Silence Festival Lapland

Silence Festival brings contemporary circus and classical music together in Kaukonen, a small river village in Kittilä, staging more than twenty performances across barns, clearings and temporary venues each June. Founded by circus artist Sakari Männistö and producer Joonas Martikainen, it won Finland's State Prize for Circus Arts in 2017. It suits travelers drawn to intimate, walkable arts festivals over large city productions.

Silence Festival fills the small village of Kaukonen, on the Ounasjoki river in Kittilä, with contemporary circus and classical music for several days each June, an unlikely pairing that grew from an idea by circus artist Sakari Männistö and producer Joonas Martikainen to bring high-level performing arts to a village that would otherwise see little professional theatre.