FinnFest Schedule

Tentative Schedule

SATURDAY, JULY 26

Unless otherwise indicated, lectures will run 45 minutes and include questions and answers and introductions. Therefore, it will be important to begin and end on time to allow the next program to set up. Thanks to one and all.

Sat, All-Day Activities
Tori and Tori Stage – Pioneer Hall
Genealogy – St. Louis River Room
Military Display – Lake Superior M & N
Sami Camp – Outside
Craft Demonstrations – Chester Creek Room
Food Court – Edmund Fitzgerald Hall

For information and times for these activities,
click here.

Sat, 9 am – 5 pm, Art Displays
     Duluth Art Institute, 506 W. Michigan St., (9:30 am - 6 pm) has the exhibition “Naturally Finnish/Luonnollisesti Suomalainen.” Tweed Museum of Art, 1201 Ordean Court, (1 - 5 pm) has the exhibition “Honoring Tradition: Finnish and Sami-inspired Textiles Exhibit.” Area Galleries: Finnish-American and Finnish artists also have work at area galleries (hours vary). See Wednesday’s listing for more information.

Sat, 9 am, “Brule, Wisconsin: A Great Place to Call Home” with Duane Westfield
Lake Superior Ballroom L, LECTURE
     Duane Westfield will recall memories of growing up in Brule: shooting the rapids of the Brule River, a river that gave the township its name; skiing the ridges of the Copper Range; blueberry picking; the Co-op Park; and Pikkujoulu in the Round Hall. He will present an illustrated lecture tracing the life of the village through the eyes of a child. Duane Westfield is a Lutheran pastor and retired Army Chaplain and Colonel. He is a graduate of Suomi College (‘53) and Seminary (‘58) and holds degrees from Boston and Long Island Universities.

Sat, 9 am, “Finntown of the Soul” with Pat Eilola
Lake Superior Ballroom O, LECTURE
     Eilola will read a chapter or more from her new book entitled A Finntown of the Soul. Like its predecessor, A Finntown of the Heart, also published by North Star Press of St. Cloud, Inc., this book had its inception in the memoirs written by her mother. It serves as a sequel, taking the major character, Ilmi Marianna Brosi, through her move to Zim, her eighth grade year, her struggles at high school in Mountain Iron, and into her first year of teaching. All of the characters, dialogue, and action, however, are products of the author’s mind. None of them really lived, said, or did what she has them do in the book.
     Pat Eilola grew up in Alango, a farming community north of Duluth, on land that was part of her grandparents’ homestead farm. She remembers listening to her grandfather’s stories of a fabulous family in Finland called the “Holomolaiset,” who, though uneducated, solved all of their problems with cleverness and wit.

Sat, 9 am, “Puukko Junkkari” with Les Ristinen
Gooseberry 1, LECTURE
     In Finland, those interested in knives and carried them were called Puukko Junkkari and so were the puukko peddlers at the tori (markets) where they hawked ‘puukkoja ja puntareita,’ knives and weight scales. The history of puukko from the Finno-Ugric to the present, including ‘art’ knives and collectibles, will be discussed.
     Les Ristinen has written two books in English and has an extensive collection spanning 60 years.

Sat, 9 am, “Viili-Real Finnish Culture” with Beatrice Ojakangas
Gooseberry 2, LECTURE
     Viili has been described as everything from a delicious Finnish yogurt to “slime”. Beatrice grew up loving the stuff. Viili is made with a specifically identified culture called Lactococcus lactis. The session will discuss viili, its character, and participants may perhaps even take home “pohjapiima.”
     Beatrice Ojakangas grew up on a farm near Floodwood, Minn. and graduated from UMD. Her first cookbook, The Finnish Cookbook (researched when she lived in Finland), was published in 1964 and is still in print. She has written 25 more cookbooks and writes a regular magazine column.

Sat, 9 am, “The Travels of Peter Kalm,
Finnish-Swedish Naturalist, through Colonial North America, 1748-1751” with Paula Ivaska Robbins
Gooseberry 3, LECTURE
     Paula Ivaska Robbins, a retired university administrator, wrote about Kalm’s travels for an American audience. Born in the U.S. of Finnish parents, she had written a previous book about Finnish history, Nights of Summer, Nights of Autumn, and about American history, The Royal Family of Concord. Robbins taught adult education at the University of Helsinki in 1982 under a grant from the Finnish Academy. She also wrote two historical novels based on the life of her grandmothers in Finland from the 1890s through World War I, and in the Finnish immigrant community of Fitchburg, Mass.

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Magnus Londen	Joakim Enegren

Sat, 9 am, “Come to Finland.
Posters & Travel Tales 1851-1965”
with Magnus Londen and Joakim Enegren
Meeting Room 202, LECTURE
     In the late 19th century, Finland was already an exotic travel destination. Not only was Finland an autonomous Grand Duchy with the Russian Czar as its ruler, the country was also “off the beaten track”, as one popular poster slogan stated almost one hundred years ago. Slides of travel posters throughout the history of Finland will be shown along with a history of the posters.
     Magnus Londen is an author and journalist. He is a familiar radio voice at the Finnish Broadcasting Company YLE and a regular newspaper columnist. He has published travel books about Siberia and St. Petersburg, as well as the popular phenomenon of package tours to the Mediterranean. His book on St. Petersburg was nominated for the Tieto-Finlandia prize in 2004, and he was Finland’s 2005 Freelance Journalist of the Year.
     Joakim Enegren has worked both as newspaper journalist and corporate communication planner since 1995. In 2006 he founded his own communication company. His list of clients include several prominent Finnish and Swedish companies. He is currently based in Kathmandu, Nepal, where his wife Mikaela works for the United Nations.

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Sat, 9 am, “Search for Economic Justice”
with Pam Brunfelt
Meeting Room 203, LECTURE
     In 1932, after two decades of radical political activity on the Cuyuna Iron Range, Karl Emil Nygard, a Communist and a second generation Swede Finn, was elected mayor of Crosby, Minn. Led by the Finns, the miners of the range fought for economic justice through strikes, the opening of cooperatives, and the construction of workers’ halls. The struggle of the workers is highlighted in this program.
     Pamela A. Brunfelt teaches history and political science at Vermilion Community College in Ely, Minn. Her research focuses on the history of radicalism on the Cuyuna Iron Range and the social, cultural and political history of Minnesota’s Iron Range.
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Sat, 9 am - 12pm, “Finland DNA Project”
with moderator Mary Lukkarila
Meeting Room 204-205, LECTURE
     Moderator Mary Lukkarila and Lauri Koskinen, Michael Swanson, Bennett Greenspan, Jim Kurtti, and Ruth Stierna will discuss the relevance of DNA to genealogical research. Those who have had their DNA tested will have the opportunity to meet others who match their Haplogroup and markers.
     Michael Swanson, the yDNA website administrator for the Finland DNA Project, is a computer programmer and graphic artist from Tennessee. His interest in DNA and genealogy was sparked by a family debate about the country of origin of his great grandfather who immigrated to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Two years ago Michael and his family visited Finland and explored the site of his ancestors’ farm in Swedish-speaking Vörå-Maxmo.
     Bennett Greenspan, a Nebraskan native, spent years investigating his maternal grandfather’s ancestors, an obsession which led to the founding of Family Tree DNA, which now holds over 175,000 records and works with some of the world’s leading authorities in the field of Y-DNA genetics. He turned a genealogy hobby into a full-time vocation and created the burgeoning field now known as genetic genealogy.
     Ruth Jarvi Stierna’s interest in her family’s genealogy was born in museum shop management for the National Trust for Historic Preservation. She attended Suomi College and studied art history at George Mason University in Northern Virginia where she now lives.
     Mary Lukkarila is the library director for the Cloquet Public Library. She has worked on her family’s genealogy for over 30 years and has helped others as part of her job as a librarian. She is co-administrator for the mtDNA part of the Finland DNA Project.
     Jim Kurtti is the director of Finlandia University’s Finnish-American Heritage Center and editor of the Finnish-American Reporter. 
     Lauri Koskinen founded the DNA Project in 2006 and is the project administrator.

