The Dálvemánnu Festival brings together Sámi artists and creatives from across the North. The festival, part of the European Capital of Culture programme, culminates on the Sámi National Day on 6 February.
Dálvemánnu is launched with a concert by Hildá Länsman and Tuomas Norvio at the Cultural Centre Valve on Tuesday 3 February at 19:00. Länsman is one of the most prominent singers in Sámiland, a proud performer and ambassador of the luohti singing tradition, while Norvio is a Finnish sound designer, composer, producer and multi-talented musician. Together with video artist Alice Marie Jektevik, they have created a modern concert experience that opens the gates to the past and the future.
On Thursday, 5 February, a discussion on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s report, its findings and its significance will take place at the Oulu Theatre at 15:30. Later in the evening, at 19:00, Wimme & Rinne will give a concert in the theatre’s Pikisali Hall. Sámi artist Wimme Saari is a master of traditional joik and has developed his own modern style of joik influenced by contemporary music. Saari and musician and composer Tapani Rinne have been making music together for over 25 years and have toured and performed on different continents.
To celebrate the Sámi National Day on 6 February, two concerts will be held, featuring the Finnish-Sámi joik singer and actor Ingá-Máret Gaup-Juuso and the Oulu All Star Big Band, the pride of Oulu’s rhythm music scene. The Davvi Oktavuohta – Pohjoinen yhteys album release concert will take place at Pohjankartano Hall at 19:00. The programme will feature music by Gaup-Juuso, winner of the 2022 Sámi Grand Prix, as well as traditional joiks arranged for big band.
On the same evening at 21:00 Cultural Centre Valve will host AMOC & Áilu Valle. AMOC is the first artist to perform rap music in Inari Sámi, while Áilu Valle is a well-known rap artist from Inari, who raps in Northern Sami, Finnish and English. The duo are now working on a collaborative album.
Anna Morottaja & Tallari and Suõmmkar perform at Cultural Centre Valve on Saturday 7 February at 18:00. Anna Morottaja, also known as Karhu-Pekan Anna, is an Inari Sámi artist who has revived the almost vanished livđe tradition, and has now joined forces with Finnish folk music legend Tallari. Suõmmkar combines traditional Skolt Sami music, including leu’dds, quadrilles and lullabies, with contemporary world music.
Admission to the AMOC & Áilu Valle concert and the Wimme & Rinne duo concert is free of charge. Tickets can be booked via the Oulu2026 online shop. Tickets for the other concerts are on sale on Lippu.fi. You can find links at the end of this article.
The Skábmagovat indigenous film festival, held in Inari, is bringing three screenings to Oulu during Dálvemánnu week. One is an animated film for children dubbed in Northern Sami; another is a feature-length Sami film; and the third is a selection of short films.
During the Dálvemánnu Festival, the Oulu Art Museum is offering a unique opportunity to experience the Eanangiella exhibition, which showcases a blend of Sámi art and duodji. On Wednesday, 4 February at 17:00, the exhibition will be accompanied by Wimme’s joiks. An exhibition presentation in Northern Sami will take place on Sunday 8 February at 14:00.
What is Dálvemánnu?
The Northern Sami word dálvemánnu translates as “winter month” in Finnish. It is pronounced tälvemannu. Traditionally, the Sámi year consisted of 12 full months plus half a month, making a total of 13 months. One of these months was called either dálvemánnu or gárasmánnu. Nowadays, dálvemánnu has taken on a new meaning as a gathering of diverse events.
The Capital of Culture Year strengthens Sámi culture
Aino Valovirta, the Oulu2026 Sámi Culture Coordinator, explains that the Sámi culture programme aims to provide visitors to the Capital of Culture Year with a diverse and high-quality experience and introduce them to the diversity and beauty of Sámi culture.
“On the one hand, we want to highlight our culture and the Sámi people living in the Capital of Culture area. On the other hand, we want to bring the Sámi people together, offer them opportunities to enjoy Sámi culture, and build and strengthen networks to make it easier to organise events in the future,” she says.
One of the events in the Oulu2026 Sámi cultural programme is Ovllá, an opera composed by Cecilia Damström that will be performed on the main stage of Oulu City Theatre in early 2026.
The programme is supported by the Finnish Cultural Foundation and produced by a wide network of partners. Oulu is the largest Sámi village in Finland. More than half of the 10,000 Sámi people living in Finland reside outside the Sámi region. Around 1,000 of these people live in the Oulu2026 area.
