To the editor:

It’s been only a few weeks since Heikinpäivä 2017 took place, and the positive energy generated by the festival is still resonating in the community.

It’s that word, that concept – “community” – that makes Heikinpäivä possible. While the Finnish Theme Committee gets credit for the festival each winter, it’s truly the entire community that comes together to celebrate the unofficial midpoint of winter and the enduring Finnish-American and Finnish culture that makes our hometowns unique.

Mother Nature again gave us comfortable weather, but that wasn’t the only reason the city was filled with folks who came out to celebrate. Heikinpäivä 2017 couldn’t have been a success without the contributions of many community members, including: Phi Kappa Tau fraternity of Hancock, the Finlandia University baseball team, the faculty and staff of Finlandia University – especially the university’s maintenance, housekeeping and dining staffs – Roger Hewlett and Jonene Eliasson, Ralph and Jaana Tuttila, Bill White, Mike and Robin Bonini, Char Vial, Kris Kyro, Sarah Rousseau, Todd Van Dyke, Rick Allen and the staff of Houghton Community Broadcasting, Marianne and Mitch and the folks at WMPL radio, the Kivajat and Loistavat Dancers (and their families), the crew at Wascher’s Equine Fun, and the many Quincy Street businesses who decorated their storefronts and got everyone into the Finnish midwinter spirit. We are also grateful that our local media is always willing to share our updates.

We were fortunate to have several special guests at this year’s festival, including State Representative Scott Dianda, who shared with the audience at the Heikinpäivä dance his resolution declaring January 2017 as Finnish-American Heritage Month in the State of Michigan. Two other folks who spent a week taking part in festival activities were virsikannel experts Beatrice Hole and Floyd Foslein, who traveled from Minnesota and Wisconsin to be our artists in residence. Thanks to them, the virsikannel (a one-stringed kantele) is seeing renewed interested among Copper Country musicians.

There were others who, in Finnish style, kept their contributions to making Heikinpäivä a success behind the scenes. Together, we created a festival everyone will remember for a long while. This was a wonderful way to begin the year – a year in which Finland celebrates its centennial. There are several more events planned to celebrate this centenary; we’ll keep you posted, and we hope to see you then too!

Dave Maki

Hancock