Photo courtesy of Visit Keweenaw The cancellation of Saturday’s Heikinpäivä parade did not deter large numbers of people and costumed characters from participating in other events, both outside and inside.

HANCOCK – Last minute cancellations and postponements of Heikinpäivä 2026 events created some confusion among community members.

Last Thursday, Jesse Wiederhold, managing director of Visit Keweenaw, told the Daily Mining Gazette the Polar Plunge was still scheduled for Saturday, in spite of single-digit temperatures and wind chills predicted in excess of 20 below.

The next day, Wiederhold announced the plunge would not take place during Heikinpäivä and the event had been moved to Feb. 7.

The city of Hancock website announced Friday the The officers of Copper Country Finns and Friends had concluded it prudent to cancel the following outdoor events: Heikinpäivä Parade, games (kick sleds, wife-carrying), and the Bear Spiral.

Their decision was made without consulting the City of Hancock or Visit Keweenaw, the website stated. The city continued many activities.

Those included two tori markets, in the Finnish American Heritage Center & the United Methodist Church, lectures and the evening dance.

On Monday Wiederhold told the Daily Mining Gazette that a lot of people were pretty disappointed to see a few of the events canceled. “Folks still came out, especially on Saturday,” he said. “It was still very lively downtown in Hancock.”

Wiederhold said he and the 2026 Hankookin Heikki, Oscar Heikkinen, brought out about 15 costumes, because they still wanted to put on a visual show for people. “We went around the Quincy Green. The Finnish American Heritage Center was lively on Saturday, and for those who dressed up and bundled up, there were there bursts of people,” Wiederhold said. “Folks steadily came out on Sunday.”

Along with the parade and other outdoor events cancelled on Saturday, the Polar Plunge was postponed until Feb. 7.

Although billed as the Heikinpäivä Polar Plunge, officials with Copper Country Finns and Friends said they are not involved in the plunge. That, they said, is between the city of Hancock and Visit Keweenaw.

Wiederhold said while it was definitely a good idea to bring back the polar plunge, in considering Saturday’s weather, it was a lot safer to have moved the event to Feb. 7, which is also the last day of Michigan Tech’s Winter Carnvial.

“We definitely feel pretty good about that decision,” he said. “Moving it to winter carnival there is a lot of energy around that week and weekend. We really hope that a lot of folks will still come out, because I do think folks have really wanted to do this for a long time.”