On the second Saturday of August we cut the silk rope to our new base of operations. It's going to be a grand festival, so be there!
Our new home is about two clicks north from our old place. The new building is superior in many ways: bigger shop, toilets next to Sotima Bar & Cafe, and a generally nicer environment, just to name a few. We spent nine years in the old office and warehouse, so it's not like the decision was made hastily.
Our walk-in store is open already, so forget the old address. The official Mega Grand Opening is a bit later so we have time to get things running smoothly.
How to get there
Click here for Google Maps. Do note that Hankasuontie is a dead end and we're expecting a crowd, so avoid using your own car.
+ Public transportation
+ Free rides from Helsinki City Centre with Onnibus
On this special day Onnibus offers free rides between Kiasma and Varusteleka twice per hour all day long.
From Kiasma | From Varusteleka |
|
9:30 | 10:15 |
10:00 | 10:45 |
10:30 | 11:15 |
11:00 | 11:45 |
11:30 | 12:15 |
12:00 | 12:45 |
12:30 | 13:15 |
13:00 | 13:45 |
13:30 | 14:15 |
break | break |
14:30 | 15:15 |
15:00 | 15:45 |
15:30 | 16:15 |
16:00 | 16:45 |
16:30 | 17:15 |
17:00 | 17:45 |
17:30 | 18:15 |
18:00 | 18:45 |
18:30 | 19:15 |
break | break |
19:30 | 20:15 |
20:00 | 20:45 |
20:30 | 21:15 |
21:00 | 21:45 |
21:30 | 22:15 |
Mega Grand Opening schedule
This information is updated as we go - come back to check out the latest updates! A Land Rover sits inside the shop, but the tank we'll have to park outside. The 2nd patches are handed out after Peer Günt finishes their gig.
When | What | Where |
10:00 | Speeches, ribbon cutting, doors open. Buckets. | Shop |
12:00 | Savotta sauna and palju open. Open until midnight. | Outdoor Bar |
13:00 | 1st patch giveaway | Land Rover |
14:00 | Valtter's Ask Me Anything Q&A | Outdoor Stage |
14:45 | InRange TV, Forgotten Weapons, and Rudy Reyes Q&A | Outdoor Stage |
15:00 | Savotta Crucifix competition part 1 | Howitzer |
15:45 | Meet & Greet: InRange TV and Forgotten Weapons | Land Rover |
17:00 | Meet & Greet: Rudy Reyes | Howitzer |
18:00 | Savotta Crucifix competition part 2 | Howitzer |
21:00 | George Rigby warmup set | Sotima |
22:00 | Shop closes, Peer Günt's concert starts. | Outdoor Stage |
23:00 | 2nd patch giveaway | Howitzer |
23:00 | George Rigby starts playing in Sotima | Sotima |
01:30 | Last call in Sotima and the Outdoor Bar. | Sotima |
Presenting: our own brands
The creators of Särmä, Särmä TST, Terävä and Jämä demonstrate our own product lines and tell you interesting tidbits of info from the past, present and future projections. And sure as heck we launch new products and colour options.
The main event: Peer Günt
The cherry on top of our little festival is the evening's main event: Peer Günt. They'll take to the stage near the end of the event, and you'll be in for some proper rock n' roll.
After Peer Günt's live show things will continue in Sotima where live music will continue on a smaller scale with George Rigby.
What to expect
The day starts at 10:00 (that's AM) when our shop manager cuts a silk rope, followed by festive opening ceremonies. As the event progresses there are plenty of things to be seen and experienced. In addition to attractive hand-outs there's food, drinks, music, and world-class stars you can meet.
Bribes and offers
+ Free ammo boxes for the first 500 customers
Buckets, oh dear - A TON OF FREE BUCKETS! To be clarify, .30 cal ammo boxes filled with random products and gift cards - some of them are special jackpots.
One per customer
+ Limited 500 + 500 pcs Mega Grand Opening patches
There will be two kinds of patches handed out at the Grand Opening. The first is a “I was there, I know”-patch which will be handed out at 1 PM from the Land Rover located in our store.
The second one, “I survived the after party”, will be handed out from a howitzer located outside right after the main artist has finished playing.
+ Balloons & cotton candy
It wouldn’t be a festival without some balloons and cotton candy, so we decided to hand out balloons and cotton candy! Kids are most welcome to come and enjoy the event as well!
