Flottkalaset (Raft Festival) is an annual music festival and cultural event held in

Tjautjas Tjautjas (sometimes called Čavččas or Tjautjasjaure) is a locality situated in Gällivare Municipality, Norrbotten County, Sweden with 234 inhabitants in 2010. Tjautjas is located 20 kilometers north-east of Koskullskulle Koskullskulle is a l ...

in the

Gällivare Municipality Gällivare Municipality ( sv, Gällivare kommun, fi, Jällivaaran kunta, no, Gällivare kommune, se, Jiellevárri gielda or ''Váhčira gielda'') is a municipality in Norrbotten County in northern Sweden. Its seat is Gällivare. The municip ...

region in northern

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

. The event was envisioned and organized by

Riksspelman The title of riksspelman (, ''National Spelman'') is a generally recognized badge of mastery for Swedish folk musicians. It is an honor bestowed upon bearers of the silver or gold Zorn Badge, awarded annually by the Zorn Jury, a panel of expe ...

Daniel Wikslund, a noted Swedish folk musician. The two-day festival takes place in August on an island in the middle of a mountain lake, accessible via rafts or by walking across a raft bridge.

History

Daniel Wikslund settled in Tjautjas after being drawn there by nostalgic memories of his grandmother who had lived there. After being accepted by the village, he celebrated in 2009 by hosting a "housewarming party" that featured many of his folk musician friends. The event was successful and grew in subsequent years with the help of cultural arts funding. Daniel had earlier built a cabin upon a raft that floats in the lake, and it is the iconic symbol of the festival. The festival initially had around 400 attendees the first year, but has since grown to 1,000.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Flottkalaset Tjautjasjaur
Music festivals in Sweden Folk festivals in Sweden Music festivals established in 2009 Summer events in Sweden