Mary Lukkarila

Michael Swanson

Bennett Greenspan

Jim Kurtti

Ruth Stierna

Sat, 9 - 11 am, Kantele Class, 5 & 10 String
with Diane Jarvi
French River Room, MUSIC
     This class, for ages 10 to adult, will cover the basics of beginning kantele: tuning, finger positions, songs from the Kalevala and other kantele repertoire. Those with some previous experience are welcome.
     Diane Jarvi is a versatile jazz and pop singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist. She sings and records her own original songs in contemporary folk style and is accomplished on both the guitar and kantele. She
is known in Finland as “Minnesotan Satakeili,” the Minnesota nightingale. She is a published poet and a recipient of the Finlandia Foundation Performer of the Year.

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Sat, 9 - 9:45 am, “Teaching the Ojibwe Language through Children’s Songs” with Rick Gresczyk
Paulucci Hall, LECTURE
     Rick Gresczyk is a professor of social studies at the University of Minnesota and has recently recorded a CD entitled Nagomodaa Ojibwemong.

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Sat, 10 am, “Panel of Women Leaders”
Auditorium, LECTURE
        One of the central themes of the festival is the “Contributions of Women Leaders.” This panel consists of women who represent a variety of leadership positions. The panel will feature the President of Finland Tarja Halonen; UMD Chancellor Kathryn A. Martin; former Ambassador to Finland Marilyn Ware; FinnFest USA President and Finnish Studies Researcher K. Marianne Wargelin; Lake Superior College Dean Hanna Erpestad; Founding President of the Save Lake Superior Association and three-time Minnesota Legislator Arlene Lehto. This panel will consider the influence of Finland as they explore women’s leadership styles, women mentors and role models, challenges and opportunities for women leaders, the nature and importance of female relationships, and the roles women play in Finland and the USA. Everyone is welcome! The Panel of Women Leaders was funded in part by the Wirtanen Family Fund of the Duluth Superior Area Community Foundation.

University of Minnesota Duluth Chancellor Kathryn A. Martin	Ambassador Marilyn Ware	President of Finland Tarja Halonen	Lake Superior College Dean of Students Hanna Erpestad	FinnFest USA President K. Marianne Wargelin

Sat, 10 am, “Great Lakes Shipping, A working waterfront” with Davis Helberg
Lake Superior Ballroom L, LECTURE
     Duluth-Superior has been the Great Lakes’ largest tonnage port and one of North America’s leading bulk cargo ports. Davis Helberg will talk about the people and events that created the port and how it reinvents itself. Helberg, a grandson of Finnish immigrants and native of Esko, Minn., began his career as a deckhand aboard a Great Lakes freighter. He became a newspaper reporter, public relations director, ship pilotage manager and president of a stevedoring and warehousing company before serving as executive director of the Duluth Seaway Port Authority from 1979 to 2003.

Sat, 10 am, "Naturally Finnish/Luonnollisesti Suomalainen”
Lake Superior Ballroom O, LECTURE
This panel, moderated by Joyce Koskenmaki, will showcase artists whose work is featured in the exhibit of the same name at the Duluth Art Institute. Artists Tia Samela Keobounpheng, Kristin Pavelka, Lynn Korhonen, Virginia Maki, and Tiffany Besonen will discuss their work and contemporary Finnish-American art.
Joyce Koskenmaki lives in Hancock, MI, after teaching art at six college and universities, works fulltime in her studio. She has had over thirty solo exhibitions. Her work has been shown nationally and internationally and is in numerous collections. Her paintings reflect the environment of the north in spirit and imagery.
Tia Salmela Keobounpheng, of the Minneapolis design firm, Silvercocoon, has a degree in architecture from the University of Minnesota, and explores the connections between art, design, craft and architecture.
Kristin Pavelka, Maplewood, Minn. has exhibited her ceramics nationally and internationally. She's held residencies at the Archie Bray Foundation and Tsugaru Kanayama Pottery in Japan and received a Jerome Foundation Artist grant. For the past four years she has been the head of the ceramics program at Hamline University.
Lynn Korhonen lives in Waino, Wisc. A brief adventure in Portland, Oregon after college introduced her to glass fusing and she's been working mainly in that medium ever since.
Ginny Maki, Duluth, is an interdisciplinary artist whose aim is to explore the relationships between individuals and their environment. She has thematically explored the relationship between person and environment. In Shadow Series she has focused on her three living grandparents and their immediate reaction to something thrown at them, hoping to relate their response to how they handle larger impending complications.
Tiffany (Yliniemi) Besonen, from Northern Minnesota, teaches art and has exhibited her work in New York City, Minnesota, and Michigan. She received several grants including a Minnesota State Arts Board Grant. In 2007, Finlandia University Gallery in Hancock, Michigan hosted the exhibit Kotiväki, a two-person mixed-media installation by Tiffany and her husband, Daniel Besonen.

Joyce Koskenmaki	Tia Salmela Keobounpheng	Kristin Pavelka	Lynn Korhonen	Ginny Maki	Tiffany (Yliniemi) Besonen

Sat, 10 am, “Karelia Panel”with William Durbin and Lillian McBroom
Gooseberry 1, LECTURE
     This presentation is a discussion about the personal experiences of people who lived in Karelia in the 1930s and 1940s.
     William Durbin is an author and a former teacher who lives at the edge of Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Wilderness. A winner of the Great Lakes Book Award and a two-time winner of the Minnesota Book award, Durbin has published ten novels, including The Broken Blade, Wintering, Song of Sampo Lake, Blackwater Ben, The Darkest Evening, and The Journal of Otto Peltonen. His most recent book is The Winter War.
     Lillian McBroom was born and raised in Rudyard, Mich. to Finnish parents. Her mother’s family traveled to Karelia in the 1930s and McBroom grew up hearing her stories of life in Russia. She is a clinical Social Worker in Kincheloe, Mich.

William Durbin

Sat, 10 am, “Everything You Wanted to Know About Baking Pulla” with Anneli Johnson
Gooseberry 2, LECTURE
     Homemaker and nutritionist Anneli Johnson, formerly with the University of Massachusetts
 Extension and Massachusetts Department of Food and Agriculture gained her knowledge of baking breads and pulla (nisu) while working in her family restaurant.
     Johnson, who was born in Finland, has taught Scandinavian Cuisine at Quincy College and at the Heikinpäivä Festivals in Hancock, Mich. She has presented to audiences at University Extension and the Holland America Line and has been featured in the Patriot Ledger of Quincy, Boston Herald Food Pages, Raivaaja, Savon Sanomat and Koillis Savo, Finland.

Sat, 10 am, "The Continuation War 1941-1944 Finland’s Fight For Survival" with Brent Snodgrass and Marshall Kregel
Meeting Room 202, LECTURE
This session is an overview of the reasons behind the 1941-1944 Finn/Russo War.  Included will be details of the military actions that saved Finland from the real threat of its demise as a free nation.
Brent Snodgrass is a researcher of Finnish-Russian-Soviet small arms whose studies have appeared in reference works in the United States and Europe.  Snodgrass is the co-author of Finland At War and has been involved in military historical exploration in Finland, Estonia, Latvia, and areas of the former Soviet Union.  Brent is the founder of the Estonian Veterans Research Interviews and is an assistant to the Finnish Veterans Interview Project. A section of Brent’s vast military collection is on display here at FinnFest. 
Marshall Kregel is interested in Finnish military history and is head of the Finnish Veteran Interview Project. This project will compile into a book the interviews with veterans in North America and Finland in order to share the stories of those that helped Finland survive the time of war. Kregel is also the webmaster of the popular Kev Os 4 Finnish history website. 

Brent Snodgrass	Marshall Kregel

Richard Hudelson

Sat, 10 am - 12 noon, “Finnish-American Radicalism Panel” with Marvin Lamppa, Richard Hudelson, Tom Selinski, and Gary Kaunonen
Meeting Room 203, LECTURE
     Marvin Lamppa will discuss “Finns in the Mines: The Mesabi Mining Environment and its Impact on Finnish Miners and their Families.” In 1905 when the U.S. Steel Corporation solidified its economic hold on the range, Finns were already the largest foreign-born group and had established a Finnish-American community. The following 15 years were marked by conflicts, strikes, violence, and a rising Americanization movement determined to break down ethnicity.
     Marvin Lamppa has published widely on many subjects related to mining history and Finnish immigration. His recent book Minnesota’s Iron Country: Rich Ores, Rich Lives, won the 2004 Northeast Minnesota Book Award for scholarship in the area of nonfiction.
     Richard Hudelson will show slides and discuss The Radical Finnish Community in Superior and Duluth. Richard Hudelson is co-author with Carl Ross of By the Ore Docks: A Working People’s History of Duluth.