Food and Drink
There will of course be plenty of food and drink available. Some free of charge, some will cost you some coin. In addition to all of that you’ll find our Bar Sotima’s expanded alcohol-licenced area and Kiiski brewery!
+ 1000 servings of free pea soup
Soppatykkimies (Soup Cannon Man? Yeah, Soup Cannon Man!) will be serving 1000 free servings of his excellent pea soup for the first thousand to arrive. Free food!
+ Gorilla BBQ & Meat
How about some ribs, cutlets, or burgers? Coming right up! Vegetarian option available as well. The guys from Gorilla BBQ will be more than happy to exchange their food for your cash.
+ Kuivalihakundi / Dried Meat Buddy
Finnish jerky made out of beef, pork, and chichken. The whole nine yards with all the flavour assortments will be there to be tasted and available to be bought. You’ll find the stand from inside of our store.
+ Expanded alcohol-licenced area & Kiiski Brewery
Even though our Bar Sotima 2.0 is bigger than before it simply won't be able to host the amount of people we’re expecting. So we decided to temporarily expand it by 400 square meters. You’ll find our container shop from this area, which, by the way, has been turned into a bar, and Kiiski Brewery’s beer stand. In addition to all of the drinks there will be a tent sauna hosted by the great folks from Savotta. To get into this area you’ll have to be 18 or older.
Special guests
We are honoured to present to you Ian McCollum and Karl Kasarda from InRange TV and Forgotten Weapons. In addition to these two chaps we also have the pleasure of hosting Rodolfo Reyes, otherwise known as Rudy. Ooh, so many stars in our eyes!
+ Peer Günt
The cherry on top of our little festival is the evening's main event: Peer Günt. They'll take to the stage near the end of the event, and you'll be in for some proper rock n' roll.
After Peer Günt's live show things will continue in Sotima where live music will continue on a smaller scale with George Rigby.
+ InRange TV
“The best gun show on the internet!”
Firearm-related channel and page. And they also organize shooting competitions.
The most popular videos are apparently "Mud Test" videos, in which they test various firearms' abilities to withstand mud.
Ian and Karl will be at the Land Rover in our shop for a little meet and greet. Timetable will be announced later.
+ Forgotten Weapons
The popular firearm-related page and video producer with the main focus on historical firearms. Ian, otherwise known as Gun Jesus, will be present. Ian is one of the two presenters for InRange TV. Timetable will be announced later.
+ Rodolfo "Rudy" Reyes
Rodolfo “Rudy” Reyes is a veteran of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. He served in the Marines 1st Reconnaissance Battalion. After a distinguished military career Rudy has focused on martial arts, fitness, personal training, and acting. You may even recognise his face from a little HBO series called Generation Kill, in which Rudy played himself.
Rudy will have his own meet and greet at the howitzer outside, or, should the weather be bad, then at the Land Rover indoors. Timetable will be announced later..
+ Q&A: Ian, Karl & Rudy
The gentlemen will hit the stage at 14:00. Want to ask them something? No problem!
We'll collect questions for the Q&A session beforehand so that things will run smoothly. We'll go through the questions and non-relative questions will be filtered out.
The place for leaving your questions will be announced here. TBA.
Activities and Competitions
+ Savotta Crucifix
Savotta will organise a "crucifix" contest in which you'll have to hold two weights with your arms out straight. The person that can do so the longest will win a prize. Easy, right?!
The prizes will be announced later.
+ Savotta Sauna tent
In our alcohol-licenced area Savotta will set up their sauna tent. You can go to the sauna from 12:00 AM to 12:00 PM. There's no shower, but there will be the possibility to wash off most of that sweat using traditional methods. Bring your own towel!
+ 2S1 "Gvozdika" howitzer
Mil-Safarit will bring a 2S1 howitzer for you to have a gander at. Otherwise known in the Finnish Army as the 122 panssarihaupitsi 74. The howitzer will be there for the duration of the event.
+ #Photocontest
Take a photo while you're at the event - one that really captures the essence of the whole festival feel. Post it on Instagram and tag it with #varusteleka and #mgo18. The best and most interesting photos will win some great prizes from Varusteleka during the week after the event. The winners will be contacted personally.
+ Product and gift card drawing
There's an ammo box by the Land Rover in the shop. Drop your contact info into the box and BOOM! You're entered to win some pretty nice prizes!
The winners will be drawn from the box at random during the week after the event, and they will be contacted personally. Your information will not be used for any other purpose other than the contest, and will not be given to any third parties.