Festival season means overpriced pints, soggy tents and a stranger’s elbow in your ribs during the headline set, right? Wrong. Allow us to introduce you to Hiljaa Fest, which translates as ‘Quietly Fest’ and has already been nicknamed ‘Quietchella’. The Finnish festival has just launched in Valkmusa National Park, billing itself as the world’s first Festival of Nature Listening and the world’s quietest festival.
The line-up is 13 performers from the natural world, spread across four stages dotted around the park. Some example headliners include the black grouse, the wind and the bog moss, plus a rare moth called the rämekulmumittari, which is also the national park’s official symbol. There’s no schedule to speak of, and the organisers admit some acts are ‘a little more mercurial by nature’, so there’s no guarantee every performer will turn up.
The festival kicked off on October 10 with an invitation-only opening day for 30 people picked by lottery. Since then, it has been open to everyone as a free, self-guided experience that runs until October 31, so you can turn up whenever suits you and wander the trails at your own pace. Visitors are asked to follow Finland’s outdoor code, which means respecting nature, leaving no trace and treating the park and its performers with care. It’s also worth knowing that the route follows boardwalks and forest trails, so the organisers say it isn’t currently suitable for visitors who need mobility aids.
Valkmusa is a small national park in Pyhtää, about 90 minutes east of Helsinki, and is known for its mire landscape, with around 40 types of wetland habitat, plus boardwalks and observation towers for getting around.
According to the festival’s creative director and wilderness guide Simo Peri, the idea is to slow down and pay attention to the small details, from how the wind whispers to how the moss faintly rustles. ‘We have planned the first-ever Festival of Nature Listening so that visitors get to tour the national park and really listen to the music nature creates,’ he says. ‘It is a festival trip designed to nurture one’s soul and one’s mind.’
Finland is the world’s happiest country, so maybe a bit of peace really is the secret. If this year goes well, the festival could be back in 2027.
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