Sat, 10 am - 1 pm, “Salolampi Sampler”
Paulucci Hall, WORKSHOP FOR CHILDREN
     Salolampi Sampler is offered for youth seven
to 15 years old, who are registered for FinnFest. Registration for children is free. Parents are welcome to participate. Instruction is in Finnish, using skits, motions, physical response, and repetition. Attend any or all of the sessions. Choose Finnish names, learn songs, dance, take a vocabulary tour, listen to a picture story, make crafts, play music, and play games.

Sat, 10 am - 12 noon, Minnesota Finnish-American Historical Meeting
Auditorium Mezzanine

Pekka Hirvonen

Sat, 11 am, “Evolution of Finnish and English in Northern Minnesota” with Pekka Hirvonen and Mike Linn
Lake Superior Ballroom L, LECTURE
     Pekka Hirvonen was Professor of English at the University of Joensuu from 1979 until his retirement in 2005. His main research interest was Finnish-American bilingualism and language shift and his main workmate was Professor Michael D. Linn of the University of Minnesota Duluth. He spent two fieldwork years in the U.S., one in Lake Worth, Fla., and the other in Duluth, Minn., and made a dozen shorter field trips to the Duluth area.
     Michael Linn is professor of linguistics at the University of Minnesota Duluth. Mike has a special interest in the language of Finnish immigrants and how it changes over time because of his family. His immigrant Finnish grandfather worked in the underground mines in Idaho and Montana and Mike worked as a lumberjack with Finns in Montana. Since 1980, Mike has been studying the language of Northern Minn. with a special interest in the English of the Finns. He has done research at Joensuu University, taught at Tampere University, and been a Fulbright Lecturer at Petrozavodsk State University.
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Sat, 11 am, “Honey, I’m Finnish. How Shall We Tell the Kids?” with William Lageroos
Lake Superior Ballroom O
     This is a light-hearted and informal discussion regarding how we pass on to others, consciously or unconsciously, explicitly or implicitly, the qualities of being Finnish and/or Finnish American, whether they be a set of artifacts handed down, a flag waving pride, character traits, celebration of traditional customs, deep but unspoken feelings, or an understanding of immigrant history. Lastly the group will discuss just how kids do, or do not, latch on to the traditions.
     Bill Lageroos has organized and led adult education courses and workshops. He has a keen interest in the ways in which people of Finnish descent take pride in their heritage. Some of his reflections show up in articles he writes for The New World Finn.

Sat, 11 am, “North Americans Missing in Soviet Karelia” with Varpu Lindström
Gooseberry 1, LECTURE
     This lecture will share the latest results of an extensive, co-operative, international research project that investigates what happened to the North Americans who moved to Soviet Karelia during the depression. The presentation is based on information that has recently been discovered in the Russian archives and will offer some preliminary conclusions on the implementation of Stalin’s terror in Soviet Karelia.
     Varpu Lindström, Ph.D. is a professor of history and women’s studies at York University, Toronto, Canada.

Sat, 11 am, “Rya Rugs: Finnish National Treasure” with Liisa Ojala
Gooseberry 2, LECTURE
     This slide show follows the Finnish rya from a peasant handicraft to contemporary art. “Ryijy” rugs date to the 14th century, and beautiful examples after 1770 influenced folk culture. During Gustavus Vasa time, ryas were collected as taxes and hung in crown manors. Folk weavers took upper class patterns and combined them with folk motifs.            
     Liisa Ojala’s family has a long textile tradition from Finland. With an M.A. and B.A. from the University of Minnesota in German and Scandinavian literature, the opportunity to be involved with museum-quality exhibitions has honed Liisa’s design sense. She worked at International Design Center for nine years before becoming an independent designer.

Sat, 11 am, “Good Custodians of the North Woods: Finnish-American Writers Wuori and Matson Carry on the Finnish Tradition” with Beth Virtanen
Gooseberry 3, LECTURE
     The idea of ‘discipline’ is discussed as it is meant in the creation of disciplines (such as in ecology, biology, and medicine) and in the development of discipline (such as in the military and police forces) to examine the relationships between humans and their environment depicted in the texts by G.K. Wuori and Suzanne Matson Carry. In some ways, the characters continue in the manner as defined by the Finnish tradition as being good conservators of nature, but the capitalist economy in the U.S. complicates that arrangement and makes custodianship of nature much more difficult.

Francis Carroll	Marlene Wisuri

Sat, 11 am, “The Finns and the Great Fires of 1918” with Francis Carroll and Marlene Wisuri
Meeting Room 202, LECTURE
     On October 12, 1918, a number of forest fires ravaged northern Minn. causing great destruction of property and lives. Of the over 500 people who perished, many were Finnish immigrants or of Finnish descent. Francis Carroll and Marlene Wisuri will present an illustrated story of the fires and their tragic impact on Finnish settlers.
     Francis Carroll, Winnipeg, Manitoba, was educated at Carleton College, the University of Minnesota, and Trinity College, Dublin. He is currently Professor Emeritus of History at the University of Manitoba. He is the author of numerous books including three books of Carlton County, Minn., history. As a native of Cloquet, Minn., he had a lifelong interest in the great fires of 1918 and wrote, with Franklin Raiter, The Fires of Autumn: The Cloquet-Moose Lake Disaster of 1918.
     Marlene Wisuri, Duluth, is a college teacher, artist/photographer, historian, author, and book publisher. She received her MFA degree from the University of Massachusetts. Her photographs have appeared in numerous exhibits throughout the country and in Finland and Norway. She has been the co-author of several books about immigrant issues, local history, and Ojibwe culture and history. She is an active member and elder of the Sami Siida of North America.

Sat, 11:15 am – 12:45 pm, “Kantele Practice
Session” with Barbara Hanka
French River Room
     Five and 10 string kanteles are available to practice.

Kivijat

Sat, 11:30 am – 1 pm, International
Performance”
Harborside Ballroom, DANCE. (Doors open at 11 am)
     International performance with dancers from the United States, Canada, Sweden, and Finland featuring, Kasareikka, fom Stockholm, Sweden, Kivajat, from Michigan, and TKY, from Turku, Finland.

Sat, 11:30 a.m – 1:30 pm, Box Lunch Pick-up
Edmund Fitzgerald Food Court, LUNCH
Advance purchase only, $14
     Includes sandwich, chips, fruit, cookies, and soda.

Saturday, July 26 afternoon

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Sat, 12 pm, “Finnish Lunch”
Lake Superior Ballroom J&K, LUNCH
Advance tickets only, $18
     Traditional Finnish Lunch – Liha Keitto (Finnish Stew) with mixed rolls, coffee, tea, milk, sugar and ginger cookies.

Sat, 12 pm, Kip Peltoniemi
Lake Superior Ballroom L, MUSIC
     Kip Peltoniemi is an accordionist, song writer, story teller and comedian who sings original and traditional songs about Finnish-American and northern Minn. culture. He tells tales about fictional and historical subjects and plays Finnish fiddle tunes on two and three row button accordions. “His one man show features unusual accordion instrumentals, humorous songs, dubious folklore, tall tales and out-and-out-lies.” The Helsingin Sanomat, Finland’s largest newspaper, named his CD Minnesota Tango the best folk music in 2001.

Sat, 12 pm, “Tango Lesson” with Ralph Tuttila
Lake Superior Ballroom O, DANCE
     Dance is a way of life for Ralph Tuttila. He learned the two step at twelve from his sister Kathy in the kitchen. He has been teaching dance for 10 years at the Rendezvous Studio in Minneapolis. He specializes in Tango, Argentine style, as well as Finnish tango, having studied under the Master of Finnish Tango, Ake Blomqvist in Finland. Ralph performs with the Finnish Folkdance group “Kisarit.”

Sat, 12 pm, “Ways of Discovering the Kalevala” with Börje Vähämäki
Gooseberry 1, LECTURE
     Börje Vähämäki received his Ph.D. from Åbo Academy in 1984. He has taught Finnish Studies in North America for 33 years, first at the University of Minnesota and since 1989, at the University of Toronto. He edits the Journal of Finnish Studies and has published a Finnish-language textbook entitled Mastering Finnish. His other books and articles include translations, such as L.L. Laestadius’s Fragments of Lappish Mythology and Red Moon over White Sea by Laila Hietamies. He is especially interested in the Kalevala.

