Garrett Neese/Daily Mining Gazette

David Maki, interim director of the Finnish American Heritage Center, welcomes a crowd to Finlandia University’s seventh annual Juhannus celebration Thursday. The university first held the midsummer celebration in response to the popularity of the 2013 FinnFest, which was held in Hancock. Many seaside communities would put them up in lieu of a bonfire, Maki said. The Juhannus pole is an estimated 20 feet high, and took seven people to lift it into place. It will stay up as long as weather permits, Maki said. Other Juhannus events, such as a bonfire, were canceled this year. “If you’ve taken a year off from running, you don’t run a full marathon your first time out of the gate,” Maki said. The event was an informal kickoff for what Maki hopes will be many more at the FAHC as the academic year begins.