Events

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Are you a Finlandia Foundation Suomi Chapter member or interested in joining us at any events? Do you read our newsletter? Are you a Finn, Finnish-American, or otherwise have a connection to Finland and are living in the Whatcom, Skagit, San Juan county area? We want to hear from you! Please take some time to write to us and tell us how we can better serve you. ffsuomi@gmail.com

Finlandia Foundation Suomi Chapter

Recent Events

Very Successful Finnish Film Festival at the FireHouse Arts and Events Center in Fairhaven
Friday evening, February 3, until Sunday evening, February 5, 2023

Our inaugural Finnish Film Festival was a tremendous success. Roughly 250 people came to see 9 films and listen to a guest speaker talk about Tove Jansson. The films ranged from full-length feature Finnish films to documentaries about Finland to shorter movies made by local Bellingham students in association with students in Finland. Finnish snacks were available in addition to a variety of Finnish merchandise items for sale. The event was a great time to learn more about Finland, its history, its culture and enjoy some famous Finnish movies. Please click on the Film Festival link above to see photos of the event.

Finlandia Foundation Suomi Chapter

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Upcoming Events
Vappu (May Day) will be celebrated on
Sunday, April 30, 2023
The event will be held at the lower, fully-enclosed pavilion at Fairhaven Park from 12:00 until 2:30. All Finns, Finnish-Americans and friends of Finland are welcome to attend. Refreshments will be of the pot luck variety, so please bring along your favorite Finnish or Nordic dish to share with others.

Annual Summer Picnic on Sunday, September 18, 2022
Hyvää kesää! Happy summer! The picnic was held at the Fairhaven Park pavilion where we held the Vappu party in May. The picnic was from 2:00 to 5:00 PM. Everyone was asked to bring a dish to share, and there were certainly many delicacies from which to choose. People also enjoyed socializing and getting to know other Finns and Finnish-Americans. It was wonderful seeing so many people there.

Vappu (May Day) was celebrated on Sunday, May 1, 2022
The event was held at the upper pavilion at Fairhaven Park. All Finns, Finnish-Americans and friends of Finland were welcome to attend, and over 25 people did so. We were honored to have Kristiina Hiukka, the Honorary Vice-Consul for Finland, sharing with us her thoughts about the importance of Vappu to Finns worldwide. She gave a very informative and entertaining presentation about this special day. To add to the festivities, refreshments included coffee, sima, tippaleipa and munkki. Voting for the upcoming board of directors was also held as part of the business end of the afternoon's activities. See Vappu photos below.

Finnish Independence Day Celebration on Sunday, December 5, 2021
Finnish Independence Day was celebrated at Bellingham's Schweinhaus Biergarten. It was a chilly outdoor gathering under a tent, but everyone enjoyed the chance to greet old friends and make new ones. People bought sausages, pretzels and beer from the venue, and several of our attendees brought a variety of Finnish desserts for everyone to enjoy. We even had time for an intense set of games of mölkky.