Skájdde 2026
Sjaddo - Growing togeteher
This year’s main production is Sjaddo – a Lule Sámi word meaning seed. The performance is about growing together and celebrates the beauty of our differences. Audiences are invited into the Sámi creation story while discovering the mythical pearls of the Pearl River in Jokkmokk.
Sjaddo is an artistic experience filled with dance, humour, poetry, and warmth. It explores the importance of community, reminding us that we depend on one another and therefore share a responsibility to care for each other and the world around us. The journey begins with Sámi creation stories about the earth, the animals, and humankind, where music and poetry come together to create a powerful and immersive experience in the heart of the Storforsen Nature Reserve.
Schedule for the festival 2026
11.00AM - 1.00PM
Saturday
Performance
Universal Peacemakers is a meditative performance where four women, dressed in white and carrying plastic flags, walk in silence. They take positions and make formations in visually strong spaces, in contact with nature: the winds, the weather, the landscape. Inspired by the Buddhist monks walking for peace.
11.00AM - 5.00PM
Saturday
Treasure hunt
Set off on an exciting adventure and discover the secrets of the Pearl River in Jokkmokk!
Pick up your treasure map at the entrance and follow the clues hidden throughout the area. Each clue will reveal fascinating facts about the Pearl River and bring you one step closer to the treasure.
Complete the treasure hunt and claim your reward, a beautiful pearl to remember your adventure!
12.00AM - 12.15PM
Saturday
Theater
For our younger audience we produced a small theatre that plays out around the fire place close to the main stage. The theatre is based on the same story as the main performance, Sjaddo, but delivered by Anna Nutti Wiandt, who is known for her childrens books
12.40PM - 12.55PM
Saturday
Theater
For our younger audience we produced a small theatre that plays out around the fire place close to the main stage. The theatre is based on the same story as the main performance, Sjaddo, but delivered by Anna Nutti Wiandt, who is known for her childrens books
1.00PM - 2.30PM
Saturday
Skájdde Sjaddo
Main performance of the festival, the performance will have a 20 min break in the middle.
2.45PM - 3.00PM
Saturday
Theater
For our younger audience we produced a small theatre that plays out around the fire place close to the main stage. The theatre is based on the same story as the main performance, Sjaddo, but delivered by Anna Nutti Wiandt, who is known for her childrens books
3.10PM - 3.25PM
Saturday
Theater
For our younger audience we produced a small theatre that plays out around the fire place close to the main stage. The theatre is based on the same story as the main performance, Sjaddo, but delivered by Anna Nutti Wiandt, who is known for her childrens books
4.00PM - 5.00PM
Saturday
Circus
Wing It – A Circus Metamorphosis!
Inspired by the transformation of the moth, Cocoon Company invites audiences on a vibrant circus journey through the beauty, madness, and sometimes downright danger of change. Featuring aerial acrobatics, sword swallowing, and barefoot walks across broken glass.
Everything changes with time—so why resist when you can embrace the transformation?
7.00PM - 8.30PM
Saturday
Poetry in the borderlands
For the fourth consecutive year, Davvi Lávdi / Norrscen / Pohjosseeni invites you to a warm and welcoming evening celebrating the power of poetry. This year's featured performers are poets Rönn-Lisa Zakrisson Påve, Fia Kaddik, Joakim Jakobsson, and Åsa Haapasaari, the reigning Norrbotten Poetry Slam Champion. This year, the poets will also present unique collaborations with the dancers from the main stage performance.
1.00PM - 3.00PM
Sunday
Performance
Universal Peacemakers is a meditative performance where four women, dressed in white and carrying plastic flags, walk in silence. They take positions and make formations in visually strong spaces, in contact with nature: the winds, the weather, the landscape. Inspired by the Buddhist monks walking for peace.
1.00PM - 2.00PM
Sunday
Community Dance
Come dance with MOVIN' on festival Sunday! Try Gqom, an energetic South African street dance style with roots in Durban's music and dance culture. Dance artist Mari Raudsepp will lead the workshop from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM. Everyone is welcome, regardless of age or previous experience. A warm welcome!
1.00PM - 5.00PM
Sunday
Treasure hunt
Set off on an exciting adventure and discover the secrets of the Pearl River in Jokkmokk!
