Gazette file photo Participants take part in the Bear Dance on Quincy Green during 2023's Heikinpäivä in Hancock. The annual event this year also serves as the first to celebrate Hancock’s selection as the world’s Finno-Ugric Capital of Culture for 2026.

HANCOCK — In the Copper Country, the annual Heikinpäivä festival celebrates the midpoint of winter, but this month the regional celebration of Finnish heritage and family fun also celebrates the start of a special year of cultural activities.

This year’s Heikinpäivä festival, with events beginning in later this month, is the first in a series of events spread throughout the year that’ll celebrate Hancock’s selection as the world’s Finno-Ugric Capital of Culture for 2026. The term Finno-Ugric is used to describe and identify a group of languages and peoples who originated from the Ural Mountains thousands of years ago. Along with the Finns, some of the more widely recognized Finno-Ugric people include Estonians, Hungarians and the Sami.

The honor of Finno-Ugric Capital of Culture was bestowed upon the city in June 2025 at the annual Juhannus (Midsummer) celebration, and since then a committee of community leaders – including several members of the Copper Country Finns and Friends – has been planning for 12 months of enhanced cultural celebration.

First up for the year, and for the Copper Country Finns, is Heikinpäivä, which has taken place annually in the city for nearly three decades. This year’s festival will again be steeped in tradition, with favorites such as the tori, parade, outdoor games and evening dance on the slate for the primary festival day, Saturday, Jan. 24.

In the days leading up to that grand celebration, festival planners have developed a variety of opportunities for folks to explore Finnish-American and Finno-Ugric culture, including a trio of classes offered by the Finnish American Folk School, a hobbyhorse hoedown, and a showing of a Finnish film at the historic Calumet Theatre.

At Heikinpäivä 2026, a representative of Narva, Estonia (the 2025 Finno-Ugric Capital of Culture) Pavel Ivlev, will attend and officially pass the honor from Narva to Hancock; this ceremonial gesture, during which Narva will pass the wooden bird statue (Tsirk), which Hancock will hold onto and feature during the year-long celebration.