The folk are back! Parken Zoo is bringing Eskilstuna's classic entertainment palace back to life
23 August 2026
There are places that are more than just a building. Places where generations have danced, laughed, met and created memories together. Folkan in Eskilstuna is such a place.
This autumn, Parken Zoo is reopening the doors to the classic entertainment palace and letting a new era begin. On the programme is dansband nights, dinner show with Wallmans and a Christmas buffet with show for both private individuals and businesses.
The initiative is part of Parken Zoo's ambition to broaden the experience and create more reasons to visit the park even outside the traditional summer season.
– With the Folkan, we are preserving a fantastic part of our history while creating something new. We want Parken Zoo to be a destination for experiences all year round, and here there is a unique opportunity to combine entertainment, food and community in an environment that already means a great deal to many, says Rickard Sjödén, CEO of Parken Zoo.
An entertainment palace with a unique history
Parken Zoo has its roots in Eskilstuna Folkets Park, which was inaugurated as early as 1898 and was one of Sweden's first public parks. Music, theatre and dance characterised the site long before animals became part of the operations.
Dancing had a special role right from the start. At the opening in 1898 there was a dance pavilion, and in 1931 a dedicated dance hall was built. After the building was destroyed in a fire in 1950, its successor was ready as early as the following year.
Folkan was opened in 1951. Ddescribed as Sweden's most modern dance pavilion.
Over the years, the venue has attracted both local residents of Eskilstuna and visitors from afar. Swedish artists, musicians and dance bands have succeeded one another on stage, and for many, Folkan is associated with evenings of dancing, music and celebration. That tradition is now to be continued.
Dancing returns to the Folkan
A natural first step is to let dance reclaim its place on the floor.
During the autumn, well-known Swedish dance bands like Micke Ahlgrens, Titanix and Streaplers the scene. An initiative that unites the nostalgia of classic Swedish community park evenings with a new generation of visitors.
But the dance nights are only part of the plans. The people's house is to be developed into a venue that can shift character depending on the occasion, from dance and dinner show for Christmas celebrations, corporate events and conferences.
– Folkan has a soul that cannot be built from scratch. Here, there are decades of entertainment history and memories. We want to preserve that, but also develop it. The aim is not to recreate what once was, but to let Folkan's history become the foundation for the next chapter, says Rickard Sjödén.
Wallmans – The World's Greatest dinner show
The Original Concept – Est. 1991
One of the autumn's major initiatives will be when Wallmans On Tour coming to Folkan – furthermore during a real anniversary year.
This year Wallmans is celebrating 35 years old. Since its launch in 1991 at Teatergatan 3 in Stockholm, the concept has evolved into full evenings where the restaurant experience merges with glamour, passion and top-class international entertainment.
The founder Hasse Wallman, together with Mikael Gordon-Solfors, currently CEO of Wallmans, and the then artistic director Peter Björk, created the groundbreaking concept and term dinner show – a fusion of food, music and magic where the guest is right at the centre of events.
Since the beginning over six million guests in three countries experienced Wallmans. Artists, singers and performers gets close to the audience and the boundary between stage, auditorium and restaurant is blurred.
When Wallmans On Tour now coming to Folkan are two entertainment traditions, each with a long history. Wallmans' 35-year dinner showconcept meets an entertainment palace that has gathered audiences around music and dance for generations.
Two strong traditions, a brand new experience right in the middle of Eskilstuna.
Christmas buffet and show, together they become the experience
As Christmas approaches, the People's House transforms once again. Then it is set for Christmas buffet with show, where the food and the entertainment together form the main event of the evening.
Here, the guest doesn't need to choose between a really great Christmas buffet and an evening of entertainment. The idea is that the two parts will reinforce each other.
A generous Christmas buffet featuring traditional Christmas flavours is combined with music, singing and a fast-paced show. The entertainment follows the guests throughout the evening, creating variety between the different courses of the Christmas buffet.
In other words, the show is not an addition to the Christmas buffet – the combination is the experience itself.
The warmth and flavours of the traditional Christmas buffet meet the energy of the stage, turning dinner into a whole evening where guests have time to eat, chat, laugh and be entertained together.
For businesses, this means a ready-made Christmas party where both dinner and entertainment are housed under the same roof For families, friends and other groups, the Christmas buffet show is another way to celebrate the start of Christmas – a whole evening where the flavours of Christmas are combined with a show and entertainment
The flavours of Christmas meet the energy of the stage – at Folkan, the Christmas buffet becomes a show and the show a part of the Christmas buffet.
New opportunities for businesses
Folkets' return simultaneously creates new opportunities for companies looking for something beyond the traditional conference room.
Featuring a restaurant, stage and capacity for larger groups, the venue can be used for conferences, company parties, client events, kick-offs and Christmas celebrations.
And here is an asset that cannot be ordered from a catalogue: character.
An event at Folkan takes place right in the middle of a piece of Eskilstuna's entertainment history. At the same time, the whole of Parken Zoo is just outside the doors, which makes it possible to combine meetings and conferences with activities, food, animals, entertainment and other experiences.
That way it becomes the whole park is an experiential arena, where the content can be tailored for everything from smaller groups to larger corporate events.
Back to our roots with an eye on the future
For many people today, Parken Zoo is synonymous with animals, a funfair, swimming and family experiences. But the park's history began with something else.
Here people gathered for music, theatre and dance long before the first animals arrived in the area in the early 1950s. Therefore, the investment in Folkan is not just a new operation. In many ways, it is a return to Parken Zoo's roots.
The difference is that the traditional folk park heritage now gets to meet today's ways of socialising and experiencing entertainment.
– Parken Zoo has a fantastic entertainment history that we are proud of and want to build upon. With Folkan, we can create experiences even outside the traditional park season and welcome both private individuals and businesses all year round. The combination of Folkan's history, really good food and top-class entertainment has enormous potential. This is the beginning of a new chapter for a classic part of Eskilstuna, says Rickard Sjödén.
When the lights are turned on, the food is served, and the music once again resounds through the hall, a story that began more than a century ago therefore continues.
But this time it's not about looking back.
It is about what happens next. The folk are back.