Pick up your treasure map at the entrance and follow the clues hidden throughout the area. Each clue will reveal fascinating facts about the Pearl River and bring you one step closer to the treasure.
Complete the treasure hunt and claim your reward, a beautiful pearl to remember your adventure!
2.00PM - 2.15PM
Sunday
Theater
For our younger audience we produced a small theatre that plays out around the fire place close to the main stage. The theatre is based on the same story as the main performance, Sjaddo, but delivered by Anna Nutti Wiandt, who is known for her childrens books
2.40PM - 2.55PM
Sunday
Theater
For our younger audience we produced a small theatre that plays out around the fire place close to the main stage. The theatre is based on the same story as the main performance, Sjaddo, but delivered by Anna Nutti Wiandt, who is known for her childrens books
3.00PM - 4.30PM
Sunday
Skájdde Sjaddo
Main performance of the festival, the performance will have a 20 min break in the middle.
4.45PM - 5.00PM
Sunday
Theater
For our younger audience we produced a small theatre that plays out around the fire place close to the main stage. The theatre is based on the same story as the main performance, Sjaddo, but delivered by Anna Nutti Wiandt, who is known for her childrens books
5.10PM - 5.25PM
Sunday
Theater
For our younger audience we produced a small theatre that plays out around the fire place close to the main stage. The theatre is based on the same story as the main performance, Sjaddo, but delivered by Anna Nutti Wiandt, who is known for her childrens books
11.00AM - 6.00PM
Saturday & Sunday
Art exhibition
In the forest around the festival area you will find an art exhibition from the artist Silversmak.
.jpg)
About the festival
Founded in 2022
Skájdde was founded in 2022 by Liv Aira when she created the performance Skájdde – Rika Maja which was also played in 2023. The project has also been called Bidum Iedno, which aims to highlight stories from the area around the Pite River. When the organizer of the production unexpectedly dropped out of the project, Liv Aira was forced to organize the entire event herself, not just create its artistic content. When the event was nevertheless a success and we had over 2000 in the audience, the concept was developed in 2023 into an entire festival focusing on culture from Sápmi, aimed at the whole family. In 2024 the new main show, The Brass Ring had the premiere and a childrens theatre was also produced and performed. A new art exhibition in the forest was created and a treasure hunt for children was a cherished part of the festival day, where the children got a special and magic gift when the finished the hunt.
The Brass ring was also performed in 2025 and volunteers keep coming back, some for the third time. We were 12 different countries represented during the 2025 festival, which created an international community characterized by cultural exchange, cooperation and long-term relationships.
For Skájdde 2026 we created a new show, Sjaddo - Growing together, and it is partly based on the performance with the same name that we tour as a smaller production. At the festival you will experience the full version where the Sami creation story is mixed with elements from the magical pearl river of Jokkmokk. The dance performance is weaved together with spoken word and a beautiful soundscape.
Skájdde is more than a show—it's a full festival for the whole family. With fire-lit storytelling, exhibitions, forest dance walks, poetry evenings, and even a Sámi children’s dance path, this is an unforgettable celebration of culture, connection, and creativity.
Bring your loved ones, open your heart, and be part of a story that will stay with you long after the rivers of Storforsen have passed.
Financiers & partners
Skájdde 2024 - 2025
The Brass Ring
The brass ring story continues the journey of a mother searching for her cultural roots in Sápmi, guided by the ancient wisdom of Materakka and her daughters. Her tool is a mythical brass ring—and through it, she finds her strength.
This multidisciplinary performance combines contemporary dance, joik, circus, and poetry into a moving and immersive experience. For the first time, the show features Cyr wheel artists, bringing a powerful visual representation of the ring's spiritual force. The result is a breathtaking blend of tradition and innovation.
Skájdde 2022 - 2023
Rika Maja
In this performance, we get to know the mythical Rika Maja who lived an exciting life about 150km from Storforsen in the 17th century. According to legend, she was from Mausjaur and had a sami hut and her reindeers at Akkanålke. With the story as a traveling people we can assume that Rika Maja was moving around in this area. She was a powerful woman who, according to legend, had supernatural powers and could control both weather and reindeer.
The performance has dance, joik and live music.