Sat, 12 pm, “The Legend of St. Urho” with Matt Havumaki, Gerry Kangas and Tim Winker
Gooseberry 2, LECTURE
     St. Urho’s Day is a tongue-in-cheek Finnish-American celebration which began in Minn. in the 1950s and reflects the acculturation process with a nod to St. Patrick’s Day. Thanks to the creativity of Sulo Havumaki and Richard Mattson, St. Urho is credited for having saved the Finnish grape harvest from a plague of grasshoppers or frogs. Hear how this legend emerged, how it is celebrated and how it is still an evolving legend.
  Gerry Kangas, Palo, Minn., a local St. Urho “scholar,” owns some of the original St. Urho day “artifacts.” She is active in the Finnish-American community and the Palo-Markham Laskiainen Sliding Festival. She has also edited a number of Finnish and regional cook books.

Sat, 12 pm, “High Points in Finland’s Unique History” with Richard Impola
Gooseberry 3, LECTURE
     Finland’s existence as a nation resulted from a combination of luck and determination. Learn about some of the unusual events which resulted in the nation we know today.
     Richard Impola grew up in Northern Mich., served in the U.S. Army during World War II, received a Ph.D. in English from Columbia University, and taught at Michigan Tech and SUNY College at New Paltz. His translations from Finnish literature include Aleksis Kivi’s Seven Brothers, Väinö Linna’s Under the North Star trilogy, and the five novels in the Kalle Päätalo Koillismaa series. He has been honored for his translations by the American Scandinavian Foundation and by the Finnish government.
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Sat, 12 pm, “Women Behind Bars” with Silja Talvi
Meeting Room 202, LECTURE
     Silja Talvi will make a presentation about her travels in Finland conducting research for her recently published book Women Behind Bars. She will discuss her visit to the Hämeenlinna women’s prison and will compare international (England, Canada, Finland and American) modes of incarceration.
     Silja Talvi is an investigative journalist and author of Women Behind Bars: The Crisis of Women in the U.S. Prison System. She has received national and regional awards for her writing on criminal justice, ethnicity, gender, immigration, and poverty. She retains dual citizenship and each year travels to the family’s cabin in the Iitti forest.

Sat, 12 pm, “Italian Hall Disaster” with Steven Lehto
Meeting Room 203, LECTURE
     In 1913, in Calumet, Mich., someone ran into a party being held for the children of striking copper miners and yelled “Fire!” when there was no fire. Described by some as “the Titanic” of the Finnish community, 73 people died trying to get out of the building; more than half were Finns.
     Steve Lehto is an attorney from Southeastern Mich. and an adjunct professor at the University of Detroit School of Law. His family is from the Upper Peninsula. His book Death’s Door has won many awards and was named a Michigan Notable book for 2007.

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Sat, 12 - 2 pm, “Genealogy Luncheon:
Finnish Migration Patterns” with Jouni Korkiasaari
Meeting Room 204-205, LUNCHEON,
Advance tickets for optional lunch, $14. Free lecture.
     Jouni Korkiasaari, Turku, Finland, has worked as a researcher and expert of Finnish migration at the Institute of Migration since 1980. His special area of interest is Finns abroad. He is one of the authors of the six-volume book series on the history of Finnish emigration. His current research focuses on the Finnish North Americans today. He is also an expert in using computers and the internet in genealogical research of Finnish emigrants.

Pasi Cats	Finn Power

Sat, 12-2 pm, Bayfront Park Lunch concert with Pasi Cats and Finn Power
Bayfront Park is just west of the DECC.
Bring a picnic lunch and enjoy the outdoor concert.
     Pasi Cats is a Finnish dance band from Michigan’s Copper Country. Pasi Lautala, a grad student at Michigan Technical University is joined by Mike LaBeau, Bob Hiltunen, Keith Rintala and Oren Tikkanen. The band plays Finnish dance music from the 1940s to today.
     Finn Power plays a variety of dance music: Finnish polkas, waltzes, schottishes, and mazurkas. They balance the performance with music that appeals to all: The Chicken Dance, Hokey Pokey, Limbo, the Butterfly, and the Finnish folk dance “The Raatikkoon.” They have performed at dozens of well-known Finnish festivals.

Saga Living	Lauri Jacobi Designs	FinnStyle

Sat, 12 - 2 pm, Fashion Show and Luncheon
University of Minnesota Duluth Kirby Ballroom,
EVENT, 1120 Kirby Drive,
Advance tickets only, $30.
For more about this event, see page 81.
     Join us for lunch and a fashion show featuring an elegant Scandinavian/European style luncheon and a fashion show of contemporary, sophisticated Scandiavian fashions.
     Sari Knutson, Saga Living, will feature original Marimekko fashions. Her spring line is fresh, bright, bold with fashions straight from Finland.
     Lauri Jacobi, Lauri Jacobi Designs, will present her original designs in wool. Each design is based on a Scandinavian legend about nature, a story with the beauty of nature, textile artistry and timeless design. Lauri is a storyteller in wool and each piece is an original, one-of-a-kind work of art.
     Elina Ruppert, FinnStyle, will feature the modern Finnish design of two Marimekko fabrics as the stage backdrop for the event.

Sat, 12 - 5 pm, Duluth Garden Flower Society Flower Show,
The Depot, 506 W. Michigan St.

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Sat, 1 pm, Nyt Naura — Suomalainen Sisters
Lake Superior Ballroom L, COMEDY MUSIC
     Nyt Naura’s original script is based on Sherry Kyro Sarrinen, Kris Kyro and Linda Kyro’s personal experiences of growing up Finnish in the Upper Peninsula of Michgian. The Finnish American Reporter describes the performance as “stories of sisu, sentiment, hardiness, and humor,” and adds, “You will understand why behind every Finn you will find someone else dismayed because they were not born Finnish.”

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Sat, 1 pm, Buswell and Stromholm Accordion Duo
Lake Superior Ballroom O, MUSIC
Brent Buswell and Bert Stromholm’s accordion duo are Finlandia Foundation National’s performers of the year for 2008. Bert Stromholm, a talented accordion player and entertainer, has been performing and playing dances since his youth. Brent Buswell pays the accordion as well as organ and percussion. He received a degree in professional music from Berklee College of Music. They will be joined by Crista Buswell, Brent’s wife, pianist and a graduate of Penn State. They play classical, American standards, novelty, Christian and Scandinavian music.

Sat, 1 pm, “Finns and Fauna” with Paul Webster
Gooseberry 1, LECTURE
     Plants met many of the needs of American Indians and Finnish immigrants who lived in the upper Midwest. Webster shares information on plants used for food, spirituality, healing, clothing and other of life’s necessities.
     Paul Webster was raised in the country by school teachers who farmed and engaged in many and varied cultural experiences. He moved to the city, where he learned to forge steel and teach English. These days he lives in Esko with his wife and children, farming, forging, foraging in the forest, and teaching classes in several subjects and venues.

Alexis Pogorelskin

Richard Hudelson

Sat, 1 pm, “Karelian Fever” with Richard Hudelson and Alexis Pogorelskin
Gooseberry 2, LECTURE
     In the early 1930s, significant numbers of North American Finns emigrated to Karelia. In a series of articles published in Siirtolaisuus/Migration, two local academics, Alexis Pogorelskin, Professor of History at the University of Minnesota Duluth, and Richard Hudelson, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Wisconsin Superior, have debated the nature and causes of that emigration.
     Richard Hudelson has a specialty in the history of political theory. He also has an interest in local history. He is co- author of By the Ore Docks: A Working People’s History of Duluth. Alone, and with co-author Mayme Sevander, he is the author of several articles on Finnish-American history.
     Alexis Pogorelskin is published widely in Russian intellectual history, especially on the topic of political opposition to Stalin. She is the editor of the NEP Journal, Soviet History 1921-1928, and was guest editor of the Journal of Finnish Studies volume devoted to Karalian Fever. Her documentary on Karalian Fever is in production.

Hanna Erprstad

Sat, 1 pm, “Education in Finland” with Hanna Erpestad
Gooseberry 3, LECTURE
     In the Finnish education system, Finnish students consistently score among the world’s top in mathematical, science, and reading literacy as well as in problem solving. Since 2001, when the results from the first Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) surveys placed Finland on top, the country has hosted hundreds of international delegations wanting to learn more about the Finnish education methods and policies. Hanna Erpestad is a native of Finland and a graduate of the Finnish education system. A long-time Duluth resident, she currently serves as Dean of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Lake Superior College in Duluth.

