As you may know, Walpurgis (May Day Eve) is a feast for students, and it shows. The computer-science student union, TKO-äly, will celebrate Walpurgis with abandon, and you will be able to spot the yellow overalls around town during the weekend.

 

Ever businesslike, they will make sure the official ceremonies are over before they start on the informal festivities. The TKO-äly Walpurgis celebrations will start on Saturday morning at 8:15, when the executive committee meets in the meeting room of the Science cluster at Domus Gaudium.

 

(Note by the reporter: Are our students really so conscientious that they will come to a meeting so early on a day off? Is there too much happening during May Day Eve if you have to start so early? Or is the meeting actually prefaced by partying the previous night, and our students are so full of go that they can tackle a meeting in their stride before going on to the next challenge?)

 

At noon, the more official side of Walpurgis starts and the TKO-äly students gather their strength at a barbecue. The traditional place for the barbecue would be Kumpula, but since it's a Saturday and it would seem funny to go to Kumpula on a weekend, the barbecue will be held in the yard between Ilontalo, i.e. the home of the cluster, and the old Domus building. TKO-äly will treat you to the barbecue, sausages, and our legendary May Day punch. You will need an overall, a glass for the bubbly, and a students' cap (Finnish ylioppilaslakki).

 

The TKO-äly informs us that the capping of Manta (the Havis Amanda statue) will be witnessed as usual at 18 o'clock 'at the Market Square or thereabouts'. (At this stage, the students are realistic so the programme is not so meticulously planned, note from reporter) 'After six you can look for yellow overalls at the Senate square, most likely the uppermost level of the church steps. The evening will continue somehow, in the morning someone may end up at the Observatory on Ullanlinnanmäki, just like half the good people of Helsinki.'

 

Please see the TKO-äly events calendar for the programme: http://tko-aly.fi/event/377, http://tko-aly.fi/event/379.