New event series continues Valve’s Afterwork tradition while offering a relaxed and inspiring meeting place for cultural experiences.
Valve2026 Culture Fridays events are open to all and held on Fridays at Restaurant Valveen Paljetti between 4–6 pm. The program is a collection of performances, works, and events of different art forms put together by experienced creators as well as newcomers.
“Often these evenings link up with festivals and other events happening at Valve simultaneously. It’s easy for anyone to join these weekend kick-offs with a joint opportunity to visit Valve’s current exhibitions – free of charge,” Valve’s Producer Ari-Matti Lappalainen says.
A Versatile and Distinctive Program
On Friday the 20th of February, Valve2026 Culture Fridays event premieres an English-language documentary about the birth of the Hill Climb Racing game. The screening will take place between 4–4:30 pm after which the game’s creators from Fingersoft will discuss the work and answer questions from the audience.
February’s last Valve2026 Culture Fridays will be held on the 27th of February, in the spirit of Arctic Pulse Event, which promotes music from the Arctic regions. Electrofolk Duo Junna, who combines Finnish folklore with different styles of electronic music will perform at 4 pm.
On Friday the 6th of March at 4 pm, the Valveen Paljetti stage will feature Vuolle-opisto’s community dance piece Miltä se tuntuu. Directed by dance artist Janita Rantanen, the performance explores death and grief as expressions of love. The piece and the open discussion that follows are part of Hyvän mielen talo’s Voice the Taboo project, which aims to increase understanding of mental health themes and prejudices through art.
As part of the Oulun Naisunioni’s Culture Week on Friday the 13th of March, Valve2026 Culture Fridays will exceptionally take place between 5–7 pm. The audience can expect an almost unpredictable Open Stage: Kauhun vallassa. The following Friday, on the 20th of March at 4 pm, Valveen Paljetti will tune into the spirit of the Oulu Music Festival with a discussion on music education and a performance by the 4B class choir group from Teuvo Pakkala School.
The final Valve2026 Culture Fridays event in March will take place on Friday the 27th of March at 5 pm, featuring the play Asiasta Kukkaruukkuun by Oulu Art School students Kiira Karvonen and Heli Lipponen, awarded at the national Ramppikuume festival. The play combines dialogue with physical theatre and addresses current topics with humour.
The event series will continue throughout the year of 2026. Welcome to start your weekend in a relaxed atmosphere!
Weekly event information can be found in the Oulu2026 event calendar.
More information about the Valve2026 Culture Fridays event series.