Sat, 1 pm, “Swede-Finn Fishing Families of Isle Royale and the North Shore” with Lou Mattson
Meeting Room 202, LECTURE
     This photographic history is of a group of 20 plus individuals who emigrated from a Swedish speaking area on the Gulf of Bothnia, Finland to Lake Superior from 1870 to 1910. All of these individuals were involved in Isle Royale fishing operations. See their homes on the Island and the mainland, hear their stories, and learn genealogy and Lake Superior history.
     Louis (Lou) Mattson was born into a Swede-Finn family and as a teen joined the family fishing operation at Tobins Harbor, Isle Royale, Mich. Perhaps influenced by the rocky nature of Isle Royale, he worked as a geologist for 40 plus years in the mineral industry

Lou Mattson

Susan Saarinen	Mark Coir

Sat, 1 pm, “Eero Saarinen: Shaping the Future” with Mark Coir and Susan Saarinen
Meeting Room 203, LECTURE
     Finlandia Foundation “Lecturers of the Year” are Susan Saarinen, the daughter of Eero Saarinen, and Mark Coir, scholar and archivist at the Cranbrook Educational Community in Mich. Through photographs, they will show the Saarinen design story and legacy, from both the personal and scholarly perspectives. The international exhibit, “Eero Saarinen: Shaping the Future,” came to the US from Europe to Cranbrook, Washington, D.C. (2008) and Minneapolis (2009).
     Susan Saarinen, principal of Saarinen Landscape Architecture in Golden, Colorado, is a landscape architect, an artist and a teacher.
     Mark Coir, director of archives and cultural properties at Cranbrook has focused his scholarly interests on the heritage of Cranbrook and especially on the achievements of the Saarinen family, native Finns who built extraordinary artistic careers in the United States.

Sat, 1 – 3 pm, Kantele Workshop, 5 & 10 String with Barb Hanka
French River Room, MUSIC
     Barbara Hanka has taught 5, 10, and 36 string kantele classes at FinnFests, festivals, libraries, museums, and heritage centers across the mid-west, as well as at the school where she teaches – the Lowell Elementary Music Magnet School in Duluth. Kantele classes include an introduction to songs in major and minor keys from Finland, Karelia, Russia, and other Baltic Sea countries, strumming techniques, melodic fingering, improvisation and more. A take-home booklet of music and technique is provided to students so that they can practice what they learned in the kantele classes.

Sat, 1 - 3 pm, FinnNala Meeting
Auditorium Mezzanine

Sat, 1:15-3:15 pm, “Theatre Workshop for Youth” directed by Pat Castellano
Paulucci Hall
     This session is practice to perform the play from the Kalevala. Pat Castellano grew up in Marble, Minn., a small town on the Iron Range. She grew up Finnish and Italian, with mojakka one weekend, and polenta the next! She taught English, physical education, and art and was the program director at the Duluth Children’s Museum. Theater is her favorite pastime: acting, directing, the Duluth Playhouse, Colder by the Lake comedy, Minnesota Access Theater, and others. Most recently, she directed the Trial of Goldilocks with 30 marvelous young people. She has a family of dogs and she says, “like Peter Pan and my mother who is the Finn in me, I will never grow up.” Everyone is welcome to attend the theatrical performance that follows this practice session.

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Sat, 2 - 4 pm, “Honoring Tradition: Finnish and Sami-Inspired Textiles Exhibit”
Artists’ Reception, and Gallery Talk
University of Minnesota Duluth, Tweed Museum of Art, 1201 Ordean Court, Duluth.
     A Gallery Talk will be presented by exhibit co-curator Mary Erickson. The work includes rag rugs, transparencies, poppana, felting, clothing, woven wall hangings, takana, raanu, rya, and other textiles. Vintage Finnish textiles will provide historical context for the exhibit. Participating artists include: Mary Erickson, Paivi Homola, Laurie Jacobi, Irene Johnson, Susan Johnson, Edythe Karlstrand, Ruth Koski, Karen Lamppa, Annika Martilla, Wynne Mattila, Mel Olsen, Joyce Seppala, Carol Sperling, Mary Wovcha, Susan Saari, Karin Kiviluoma, Bill Schaffer, and Janelle Kallio.

Sat, 2 pm, “Finnish Tunes on the Button Accordion” with Richard Koski
Lake Superior Ballroom L, MUSIC
     Richard Koski is well known in both Finnish and Finnish-American musical circles, especially in the Northeast and Upstate New York. He plays traditional Finnish dance music on one and two diatonic button accordions preserving the old-time music and has been named Finlandia Foundation’s POY for 2005. He has performed at the Kaustinen and Rääkylä Folk Festivals in Finland. Richard Koski, accordion, and Carl Rahkonen, fiddle will perform a duo.

Band'o

Sat, 2 pm, “Hot Fiddles and High Harmonies” with Band’o
Lake Superior Ballroom O, MUSIC
     Finnish culture strums a new chord with fresh new original songs by multitalented sisters Jemina and Selina Sillanpää. The music is an interesting blend of American and Irish folk influences, Finnish dance tunes, and immigrant songs, as well as modern folk and original singer-songwriter material, sung both in Finnish and English. These tunes are driven by the acoustic guitar rhythmic pulse played by their father, Seppo Sillanpää.

Sat, 2 pm, “Arlene Lehto – Grassroots environmentalist, former state legislator, and proud Finn”
Gooseberry 1, LECTURE
     Arlene Lehto will discuss the environmental work to halt taconite tailings discharge into Lake Superior, the 1980 Acid Deposition Act, and Minnesota’s Clean Indoor Air Act.
     Arlene (Lind) Lehto, a native Minnesotan and proud Finn, was founding President of the Save Lake Superior Association. She served three terms in the Minnesota House of Representatives. Lehto was the 1973 recipient of Minnesota Public Health Association’s Albert J. Chesley Award; the 1974 U.S. EPA, Region V Citizen Activist Award; and a 1983 Bush Leadership Fellowship to Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government where she earned her Master’s Degree in Public Administration.

Sat, 2 pm, “ How International is Finland? The Past and the Present” with Consul General Osmo Lipponen
Gooseberry 2, LECTURE
     Ambassador Osmo Lipponen was appointed Consul General of Finland in New York in October 2004. He holds a Social Science master’s degree from the University of Jyväskylä, and in 1973 joined the Ministry for Foreign Affairs as Attaché in the Political Department and spent years of foreign service with embassies in Geneva, Tokyo and Paris. He became Ministry for Foreign Affairs as First Secretary in the Political Department, initially in the Division for International Organizations (UN affairs), then in the Division for East and Eastern-Central Europe. After a four-year period as Counsellor for the Finland Embassy in Moscow, Ambassador Lipponen returned to Finland to work with the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. He was director at the Political Department for Asia, Africa, Middle East and America’s (USA and Canada excluded). He was Consul General in St Petersburg and Finland’s Ambassador to Zagreb from 1998 till 2002. He became Head of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Presence in Albania in 2002.

Calvin Tormanen

Sat, 2 pm, “Finnish Surnames in the Tornio River Valley in the 16th to 19th Centuries” with Calvin Tormanen
Gooseberry 3, LECTURE
     Until 1809 all of the Tornio River Valley was part of Sweden even though most people on both sides of the river had Finnish surnames and spoke a dialect of Finnish. In 1809 the Russians took control of the east river valley. Tormanen’s grandparents emigrated to Minn. in the late 19th century. In this presentation he will describe how the surnames changed and that marriage between cousins was common.
     Calvin Tormanen is a Central Michigan University chemistry professor. His interest in ancestry has taken him to Finland and Sweden. He has given presentations in Finland, Sweden, and the United States on the research into his Finnish roots.
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Sat, 2 pm, “Hirsi Talot-Log Homes, Finnish Log Building Methods and Styles from Old to New” with Les Ristinen, George Ahlgren and Martin Mattson
Meeting Room 202, LECTURE
     Learn about the construction methods of Finnish log homes with Les Ristinen, George Ahlgren and Martin Mattson. There will be discussion of tools and methods used in construction. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Sat, 2 pm, “The Finnish Emigrant Museum” with Tellervo Lahti
Meeting Room 203, LECTURE
     This presentation will cover the research of Dr. Anna-Leena Toivonen (1922-1969) and the founding of the Emigrant Museum in Peraseinajoki.
     Tellervo Lahti is the director of The Finnish Emigrant Museum in Peräseinäjoki in Seinäjoki. She teaches cultural studies and art history and is a leader in associations of history and heritage, visual arts and architecture, especially Alvar Aalto’s. Her publications concern visual artists, built heritage and local history. She is the editor of the Old Seinäjoki periodical and a member of The Finnish Association of Non-Fiction Writers. Lahti studied cultural sciences at the University of Turku and art history at the University of Jyväskylä.

