INFORMATION ON UPCOMING FINNFEST 2008 EVENT!
RELEASED: January 15, 2008
Contact:
Ira Turunen
Chair, Publicity Committee
iraturunen@finnfest2008.com
(218) 213-6080
FinnFest at 25
FinnFest USA celebrates its 25th such festival this year as FinnFest 2008
takes place in Duluth, MN, July 23-27, 2008. Under the theme “Sharing the
Spirit of Finland”, the event will honor Finnish culture and heritage and is
expected to attract 7,000-10,000 people to its variety of dance
performances, concerts, lectures, art exhibitions and tours.
Highlighting the five-day celebration will be a concert by the Minnesota
Orchestra, directed by the Finnish Music Director Osmo Vänskä. The
President of Finland, Tarja Halonen, has been officially invited to attend
the event and the FinnFest 2008 organizing committee is hopeful to host her
honor along with other dignitaries from Finland.
According to Jeanne Doty and Diane Fay Skomars, co-chairs of the FinnFest
2008, “We want to welcome everyone to our five-day celebration. It is open
to everyone. Our festival will offer a great variety of events for those
that have come to know Finland, share the love for it, and those that would
like to learn more about it. “
Calling all Finns, Finnish Americans and friends of Finnish culture
nationwide, the first FinnFest event was organized in 1983 in Minneapolis,
and has enjoyed a robust history since.
“The first FinnFest was an innovation. In its successful 25 years, it has
become a strong and important cultural tradition,” said Marianne Wargelin,
President of FinnFest USA. “The past events have been powerful in many ways
- changing peoples lives, initiating innovations, and creating a strong
network with those that share a love for Finland.”
For the past 25 years, FinnFest USA has been the beacon of Finnish- American
ethnic identity in the United States. Since the first FinnFest the festival
has been hosted in fifteen different states and has joined forces with the
Canadian Finnish Grand Fest twice. The FinnFest host sites have brought
Finnish culture to the forefront in their respective communities, and the
festival continues to bring Finnish-Americans a renewed pride in their
colorful past, while bringing Finland closer to America.
With its roots in Minnesota soil, this year's FinnFest will bring the ethnic
celebration back to Duluth, where it was also held in 1992. The culture and
enthusiasm of northern Minnesota, one of the strongest Finnish-American
immigrant locales on the North American continent, is a logical choice for
FinnFest USA to celebrate its 25th anniversary. This year’s event will be
the fourth FinnFest held in Minnesota. It will make great waves on the shore
of Lake Superior and in the Duluth community by involving the heavily
Finn-populated community in planning, organizing and participation.
Programming at this year’s FinnFest includes later generation Finnish-
Americans working with Finns currently living and working in the United
States. The schedule of events, performers, and special guests celebrates
not only the traditions of our Finnish-American past, but bridges the gap
between the immigrants of nearly a century ago with the contemporary
culture of Finland today.
Today, FinnFest is international. With greater ease at communication
through cell phones, the internet, and a global market, FinnFest at 25 is
more than a Finnish-American Festival. It brings people of Finnish descent
and friends of Finnish culture together from around the world to celebrate
an abiding identification with a proud, strong and independent nation. From
the legend of Kalevala, to the fight for sovereignty in the Winter War, to
the swelling of emotion at the playing of Sibelius’ Finlandia, FinnFest is a
shining example of Finnish culture and traditions.
FinnFest USA was born out of the necessity for many Finnish-Americans to
maintain a sense of their heritage. As for so many other ethnic traditions
in the United States, first- and second-generation Finnish Americans longed
for those who “lived ethnic” daily—bathing in saunas, singing Finnish
music, performing Finnish dance, eating Finnish food, and speaking the
language. As later-generation Finnish- Americans were assimilated into
American life, local Finnish groups struggled to maintain Finnish festivals
in their small communities. A sense of community was being lost to
offspring of the original immigrants. The success of FinnFest for the past
25 years is a sign that the national festival is doing its job of purveying
Finnishness to all who hold their identity dear. |
