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Celebrating the Finnish Centennial with Jim Kurtti

December 1, 2017

Finlandia Fridays was visited by another familiar face this week with guest star Jim Kurtti, the director of the Finnish American Heritage Center. Kurtti stopped by to talk about the 100th anniversary celebration of Finnish Independence.

Jim Kurtti

“It has been a whole year of centennial celebrations, both here in the Copper Country and around the country,” stated Kurtti. The final event will be hosted in the Keewenaw at the Rozsa Center, located on Michigan Tech’s campus, on Saturday, December 2 at 6 p.m. The gala event will feature the Copper Country Chorale, as well as Craig Randal Johnson, a world renowned musician who just received the Order of the Rose by the Finnish Embassy in Washington D.C. Along with the Chorale and Johnson, other local acts will be present to celebrate.

Finlandia has always celebrated Finnish Independence Day, so for the centennial year, Finlandia is also hosting a celebration on Wednesday, December 6 at 12 p.m., on Finnish Independence Day itself. The event is open to both the campus and the public, and will take place at the Finnish American Heritage Center. The event was primarily coordinated by Mika Tompuri, a Finnish Intern working at the Heritage Center. Tomuri will then go on to talk about different customs and traditions associated with Finnish Independence Day, including a unique game of bingo. The event at the Heritage Center will also feature a showing of the gala event in Finland, where celebrities are invited to visit the president’s castle.

Both events are free and open to the public. To get all the details, check out the Heritage Center’s Facebook page. Pick up a copy of the The Bridge, Finlandia’s bi-annual magazine, to learn more about Finnish Independence Day and how Finlandia has celebrated Finnish Independence Day for the past 100 years. Also included in The Bridge, is a preview of Heikinpäivä, the month long event that takes place from January 10 and February 6. The highlight weekend will take place January 27-28.

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