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Sat, 3 pm, “Finlandia” with Marjatta Airas, Folke Gräsbeck, Jyrki Myllärinen and Tero Airas
Lake Superior Ballroom L, MUSIC
     Performing selections from Finnish folk music to opera stage featuring original Finlandia piano solo
arrangement by Sibelius.
     Marjatta Airas is well known as an artist of many talents with a lyrically dramatic high dark voice and extensive register. Her repertoire encompasses opera, operetta and Lieder as well as gypsy music, light music and spiritual music.
     Folke Gräsbeck, pianist, has performed more than 200 of Sibelius’s compositions, and has given the world premier performances of 82 of them.

Jyrki Myllärinen	Marjatta Airas	Tero Airas	Folke Gräsbeck

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Sat, 3 pm, “Sing-a-Long and Concert” with Tanja Paasikas Stanaway
Lake Superior Ballroom O, MUSIC
     Tanja Paasikas Stanaway of Kokkola, Finland, now of Ishpeming, Mich., is well known for her Finnish ballads, concerts, programs and sing-a-longs in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, which has the largest concentration of people of Finnish descent in the United States. Finnish-American music continues to be a prominent component of the region’s cultural life. In 2002 and 2003 Tanja was mentored by Wil Kilpela who had received a Michigan Traditional Arts Apprenticeship and the collaboration had a positive effect on the Finnish-American scene in the Upper Peninsula. In May, 2008 Tanja received the 12th Annual Performance Artist’s Award from the Marquette Arts and Culture Center.

Sat, 3 pm, “Survival Finnish” with Larry “Lauri” Saukko
Gooseberry 1, LECTURE
     This class will present the basics to get by in Finnish, including “Finnish Pronunciation in Five Minutes”, and how to say things such as “Where is the nearest sauna?” and “Can I borrow your cell phone?” Although spoken in Europe, Finnish is unrelated to most other European languages. Learn what this fascinating language from the land of Nokia is like.
     Larry Saukko is the dean of Salolampi, the Finnish Language Village where he has been on staff for 32 years. He is also the dean of Waldsee, the German Language Village for Village Weekend Programs. Saukko graduated from the University of Minnesota Duluth, in foreign language education, specializing in German and French. He has worked on a master’s degree in curriculum development. He taught high school German and English, taught Finnish in community education and community college programs, and served as business administrator of Concordia College’s Institute of German Studies.


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Sat, 3 pm, “Integration of Immigrants in the Finnish Labour Market” with Elli Heikkilä
Gooseberry Falls 3, LECTURE
     Learn about analysis of the employment of immigrants to Finland with respect to different background variables, such as employment, gender, education and country of birth. These factors are compared to the total population and economic classes. The regional distribution of immigrants will also be examined.
     Elli Heikkilä, the Research Director of Institute of Migration, Finland, has taken part in international projects like Global Regionalization. Core Peripheral Trends and many Nordic level Migration and labour market projects. Heikkilä is the co-editor of the international Migration Letters Journal and is on the executive committee of the League of the Finnish-American Societies.

Sat, 3 pm, “JOY (Joining Old and Young) through our Finnish Heritage” with Eleanor Palo Stoller
Meeting Room 202, LECTURE
     Explore strategies for capitalizing on links between family and ethnicity by bringing the youngest and oldest generations together to encourage an interest in Finnish heritage. Stoller will discuss her interviews with over 1,000 Finnish-Americans and her own experiences as a daughter, mother and grandmother in a Finnish-American family. Participants are invited to share.
     Eleanor Palo Stoller, research professor of sociology and gerontology at Wake Forest University, is a medical sociologist who studies strategies people develop for managing chronic disease. Memories of her Finnish grandparents provided the inspiration for her research on the ways in which people’s ethnic heritage shapes the experience of growing old.

Ben Strout

Marshall Kregal

William Durbin

Sat, 3 pm, The Winter War with William Durbin,
Ben Strout, and Marshall Kregel
Meeting Room 203, LECTURE
     See archival photographs and hear William Durbin retell stories about the Winter War from a Winter War veteran, a Lotta, a Winter War re-enactor from Finland, a former junior member of the Suojeluskunta (Civil Guard), and others.
     William Durbin is an author and a former teacher who lives at the edge of Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Wilderness. A winner of the Great Lakes Book Award and a two-time winner of the Minnesota Book award, Durbin has published ten novels, including The Broken Blade, Wintering, Song of Sampo Lake, Blackwater Ben, The Darkest Evening, and The Journal of Otto Peltonen. His most recent book is The Winter War.
     Ben Strout is a writer and producer. In 2003, he founded MastersWork Media. Fire and Ice: The Winter War of Finland and Russia was the company’s first documentary release. It has been screened at numerous film festivals and won best documentary at the 2006 Minneapolis-St. Paul International Film Festival. Broadcast on PBS and Europe television, it was awarded an Emmy in September 2007. In 2006 he was named the Finlandia Foundation Speaker of the Year.
     Marshall Kregel is interested in Finnish military history and is head of the Finnish Veteran Interview Project. This project will compile into a book with interviews with veterans in North America and Finland in order to share the stories of those that helped Finland survive the time of war. Kregel is also the webmaster of the popular Kev Os 4 Finnish history website.
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Steve Kerzie, Ray Nevala, Marvin Lamppa, Ed Hendrikson, Bill Thompson.

Sat, 3 pm, “A Tribute to the Flying Finns and Coach Hendrickson” with Warner Wirta, Ray Nevala, Marvin Lamppa, Bill Thompson, and Ed Hendrickson
Meeting Room 204-205, LECTURE
     An Embarrass High School young teacher and coach, Ed Hendrickson, developed the 86 student school into a track powerhouse. The Flying Finns track team (nearly all of Finnish heritage) in the early 1950s won three consecutive District 27 championships, two Region 7 championships, and they consistently placed in the state. During his 35-year coaching career, Hendrickson coached more individual state champions than any other Minn. track coach and was inducted into the Minnesota Track Coaches Hall of Fame. The Flying Finns captured the hearts and minds of the Embarrass community and they left a lasting legacy.
     Warner Wirta won the state cross country championship in 1951 and the state mile championship in 1952. He qualified for the Olympic trials in 1956 in Bakersfield, California. He was a teacher and social worker. He is retired and lives in Rice Lake Township by Duluth.
     Ray Nevala won the state championship in 440 yard dash and set the state record in 1953. In the early 1950’s Ray held the records for the 100 yard dash, 220 yard dash, and the 440 yard dash for District 27 and Region 7. He is a retired shovel operator and he lives in Aurora.
     Marvin Lamppa won the District 27 440 yard dash in 1951 and was a member of the District 27 and Region 7 champion 880 yard relay team. He taught history and coached track at Aurora-Hoyt Lakes High School and is a prominent Northern Minn. author and historian. He is retired and lives near Babbitt.
     Bill Thompson is the coordinator for the tribute to the Flying Finns and Coach Ed Hendrickson. He taught school and owned a real estate and insurance agency. He is retired and lives in Palo.

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Sat, 3-5 pm, Zingara Quartet and Folke Gräsbeck
Lake Superior Ballroom O, MUSIC
The Zingara Quartet performs a variety of programs which include Finnish folk songs in new arrangements, gypsy songs in Finnish and gypsy languages and classical Finnish concerts and contemporary music. Strong emotions, dance, and virtuosity are distinctive features of their performances. The group includes: Marjatta, vocal and dance soloist, Tero Airas, cellist, and Jyrki Myllärinen, virtuoso guitarist.
Folke Gräsbeck, accompanist, has performed more than 200 of Sibelius’s compositions, and has given the world premier performances of 82 of them. In 1996 he was awarded the medal of Sibelius's birthplace in Hämeenlinna. He has given performances as a recitalist, chamber player and lead accompanist in the USA, Egypt, Israel, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mexico, and Europe. His Sibelius repertoire also includes the Piano Quintet in G minor, the four piano quartets and the complete works for piano trio. He has made numberous recordings for BIS, many of which are included in the company's ongoing complete recorded Sibelius edition.

