Another fantastic year here at Joukkila has flown by in the blink of an eyeâand what a year it has been!
During the 2025â2026 season, the Residentsâ Committee organized nearly 30 events at “Kerhis” (the clubhouse), including:
- Social gatherings for new residents
- Celebrations for various special occasions, such as Vappu (May Day) and Midsummer
- Movie nights featuring a wide range of genres
- Screenings of various sporting events
- A diverse array of food-related events
And, of course, the ever-popularâand truly legendaryâKerhis Christmas and New Yearâs parties!
On top of this, the committee hosted nearly 150 “hangouts” and sauna sessions (complete with refreshments).
Both the hangouts and the regular sauna sessions saw an average attendance of just over 10 people per event throughout the season.
Larger events typically drew between 40 and 100 attendees each. We even broke attendance records during Vappu and the autumn “Back-to-School” party, with well over 100 people showing up!
The Ylioppilaskylä Länsi (Student Village West) Residentsâ Committee would like to extend a warm thank you to everyone who attended our events!
The year was also packed with plenty of excitement and high-octane moments. For instance, our committeeâs beloved chairpersonâa long-time, active participant in resident affairsâhad to move away unexpectedly in the middle of the term. This created a real risk that we wouldnât be able to hold committee meetingsâand, consequently, organize eventsâon schedule. Losing our great leader was, in itself, quite a cultural shock that took some getting used to.
At the very last minute, the committeeâs new vice-chairâwho had moved to Joukkila only a couple of months earlierâstepped in to take over the chairpersonâs duties.
Our common room, “Kerhis,” has also taken a beating at the hands of careless individualsâboth those who booked the space and those who partied a bit too boisterously. The committee has had quite a task on its hands cleaning up Kerhis and dealing with the messes left behind. A huge, heartfelt thank you to all the volunteers who helped out; we couldnât have managed without you!
We truly hope that, in the coming term, those who use Kerhis will be a bit more considerateâŚ
We have managed to overcome all of this, and, looking back, we can reflect with joy and gratitude on all the good work accomplished through the committee over the past year (2025â2026). As a final act before the major renovation begins, we will raise a glass of sima (mead) to the past year one last timeâon October 31, 2026, at the Halloween bash in Kerhis.
See you there! Autumn in Turku is well underway, and with the arrival of October, it is once again timeâin keeping with our traditionâto pass the torch to the new Residentsâ Committee elected at the residentsâ meeting.
The Residentsâ Committee for the 2025â2026 term signs off.
Wishing you a wonderful rest of the autumn!
Best regards,
Ylioppilaskylä Länsi (Student Village West) Residentsâ Committee