HOLLO&MARTTA INTERNATIONAL CIOFF® FOLKLORE FESTIVAL

The Hollo & Martta Festival is an annual CIOFF® Folklore Festival held in Hollola and in the surrounding counties of Päijät-Häme. The festival week provides a wide representation of the colourful European dance culture and a generous outlook of domestic folk music and folkdance.

The festival is organized by Hollolan Nuorisoseura ry, which is one of Finland's
leading folklore associations, famous exporter of Finnish folk heritage throughout the world. The Hollo & Martta Festival is certified as a member of the international CIOFF® festivals.

Hollola Youth Association was founded in 1901 whose main field of activity is cultural youth work. The Hollola Youth Association in one of the most valued youth associations in Finland. The high valuation is earned by successful, persistent long-term work in providing numerous folk-dance groups of national elite for domestic and international venues as well for presentation means at schools or beneficiary events on special groups as for representative means. Furthermore, quite a significant amount of Finland's professional folk dance directors has achieved their basic education and passion for folklore in the Hollola Youth Association. The Hollola Youth Association maintains over 120-year-old, but well-maintained building in Hollola. In 2006 the Hollola Youth Association was rewarded for its youth work with a national prize.

The idea of establishing the festival arose from two great events organized by the Hollola Youth Association. The first was the 100-anniversary of Hollola Youth Association in 2001. The event was celebrated with five international folklore groups together with all the members of Association. Anniversary week events were participated by 6 800 people who were mainly students from different schools. The other event took place in 2003 when the first Hollo & Martta International Folklore Festival was organized by the Hollola Youth Association. The festival week reached an audience of almost 17 000 people with 57 concerts. More than half of these concerts were held in different schools and day-care centers.

In 2005 the Hollo & Martta Festival achieved a record audience. 18 500 people visited different events during the festival week in Hollola, and the city of Lahti. During the festival week both national and international folk dance groups performed the total of 59 concerts. The Opening and Final concerts were sold out.

Years of experience of the project team in providing international festivals as well as the know-how of the Hollola Youth Association based on setting up previous mass events are being utilized in the practical work for providing the festivals. Existing contacts and the feedback given about the previous events have been a valuable resource.

Hollo and Martta

The festival is named after a local legend. According to the legend Hollo and Martta are the two giants that built the medieval grey rock church in Hollola. Likewise, the name of Hollola is said to base on the male giant’s name Hollo. It is an international tradition to use names found in regional legends when naming festivals or mascots.

CIOFF festival

The Hollo & Martta Festival has achieved international valuation and responds the criteria of international CIOFF festival. Today only two other Finnish festivals are certified by CIOFF: Kaustinen Folk Music Festival and Pispalan Sottiisi (Tampere). Thus, the Hollo & Martta Festival is the only CIOFF festival in southern Finland.

CIOFF (International Council of Organisations of Folklore Festivals and
Folk Arts) is a global non-governmental organization founded in 1970. It was founded to safeguard, promote and disseminate traditional culture. CIOFF in an official partner of UNESCO. At this moment it has over 70 member countries spreading its activity over all continents. The CIOFF organisation includes more than 250 international festivals.

Folk dance

Folk dance is a traditional dance passed from one generation to another. Using traditional clothing and instruments is an important specificity of folk dance. The forms, figures and purposes of folkdances are varying, including celebrating seasons, themes of wedding or proposing, or simply dance for the joy of movement itself. A special feature of folk dance is that it is not performing art but an activity to be taken part in. Folk dance is not only the oldest form of dancing but also the basis of all other dancing forms: ballet, modern, common, disco, jazz. Emotions have always been shown through movement and rhythm. Folk dance reflects cultural life and era having adopted features close to people