Provided photo Finnish Ambassador Leena-Kaisa Mikkola, right, speaks at Hancock High School Friday during Hancock’s Juhannus weekend. 

HANCOCK — The 2026 Juhannus celebration has concluded. The City of Hancock’s signature Finno-Ugric celebration of culture brought together not only the local community but had an international reach with several events highlighting the weekend.

Hancock City Manager Mary Babcock said the city was ecstatic with the turnout for the weekend’s festivities.

“The turnout for the celebrations was more than we could ever ask for,” she said. “We had a tremendous amount of support from locals. There was an exceptional amount of international people that came to the events, along with people from Florida, Pittsburgh, Minnesota, California …”

Ambassadors from Finland, Estonia and an attaché from Hungary visited Hancock High School Friday to discuss their cultures and community ties. Babcock said the community showed up, rallied around the ambassadors and were appreciative of their lectures.

“It seemed like just a great moment for anybody that was in attendance,” she said. “It was just an uplifting feel, but with some realities in it.”

The Hancock Beach was bustling with activity Friday evening. The city hosted a beach and bonfire celebration featuring traditional Finnish music along with available food and beverages. Community Development for the City of Hancock Todd Gast said local businesses like Gino’s and The DogFather food truck contributed to the welcoming nature of the party. “The atmosphere was really just magical that night,” he said. “The people just truly enjoyed everything we had at the beach this year.” Gast added Europeans visiting Hancock said they enjoyed local band Rewind, which played traditional music.

The Midsummer Pole was set up during Saturday’s summer solstice event. On the same day, Hancock hosted its first Sauna Games. Participants gathered on Quincy Green where they competed in sauna-relay games. Babcock said there were 16 participants and the city is looking to expanding the competition for next year. “That was one of the most surprising events that, to me, we had. People just loved them,” she said. “I can see that coming back bigger and better next year.”

Another part of Finnish culture is the art of air guitar. Wolf’s Head Film screened Finnish heavy metal comedy, “Heavy Trip,” Saturday evening and put on the Michigan Air Guitar Exhibition at the Orpheum Theater.

Babcock said she said questions going into Saturday evening’s festivities and was pleasantly surprised with the amount of enthusiasm and charm surrounding the event. “I didn’t know what to expect,” she said. “It was like a comedy show and music all wrapped up into one.”