taste the delicious ESN Vappu Punch at the Educarium yard. The punch will be served at 13. First come, first served and please bring your own mug!

But what you definitely can't miss is the grand ceremony of the Student Union of the University of Turku (TYY) starting 17.30 at the Art Museum Hill http://tinyurl.com/taidemuseo , where the Chairperson of the TYY Executive Board, Elias Laitinen, will give a speech after which everybody are allowed to put their white student caps on and some serious celebrations can start. Because the whole place will be packed, we in ESN want to take you there together with a procession to guarantee the best spots for all of us. So we will gather on top of the University Hill at 16:45 http://tinyurl.com/y2u973b ; look for the white ESN flag. Let's show the people how many international students we have here in Turku!

From the Art Museum, everyone heads down the Aurakatu to the river to gather around the statue of Lilja near the Aura bridge. Lilja then gets her student cap at around 19.00 with the help of the Student Unions. Before that, the students of dentistry clean her with their giant tooth brush, Sohon Torwet perform and the Student Unions of Turku greet the celebrating people.

Later at night, you can continue with the celebration at different bars and parties around Turku. For example the students from Turku School of Economics organize Sikavappu - that is "Pig Vappu" - you can find more information about it on their website!

On the actual Vappu day itself, the 1st of May, thousands of people gather at the Vartiovuori hill (at the intersection of Uudenmaankatu and Hämeenkatu http://tinyurl.com/vartiovuori for a massive picnic from 10.30 to 16.00 to cure their hangover and enjoy each other's company, hopefully the lovely weather, bands playing and so on. If you wanna hang out with the best possible company on that day, find the ESN flag somewhere close to the stage. Just take a blanket, something to eat and drink and join in!

NB! The first of May is a bank holiday in Finland, plus grocery stores and Alkos will be closing a bit earlier on the 30th, so make sure you'll do your shoppings well beforehand.

What to wear if I wanna do it in a traditional Finnish way?

Usually Finns, especially students, wear their overalls and after 6 p.m. those white student caps. Other people can also dress up in a carnivalistic way, so if you don't have overalls or a Finnish upper secondary school diploma (which is required for being allowed to wear those caps ;) just get a silly wig, glasses, balloons, streamer, a glass full of mead (a tradional Finnish Vappu beverage) and a doughnut in your hand, and the most important, a big smile on your face and you'll be just about perfect!

Make sure you'll be there to find out why all the Finns go crazy over this sh*t and are waiting for this date like children are waiting for Christmas... We want you all to be there and share the most spectacular day of the spring with us!

The program of TYYlikäs Vappu:

Putting on the student caps 30 April from 17.30. to 18.00. at Taidemuseonmäki (Outside the Turku Art Museum, Aurakatu)

TYY Choir
Sohon Torwet
A speech for the students (Chair of the TYY Executive Board, Elias Laitinen)
Putting on the student caps

Sohon Torwet
Washing and putting on the student cap on Lilja-statue

Vappupicnic:

1st of May from 10.30. to 15.30, the Vartiovuori hill

10.30 Sohon Torwet
11.15 Speech to spring (CEO of Turku 2011 Foundation, Cay Sevón)
11.45 TYY Choir
12.15 Winner of TYY's bandstand 'Aprillirokki'; Ukkivainaa
13.30 Yournalist
14.30 Order!Order!

21.00 Afterparty at House of Dance (Aurakatu 5, Amarillo), tickets 6e.

You can even find out some more vappu-program of TYY sub-organisations earlier in the same week. Also Åbo Akademi has some different traditions so just keep your eyes open and enjoy Vappu the best you can!

ESN Farewell Party http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=109268725779119&ref=search&sid=808320005.4177427785..1 
Wapputanssit http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=116731501677203
TYYlikäs Vappu 2010 http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=117463311603949&ref=ts
See the Finland part for more information about Vappu http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walpurgis_Night

With love,

ESN Uni Turku