Aitoon Honkala can host seminars, company parties, trade fairs and weddings for up to 550 seated guests, or more than 900 at a standing reception. It is a hall and former school building in Aitoo, Finland, about 50 km from Tampere and Hämeenlinna.
Seminars and company events
The main hall, Honkasali, has wireless internet, a projection screen, a sound system and a large stage. Chairs, tables and a full set of tableware for 200 people come with the rental. The official site lists quiet meetings, Christmas parties and trade fairs among the uses. A smaller group can take the café, which holds about 50 people and can be separated from the main hall with curtains and sliding doors. It comes with its own kitchen and meeting equipment, which suits a one-day training or a board meeting.
Weddings and receptions
The venue presents itself for formal celebrations as well as parties. Weekend rentals have no cut-off time for the end of the event, so an evening can run through the night. A large yard surrounds the house. The venue also rents fences, pop-up tents (3 x 3 m and 3 x 6 m) and outdoor furniture, which helps for a reception that spills outside.
Rooms and capacities
Honkasali seats 550 at tables and takes more than 900 at a cocktail-style event. Renting it also gives you the large-scale kitchen, the café, the performers' backstage rooms, toilets, an accessible toilet, a cloakroom and storage. The ground floor has a pub-style room for just over 100 guests. It was refurnished in 2019 and suits a smaller party when the main hall would be too large. The sauna can be rented with it, for an evening that includes a sauna. The café holds about 50.
Catering
You may bring your own caterer and your own drinks into every space. The house can also arrange serving on request. The upper-floor rental includes a large-scale kitchen with equipment, and the ground-floor rental can be extended with that kitchen.
History and setting
The house has stood beside the road for well over a century. It was renovated in 2003 and had its surfaces redone in 2019. The building was once an elementary school. On the first weekend of July it hosts Aitoon Kirkastusjuhlat, a festival that grew out of a party of the local volunteer fire brigade and now draws thousands of visitors each year. Outside that weekend, the venue is open for private bookings.
How booking works
A rental agreement is signed and a booking fee is paid to the association's bank account. The venue publishes its cancellation terms on the site, and the same terms apply to rented furniture.
Getting there
Aitoo lies along a well-connected road. The venue gives about 50 km to Tampere and to Hämeenlinna, and about 30 km to Valkeakoski and Kangasala.
