*More to Come!!
The 2010 International Youth Festival took place at Hirvijari campsite near the city of Kuopio, Finland. It saw young people from Finland, England, Germany, Estonia, Hungary and Russia get together and take part in workshops and activities throughout the week.
On Monday the group from England set off at 6.30am and arrived at the festival at 6.40pm. We were given information about the festival and assigned to each cottage were we would stay for the week.
On Tuesday we started our workshops which included Drama, Dance, Newspaper, Music and Nature. These workshops had different nationalities within them and were organised by the Finnish. In the afternoon, we took part in outdoor activities and a football match. The mass was organised by the Finnish, which was followed by dinner. The evening entertainment was organised by the German group and was games which were organised by individuals.
On Wednesday, workshops again took place in the morning and the afternoon was a walk in deep snow. We had to put on ‘snow-shoes’ so that we didn’t plunge into the thick Finnish snow. We all met up for a cup of tea in the woods and then returned to Hirvijari. The mass was organised by the Germans and was followed by dinner. In the evening the group went to Hussola, and there was a barn dance with a band. Terry showed the IYF Group how badly / brilliantly he could dance.
On Thursday, workshops took place in the morning followed by the IYF Olympic Games, which brought about a fierce rivalry between 3 countries by throwing snowballs at one another. After a tie break between Finland and England, England was crowned champions, which was mentioned constantly on Thursday evening. In the evening, England prepared and celebrated mass which was followed by tea. After tea, the IYF Group could use the sauna then dive into a hole created in the ice lake. The English provided entertainment in the evening which was a quiz on Britain and pass the parcel.
On Friday, the Finnish group took us to the city of Kuopio were we took part in the AMAZING (G)RACE! This was a race around Kuopio were we went to places of interest such as the Greek Orthodox Church and Kuopio harbour. At 7pm, the final worship took place in which all countries contributed. This was held in Kuopio Cathedral. In the evening there was a disco to end the IYF for 2010. The party took place in the coffee bar until 3am, and at 4am the Germans, English and Estonians set off home after yet another fantastic IYF. The next IYF will be next Easter in Munich.
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