Dear participant of IV International Kantele Competition (5th to 7th of May, Kaustinen, Finland),

There are 62 groups registrated in the competition, great! You are very welcome to Kaustinen! Preliminary categories and amounts of ensembles are:

Professional category: folk music and other music: 4
Professional category: art music: 5
Open category: other music: 11 (small ensembles: 7, big ensembles: 4)
Open category: folk music: 6
Open category: art music: 5
KanteleKimara (children’s happening): 11 (1st-4th grade: 6, 5th to 6th grade 5)
Youth category: folk music and other music: 9
Youth category: art music: 11 (small ensembles: 8, big ensembles 3)

The timetable is not finished yet but I can tell you that on Saturday 6th of May there will be KanteleKimara, youth categories and professional categories. At the end of Saturday there is the concert and giving out prizes for KanteleKimara and youth categories (also rankings for youth categories). On Sunday there will be open categories and the final concert where the prizes and rankings will be revealed for open and professional categories. We will try to arrenge Saturday’s timetable so that we will finish the day by 7pm o’clock and on Sunday by 6pm already.

I ask you kindly to email me your preliminary needs and/or wishes concerning accommodation and transportation (deadline 29th of January, kilpailut@kantele.net). You will find details below. If it is possible, please answer in one email for each proup, not personally, because  we have over 300 persons participating.

Accommodation:

How many nights (and when) will you be staying in Kaustinen? How many people? What ind of accommodation is preferred (hotel, dormitory, mattresses in a classroom, etc.)? The accommodation costs will be covered by the participant. I will forward this information to the local operator who is finding out our options for accommodation. Because Kaustinen is a small commune  we will probably be using also the surrounding areas and arrange a transportation to the venue, Folk Art’s Centre.

You don’t yet have to commit to anything but we have to know about your needs beforehand so that we will have enough room for everyone. If you prefer staying in group accomodation in a classroom, we will provide for the mattress, blanket and pillow but you have to bring your own linen.

If your group has already an accommodation you don’t have to inform me about your needs. If you are however staying in Kokkola and you wish to participate in shared transortation to Kaustinen and back, please inform me about it as a reply to this message

Transportation:

We have reserved one bus with 60 seats. If there are more people willing to participate in the transportation we can reserve another one. Please reply to this message stating how many seats you would like to have in a bus from Helsinki to Kaustinen and back. This  is a preliminary reservation, the final one has to be made by 28th of February. Bus will be leaving from centre of Helsinki at 4pm on 5th of May (spesific location will be stated later) and we will be coming back late on 7th of May because the bus leave only after the final concert, about 6pm. Estimated prize for the bus is 30 to 40 euros per person depending on how full the bus is. It is also possible to hop on somewhere from the bus route. Please note thet the prize will be the same for everyone regardless of the plaze where you get in the bus.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to ask! I am on a vacation from 23rd to 29th of January and I will answer your emails after that.

P.S. We have received the new applications for Kantele Association’s membership eventhough the applicant receives no message of verification, so don’t worry. We will send invoices in the end of January.