July 10–11, 2026

The Raahe Maritime Festival is a citywide event celebrating the maritime spirit of Raahe, held every year in mid-July. The charm of this seaside town and the lively atmosphere of old-time markets will once again come to life this summer.

There is something to see and experience for the whole family, both on land and on the water, from Friday to Saturday, July 10–11, 2026.

At Raahe’s beautiful museum shoreline area, you can enjoy engaging performers, a diverse maritime-themed program, traditional vessels, the Komerssi market, and much more.

The featured artist at the 2026 Raahe Maritime Festival is Evelina, who will perform on the Rantatori stage on Saturday. Admission to the event area is free.

The full event programme will be published closer to the event on our Finnish-language website.

The Raahe Maritime Festival is part of the official programme of the Oulu2026 European Capital of Culture year. Explore the full range of cultural events in Raahe: Oulu2026 – Raahe programme.

Welcome to Raahe’s premier summer maritime event!

To signal that a ship was entering the fairway leading to the town, a flag was hoisted on the pooki, an unlit beacon tower. The fire watchman in the church belfry would then pass on the message “Pooki Flakkaa,” indicating that the flag had been raised. It would not take long before the entire town rushed to the shore to welcome the arriving ship.

To this day, these same pooki markers (unlit beacon towers) still stand proudly on the islands of Iso-Kraaseli and Tasku off the coast of Raahe.