HANCOCK, Mich. — “When you live in another country, you value your culture more.”

So said Hancock resident and Tampere, Finland native Riikka Hepokoski, who — along with her husband Mark and five children — was selected as the 2017 recipient of the Hankooki Heikki honor. The Hankooki Heikki – or in this case, Heikkis – are chosen for exemplary work in preserving and promoting Finnish culture in the Hancock area. Riikka and the children accepted the honor at Finlandia University’s annual Finnish Independence Day program last month. Mark was out of town on business, so he learned of the surprise award under different circumstances.

“We were very shocked,” Riikka said. “I texted Mark, and he was in a meeting with a customer! It was a real honor.”

The Hepokoskis, who moved to the Copper Country about 14 years ago after a brief stint living near Boston, Massachusetts, have fully embraced Riikka’s culture, which is also that of Mark’s ancestors, making them almost no-brainer selections for the award. The family has been active with the Heikinpâivä festival since they came to the area; Riikka has served as a cooking contest judge, and regularly serves up treats of her own at the festival tori. Mark and the children join her as frequent parade participants, and the children have been part of the local Kivajat and Loistavat youth folk dance groups for the better part of a decade.

“I think we always intended to keep Finnish traditions going,” Riikka said. “Even when I was in Finland I was always more interested in ‘being Finnish’ than most other people.”

The family’s Finnishness isn’t just exemplified at home, though. Their authentic expressions of Finnish culture have caught the attention of many regional and national media sources, making them sort of ambassadors for the Copper Country’s “Finnishness.” They were the primary subject of a 2014 “Detroit Free Press” front-page article.

about the Copper Country’s predominant ethnicity.

And, the Travel Channel’s TV series “Bizarre Foods” filmed for an episode at the Hepokoski farm in summer 2016; it’s not certain yet when that show will air.

Son Johan, many might recall, was the actual poster boy when the area hosted FinnFest USA 2013; his face welcomed festival-goers from the center of the marketing materials as they arrived in the Hancock area. Youngest son Stefan is featured on this year’s Heikinpäivä festival poster. Sisters Greta, Brita and Anna have frequently been photographed in their traditional Finnish attire as well for newspaper, television or other news stories.

“We don’t even think about it,” Riikka said. “When people ask us to be part of things like that, we’re like ‘OK.'”

Added Mark: “We’ve always kept up Finnish traditions, no matter where we’ve lived. When our first son was born, I was going to have him sleep in a box, but instead I made a Finnish-designed cradle. All of our children have slept in that cradle.

“As far as we’re concerned will always be involved in Finnish activity.”

The next place the Hepokoskis will appear in a Finnish activity will be at the Heikinpäivä parade on January 28, where they’ll appear wearing Hankooki Heikki’s official robe and crown, while holding the official scepter. After that, it’ll likely be “business as usual,” as Riikka will return to her tori table, while Mark will ensure the kids are at their places with their respective dance troupes.

“We’re looking forward to a lot of things,” Mark said, noting that their activities have gotten the attention of the children’s friends. “I think people look and say ‘that’s kind of exciting.”