IN MAY the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) took place in Los Angeles. This is the gaming industry’s yearly major blowout, and for those anticipating a slew of major announcements there was plenty to whet your appetite for the coming 12 months. As usual, every major studio, manufacturer and developer was represented, and, with gaming becoming an ever more widespread entertainment phenomenon, there is some serious money riding on their successes and failures.

THE SLOGAN of this year’s Faces festival, “We shall overcome,” refers to the current negative attitude in the media and society against immigrants and multiculturalism. Elina Yamano from the festival organisation points out that it is a positive message which takes a stand against this atmosphere.

The idea is directly connected to the original roots of the festival that was organised in 1998 for the first time by Börje Matson and Holger Wickström. The goal was to give different ethnic groups a chance to present themselves and create a meeting place for different cultures and Finns.

PICTURE yourself at the centre of cosmos, spiritual cultivation and money; cultural enjoyment and reasoning; hedonism, fame and mystery. According to a curious piece of graphic on the website, you have reached the essence of Turku Modern, a music festival organised for the second consecutive time in July in Turku.

“The festival presents an array of artists from house and techno, on one hand, to hip hop and Jamaican music on the other,” says Sampo Axelsson, one of the individuals behind Turku Modern.

THE ESPOO Ciné film festival gets underway 20 August, offering cinema lovers the opportunity to sample some of the best films from around the world. Opening with Fatih Akin’s latest film Soul Kitchen, a music-driven comedy about a Greek restaurateur taking place in the director’s hometown of Hamburg, the festival will run for ten days.

After extending to its current length last year, 2010 sees approximately 100 feature films screening at the newly-renovated Kino Tapiola, as well as at the Espoo Cultural Centre and the Bio Rex Sello in Leppävaara.

PORI JAZZ has taken a few steps sideways from its original function on the festival scene. It no longer offers mind-blowing acts exclusively for jazz music lovers as its name suggests, but a range of music from hip-hop to pop, and funk to blues –­­ along with a bunch of the jazzy stuff as well, of course.

The festival was born in the 1960s amongst a group of young jazz musicians who spent their summers playing and listening to music in Kirjurinluoto – the park area in the centre of Pori where the main event of the festival is now held. Pori Jazz quickly established itself as the pioneer of Finnish festival tradition and celebrates its 45th birthday this year.

HELSINKI’S Flow Festival will take place this year for the seventh year running. Originally held at the classic (and now barbarously demolished) venue of VR-Makasiinit in 2004, the event moved to the historic Suvilahti power plant area in 2007, where it has remained ever since. Taking full advantage of the location’s centrality – being just a short walk from Hakaniemi and Sörnäinen and a mere five minute metro ride from the central railway station – Flow has gone from strength to strength, attracting not only ever-growing crowds but an impressively eclectic array of musicians. The festival has grown each year. In 2004 the capacity was a mere 4,500. Last year 41,000 attended over four days, and this year the organisers are expecting up to 45,000 guests over the festival period.

HEARING the name Mariska still makes many of us think of a tough young rapper who became known in the early 2000s for her long dreadlocks and tough attitude. In reality, she is much more than that. Mariska is an established singer-songwriter who, on top of creating her own songs, writes lyrics to such big names in Finnish pop music as Jenni Vartiainen and Anna Puu. Recently she underwent a transformation from a rap artist into an iskelmä (Finnish popular music) singer. This is not the first time the gifted musician has changed her skin, but while everything else may be amendable, her attitude is one thing that sticks.

THE SAME food can be experienced in a completely different manner at different latitudes. Some Italian specialties like cappuccino, coffee and pasta are consumed daily by many Finns, both in restaurants and in their homes. However, their preparation and consumption assumes peculiar cultural traits.

Check your attitude toward Italian food by answering the following test!

A BEER is a beer is a beer…or is it? Finland has been a bit late entering the micro-brewery game, but some of the beers crafted in the country today rival the best found anywhere. Panimo restaurant and brewery, located on the island of Suomenlinna, merits recognition here. Not only does it serve up first-rate suds, but goes the distance in creating excellent dishes as well.

Housed in the old Jetty Barracks close to the main pier, Panimo’s rustic atmosphere provides a good venue for sampling some excellent in-house brewed beers. Their Piper Wit won me over right from the start with its hint of coriander and subtle orange flavours.

THOUGH not many would agree at first, folk music can deliver a mind-blowing experience. Contemporary folk bands offer an interesting alternative, and they create music that is fresh, exciting and of high quality. Especially in Finland, a country rich in very diverse music traditions, one can find real gems.

Gjallarhorn represents Scandinavian folklore that originally flourished on Finnish soil, with their style incorporating strong influences from the Swedish-speaking areas of Finland. The band experiments with incorporating instruments like didgeridoo into otherwise traditional Scandinavian-style ballads.