Zingara Quartet

Folke Gräsbeck

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Sat, 3:15 - 4:15 pm, “All Your Kantele Questions Answered” with Carl Rahkonen
French River Room, MUSIC WORKSHOP
     Carl Rahkonen, Ph.D. is professor and Music Librarian at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

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Sat, 3:15 - 4:15 pm, "The Kalevala Play"
Paulucci Hall, THEATER PERFORMANCE
The Kalevala Play directed by Pat Castellano and performed by a children's workshop (see listing at Sat, 1:15 pm).

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David Tak and the Finnbillys

Sat, 4 pm, “Dave Tak and the Finnbillys”
Lake Superior Ballroom O, MUSIC
     It’s been said the original music conceived, scored and performed by Dave Takanen, “kicks like country, jumps like bluegrass and has a rock-n-roll edge that lays on a bed of blues.” Takanen sings of his Finnish heritage and of growing up on Minnesota’s “Iron Range.” The music tells stories of his grandparents who emigrated from Finland in the early 1900s, the families they raised, their talents, and their eventual departure.

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Ryan Braski

Sat, 4 pm, “FinnFest Has Just Poked You”
with Ryan Braski
Meeting Room 202, LECTURE
     What does that mean? Someone under 25 will let you know. The next generation is growing up and will soon be the audience of the festival. This session will explore contemporary Finnish-American topics including art, investing, and pop culture. The session will end with a panel discussion on the direction of FinnFest at future sites and how FinnFest will adapt to meet the needs of generation Y and beyond.
     Ryan Braski is the youngest member of the FinnFest USA board of directors. He grew up in Duluth and is an accountant in Minneapolis.

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William Durbin

Veijo Paine

Sat, 4 pm, “Finland’s War Children” with Veijo Paine and William Durbin
Meeting Room 203, LECTURE
     William Durbin is an author and a former teacher who lives at the edge of Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Wilderness. A winner of the Great Lakes Book Award and a two-time winner of the Minnesota Book award, Durbin has published ten novels, including The Broken Blade, Wintering, Song of Sampo Lake, Blackwater Ben, The Darkest Evening, and The Journal of Otto Peltonen. His most recent book is The Winter War.
     Veijo Paine (Pönniãinen) from Bloomington, Minn., was born in Porvoo, Finland, and in 1950 moved to Duluth. His career took him from General Mills Electronics, to Honeywell, to Alliant Techsystems which was formed from the defense business part of Honeywell. He retired in 1996 as Director of Program Management.

Sat, 4 pm, “John Morton and the Delaware Finnish Roots” with Auvo Kostiainen
Meeting Room 204-205, LECTURE
     One of the best-known of the Delaware settler families were the Mårtenssons (Martenson, Morton), who have been often referred to as the Marttinen family from Savo province in Finland. A descendant of this family was John Morton, the signer of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. This session aims at presenting a new possibility to look at the roots of this family with help from DNA studies. While tracing the selected old Delaware colonist families and their contemporary descendants, we may find information connecting the Morton families to the DNA heritage particularly common in Finland.
     Auvo Kostiainen, is a professor of general history, at the University of Turku, Finland, School of History. He specializes in the history of migration and the history of tourism and travel.

Auvo Kostiainen

Sat, 4 - 5 pm, “Sampo Beach: Finnish Camp Reunion”with Elaine and George Ahlgren
Paulucci Hall
     The Ladies of Kaleva (Aallottaren Tupa) and the Knights of Kaleva (Vuoksen Maja) own a “resort” on Little Grand Lake called Sampo Beach. It provided an ideal location for the Finnish Heritage Day Camp (Sampo Finn Camp) from 1975 - 1982. Adults provided activities for children to learn the Finnish language, explore nature, develop artistic skills, enjoy singing, learn folk dances and bake Finnish foods. They also used the sauna, swam and played sports. Join the 30-year reunion of Salolampi villagers and staff as they share memorabilia, stories and photos. Families are encouraged to attend. Photos and memorabilia are welcome.  Contact Elaine Ahlgren 525-4435 for more information.

Sampocabin

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Ulla Suokko	Ninni Poijärvi Trio

Sat, 4:30 - 7 pm, “History of Finnish Pop Music” featuring Ulla Suokko from New York, Ninni Poijärvi Trio, and other guest artists from Finland.
Auditorium, (Doors open 3:30 pm)
Performance, MUSIC, Tickets. $15
     This event will feature selections of some of the best and most popular songs from Finland from 1970-2008. Ulla Suokko, a New York City-based musician will narrate the story line of the history of Finnish music from that era. The program will include video clips, compiled by Ira Mimmu Salmela of some of the finest Finnish singers as guest stars. Ninni Poijärvi Trio, as well as other musicians will enhance the eclectic blend of the best of Finnish popular music.
     Ulla Suokko is an internationally acclaimed concert flutist, performing artist, Reiki master, sound healer and teacher. A native of Finland, she has been featured in some of the world’s most prestigious concert venues.
     Ninni Poijärvi Trio band members Mika Kuokkanen, Ninni Poijärvi, and Olli Haavisto share a passion for old Finnish and international music as well as traditional Finnish Pelimanni folk music. 

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Saturday, July 26, evening

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Sat, 5 pm, “Koivun Kaiku”
French River Room, MUSIC
     “Koivun Kaiku”, from Minneapolis, Minn., the winners of the Finlandia Foundation’s “Performer of the Year” award, will perform on small and large kanteles. Their members are: Joyce Hakala, Betsey Norgard, Al Norgard, Kay Seppala, Julene Johnson, Kirsti Taipale, and Tia Smith.

Koivun Kaiku

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Finn Power	Wil Kilpela
	Wiita Brothers Band

Sat, 5 pm and 7 pm seating, Barbeque and
Music with Finn Power Band, Wil Kilpela and Friends, Wiita Brothers Band
Bayfront Park
Bayfront Park is just west of the DECC.
Barbeque – Chicken, potatoes, cole slaw, rolls, coffee/lemonade. Advance tickets only. $20/$10 children
Enjoy beautiful Bayfront Park and the view of Lake Superior with a picnic supper prepared by Arne Heikkila.
     Finn Power plays a variety of dance music: Finnish Polkas, Waltzes, Schottishes, and Mazurkas. They balance the performance with music that appeals to all: The Chicken Dance, Hokey Pokey, Limbo, the Butterfly, and the Finnish folk dance “The Raatikkoon.” They have performed at dozens of well-known Finnish festivals.
     Wilho Kilpela, of Wil Kilpela and Friends, is a Finnish-style accordion player. He had a good ear when he was a boy and took up the accordion. He played with local musicians and listened closely to musicians who traveled through the area. He was inspired by Viola Turpeinen, the famous Finnish-American accordionist as well as polka virtuoso Frank Yankovic. He has been playing steadily since he was 15 and especially since his retirement as a civil engineer. Wil sometimes plays solo but more often in a small combo or a full band. Playing with Wil are Paavo Hilska (vocals, mandolin), Ken Hoster (banjo), Randy Seppala (drums, bones, spoons) and Oren Tikkanen (bass guitar, mandolin).
     The Wiita Brothers Band is well known for playing traditional, old-time dance music. They have played for dances since 1983 and have performed at Iron World and many other area festivals and dances. Band members, Mark Wiita, Brian Wiita, Glen Bayless and Tim Churchill, play their rhythmically smooth songs with enthusiasm and energy.

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Sat, 5:15 – 6 pm, “Aah-Some Finnish Storyteller Extraordinaire” with Cheryl Johnson Sawyer
Paulucci Hall, Entertainment
     Laughter is internal jogging! Be amazed, amused, and entertained with Cheryl’s unique approach to entertaining audiences from preschoolers through adults. Favorite tales are enhanced with rib-tickling humor and slap-stick comedy. Cheryl uses some illusion. As something changes in the story, it also changes in her hands. In addition, she tells the “Three Bears” in Finnish.
     Cheryl Johnson Sawyer was born in Oulu, Wisc. and spoke Finnish at an early age. She and her husband live in St. Paul, Minn. because that’s all the farther south their retirement funds have taken them. Cheryl has been a professional storyteller for 21 years.

