On Friday the 9th May 2025, we have celebrated Europe Day around Raatihuoneentori area in Kajaani. However, this year we’ve had an an early start to the annual Europe Day celebrations, as EUROPE DIRECT Kainuu and Red Cross Kajaani arranged an European themed art contest for children at the Red Cross Café on 4.5.2025.
The weekly Red Cross Café in Kajaani aims to create a comfortable and safe space for locals and foreigners to forge connections and simply enjoy a relaxed evening together. Most of the visitors are immigrants, therefore the theme of the art contest was modified as “How My New Life in Europe Feels Like?”. The contest was advertised via the Red Cross Café channels and it attracted a large crowd of children of different ages. The amount of participants was a pleasant surprise.
You never know if an event is going to be attractive or not. This time we were a bit surprised by the amount of participants. We even had to go and buy more pencils, says Minna Mustonen, one of the two responsible organizers.
As a result, the arranging party received more than 50 drawings from children and youngsters aged 3-14. The variety of topics and drawing techniques was wide. Some used water colors, while others drew with crayons, pencils/ colored pencils or markers. It was also allowed to combine the different techniques.
It was absolutely a pleasure to watch the kids in action, and to see the variety of drawings we received. We had so much fun at the office of Kainuu regional council, as we all had the chance to pick our our personal favorites in the public vote among employees, Minna Mustonen continues.
A total of five winners were selected by age categories (under 6, 6-7, 8-9, 10-11 and 12+). The winners were invited to the award ceremony held at Raatihuoneentori stage at the Europe Day festivities.