Sat, 5:30 - 7:30 pm, “Celebrating 25 years of FinnFest”
Lake Superior Ballroom J&K, BANQUET
Cash bar. ($45 ticket includes the banquet and
Harbor Ballroom dance).
Advance tickets only.
     Enjoy reminiscing with friends and looking at photos from previous FinnFests. Find out from FinnFest USA president, K. Marianne Wargelin, how FinnFest USA began, and discover the places it has been. A friendly welcome by Davis Helberg, former director of the Duluth Seaway Port Authority, is just the beginning to this delightful evening, which will also include a poetry reading by Jim Johnson, Duluth Poet Laureate, and the drawing of the raffle winners! Music by the Highland String Quartet, all of whom are of Finnish descent, is the perfect backdrop to the evening’s goodwill, laughter, and celebration. After indulging in a wonderful meal of salmon and herb-roasted chicken breast, side dishes and mouth-watering raspberry bread pudding, guests will be invited to dance the night away in the beautiful Harbor Ballroom.

Sat, 6:30 - 8:30 pm, "Ole & Lena's Wedding"
Fitgers, Midi Change of Pace Interactive Dinner Theater
600 East Superior St. Duluth, $40, advance tickets required.
1-888-872-4880 218-727-4880, http://www.midirestaurant.net
Oh, for fun! In this original hit comedy and Finnish/Norwegian wedding, Lena Handspringinnen will tie the knot with her sweetheart, Ole Olaf Olafsson, Jr. at the Lutheran church up here in northern Minnesota. Join her cousin Karlene Kinnunen, her Uncle Eino, relatives and family friends. Guests will receive a nametag and relationship to the bride or groom. They'll attend the ceremony followed by a reception complete with hotdish, jello, and also some fancy food prepared and served by Midi Restaurant. There's gonna be a dollar dance, gift-opening, a polka party and everything. But a guy doesn't hafta dance if he doesn't feel like it. Whatever.

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Sat, 6:30 - 9 pm, A Finnish Dinner and Three Finnish One Act Comedies
Rubber Chicken Theater, Proctor Area Community Center, 100 Pionk Drive, Proctor, Minn., Advance tickets only. $30, (218) 213-2780
This evening of Finnish dinner theater includes an authentic Finnish dinner, followed by the one-act comedies: The Betrothal (Kihlaus) by Aleksis Kivi, No Wonder! (Ihmekos Tuo!) by Matti Kurikka and Personal Ad (Naimailmoitus) by Edith Koivisto. All of the plays were translated by Harri Siitonen.

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Finn Hall	Saana Ensemble

Sat, 7 pm, “Tanssi Tangoa” featuring Finn Hall Band and Saana Ensemble.
Gooseberry 1, 2, and 3, DANCE
Advance tickets only. $5
“Tango Lessons” 7-7:45 pm, Dance starts at 8 pm.
     Dance your night away with Finnish tangos, humppas, polkas, waltzes, bossa novas, and more. Come and experience the fashionable tango dancing and learn how simple the Finnish tango can be. Finn Hall Band and Saana will entertain your evening with music from the Finnish-American tradition to contemporary Finnish dance music.
     Saana Ensemble is a vocal group of five Finnish women who met and became friends in the Twin Cities. In 2005 they combined their diverse musical talents to perform ethnic music of a cappella and accompanied songs. Members of the Finn Hall Band are Ralph Tuttila, Dennis Halme, Cheryl Paschke, Johanna Doty, Al Reko, Mary Oberg Hanf. The two groups will join to present Finnish music with a focus on the Finnish tango, interspersed with other dances. There will be plenty of room for dancers and for those who wish to sit, listen, and soak up the ambiance. Saana Ensemble includes Elina Kala, Elina Ruppert, Sari Rönnholm, Ulla Tervo-Desnick and Eeva Savolainen. Their guest guitarist is Tyler Kaiser.

Sat, 7-11 pm, “Finnish Films — Fire and Ice: The Winter War of Finland and Russia”
Meeting Room 202, FILM
     Fire and Ice is a documentary about November 1939, when Finland was invaded by the Soviet Union. No one expected this tiny nation would resist the largest military force in the world and no one anticipated one of the coldest winters in recorded history. The program, which includes accounts of soldiers on both sides of the conflict, many from war diaries translated into English, was shot in HD-Cam, on location in Finland and Russia. Archival footage is enhanced by reenactments.

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Sat, 7 - 8:30 pm, “Finnish One Acts; The Search for Väinämöinen”
     Teatro Zuccone, Renegade Comedy Theatre, 222 East Superior St., Duluth, Advanced tickets only. $15/$12. Call (218) 722-6775 or (888) 722-6627, www.RenegadeComedy.org

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Sat, 7:30-9:30 pm, Family Dance with Conga Se Menne
Paulucci Hall, DANCE
     Conga Se Menne is a “high energy alternative reggae band performing original music, “experimental sound” with a mix of calypso/funk/sauna/reggae in combo with ethnic Finnish sounds. Derrell Syria’s original songs carry the flavor of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula in lyrical silliness and hearty spirit. Syria’s soumalainnen background shows up in his comedic themes, Finnish lyrics and yooper-accented crooning.

Hilkka Helena	Heukki Perttu

Sat, 8 pm, Dance featuring Hilkka Helena and Heukki Perttu
Harborside Ballroom, DANCE
     Heikki Perttu and Hilkka Helena are popular and experienced entertainers.Their lively dance music consists of Finnish tangos, foxtrots, valses, humppas, jenkkas and polkkas but they are just as comfortable breaking into such great American hits as “Crazy”. They have just released a CD entitled Amor. They have performed in Florida, Georgia, Ohio and Canada.

Sat, 8 pm, Heroes in Action
Lake Superior Ballroom L, THEATRE
     In this presentation of Heroes in Action, Harold Haapoja, who understands Väinämöinen, “man of quiet waters,” performs the part of a kantele player and singer of runos. Paul Webster, who studies ancient metal works and appreciates the spirit of Ilmarinen, ancient magician in metal, plays an exceptional blacksmith. Kelly Smith plays Lemminkainen with humorous gusto and Margaret Webster, who has a unique understanding of the leader from Northfarm, performs the part of Louhi, Mistress of the North. Andrew Webster narrates this humorous and action-packed play which imparts the meaning of the Kalevala in today’s terms. An optional short discussion of the play follows the half-hour free presentation of the play.

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Lyz Jaakola	Band'o

Sat, 8-11 pm, “From Blues to Rock”
Bayfront Park, CONCERT, Tickets $18
Bayfront Park is just west of the DECC.
Lyz Jaakola & her Blues Band, the ‘Smokin’ Chimokes’, Indigenous, Ninni Poijärvi Trio, and Band’o . Everyone invited!
     Lyz Jaakola & her Blues Band, the “Smokin’ Chimokes” will open the concert. Lyz plays rhythm guitar and is lead vocalist. Pete Sikio and Barry Schwarz match their skills on lead guitar supported by Tom Skare on bass and Tom Brost on drums.
     Indigenous delivers blazing blues/rock and sizzling live performances. Mato Nanji is lead singer, guitarist, composer and lyricist and is becoming one of the hottest young blues rockers on the scene today.
     Ninni Poijärvi Trio band members Mika Kuokkanen, Ninni Poijärvi, and Olli Haavisto share a passion for old Finnish and international music as well as traditional Finnish Pelimanni folk music. Mika, guitar player and singer, is rooted in the singer-songwriter tradition but not a “stranger to urban and sharp edged rock.” Ninni, a songwriter and master of vocal harmonies, plays violin, accordion and piano. Olli is the guru of the pedal and lap steel guitar and the mandolin.                    Band’o is an acoustic Finnish trio: two daughters and their father. The trio’s repertoire is a combination of modern acoustic folk, bluegrass and country as well as original compositions by all three performers. Jemina and Selina share the lead singer’s role of the Sillanpää family. Selina plays the guitar, fiddle and tin whistle, Jemina plays the fiddle and Seppo plays the guitar and other stringed instruments.

Ninni Poijärvi	Olli Haavisto	Mika Kuokkanen

Mato Nanji

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Sat, 9 pm, “Finnish Films — Mother of Mine”
Meeting Room 202, FILMS
     Mother of Mine (Äideistä parhain) is a 2005 film directed by Klaus Härö. During the Second World War over 70,000 war children were sent from Finland to Sweden, Denmark and Norway in the biggest evacuation of children ever undertaken in the world. Mother of Mine is the first feature-length film ever made about the fate of an individual war child. 111 minutes.

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