"Then and Now" /A celebration in the Finnish /American Perspective/ "Ennen ja Nyt"/ |
Grand Opening Stories 1 Page
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FRIDAY |
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SATURDAY |
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| Museum Opens its doors for the first time, with celebration and a program. | |||
Coffee/Gift Shoppe Opens
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Coffee/Gift Shoppe Opened with a new and larger selection of gifts, momentos, and Finnish memorabilia. Featured are our "own, Finnish Heritage Museum brand" of coffees in decaf, regular, and premium blends and uniquely Finnish items. |
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Finn Hollow Lecture  |
Elaine Lillback who has written three books about the Finns and Fairport was in her element discussing one of her favorite subjects, Finn Hollow and the people, the houses, the work, and life as it was in Fairport's history. |
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Stubborn Finns  |
The Stubborn Finns mixed voice singing voice group of Fairport Harbor, Ohio was established in 1985. The choir repertoire includes folk, pop, religious and patriotic selections. Stubborn Finns have performed at several FinnFests. They have also performed in Detroit, Berkely, Toronto, Fairport Harbor, Ashtabula, and Conneaut. In July 2003, the choir performed at the dedication fo the Finnish Monument in Fairport Harbor. The group reorganized for the FHM dedication and for FinnFest. |
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Amy Kaukonen's Story  |
A presentation about Dr. Amy Kaukonen, the first elected woman mayor in Ohio, who served during the Prohibition era and cleaned up Fairport running the moonshiners and rum runners out of town. (Note: if anyone has information, stories, memorabilia, or artifacts regarding Dr. Amy, please contact Hiltunen: info@finnishheritagemuseum.org) |
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Jokes by Don Cleary  |
It is readily apparent that life-long resident Don Cleary enjoyed himself as much as the audience did when he presented stories and jokes with human appeal. He made sure that Finns can indeed laugh at themselves. "You can always tell a Finn; you can't tell him much; but you can always tell a Finn." |
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Kantele Demonstration |
Harvey Horton demonstrated the historic kantele which has been part of the Finnish music culture for hundreds of years. The kantele's sound is truely unique. |
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| Sisu Folk Dancing (Our friends from Canada performed three different times.) | |||
Face Painting  |
Face Painting was done by Dave and Candy Nelson to the delight of the younger crowd. SISU says it all! |
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| Food | |||
SATURDAY EVENING |
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BANQUET: Click here to view the night's festivities |
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SUNDAY |
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| Worship Dedication | Rev. Hannu Vepsalainen provided a very joyful inaugural service to christen and give strength to the new museum and its members. | ||
The Parade to the Musuem  |
The Village of Fairport Harbor enthusiastically gave FHM support by arranging our parade route, blocking off streets, and by providing Police to direct traffic. The hundreds of revelers had a wonderful time marching and dancing a few blocks from the church to the museum. |
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Ribbon Cutting  |
The crowd gathered to watch the Ribbon Cutting ceremony which officially opened the Museum. |
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| Concord Community Band  |
The Concord Community Band has provided music for years. Comprised of retired musicians and music educators, the lively group takes pleasure in the marching band sounds. The band performed the "Star Spangled Banner" for us. Thanks to them for their participation. |
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Maame'
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Bill Haltunen provided the opening ceremony with his wonderful rendition of Maame', the traditional Finnish anthem. |
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| Folk Dancing
Toronto SISU Folkdancers is a division of one of the oldest clubs in our city. Toronto SISU Athletic Club - ''Toronto SISU'' as we call it - has a heritage of active community involvement for over fifty years. SISU in Finnish stands for perseverance - not giving in - and this best describes what ''Toronto SISU'' stands for in our every day life. SISU Folkdancers share into this proud history by actively passing on our Finnish heritage and cultural values, not only in our own community, but also in the colourful cultural mosaic of Canada. The passion and enjoyment of this tradition is apparent at every performance. SISU Folkdancers are proud members of the Folk Art Council of Metropolitan Toronto, Toronto Finnish Advancement Association, Finnish Canadian Cultural Federation and North American Finnish Folkdance Association. Our repertoire is wide and diverse including old, traditional dances and music as well as keeping up with the new, modern trends and often keeping traditions alive while creating new dances based on these traditions. Finnish Canadian Grand Festivals, Finnfest USA festivals annually around Canada and USA, Finlandia Days Festival, Florida USA, Toronto International Caravan Festival, Kaustinen Folk Music Festival, Nordlek Folk Music Festival, North York Performing Arts Centre, Ottawa Museum of Civilization, Numerous community events in Greater Toronto area and much, much more…….
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Lunch under the Tent |
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| Museum is OPEN--Admission was FREE during our Opening Ceremonies | |||
Additional Information |
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| 2007 Grand Opening Committee Members Heikki Penttila Finnish Heritage Museum Grand Opening Booklet compiled and edited by Laura Malkamäki Photo Credits for Front Cover: Lasse Hiltunen |
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FHM 2007 Executive Officers
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| Special Thanks and Acknowledgements! We extend a special thanks and acknowledgement to the following, all who have shared our dream of a Finnish Heritage Museum and who have helped it come to fruition as we celebrate our Grand Opening weekend. Thank you to the Honorable Mayor Frank Sarosy and the Village of Fairport Harbor Council and Administration for all of your support of our museum. Thank you to the Fairport Harbor Police Department for providing traffic control during our Grand Opening Weekend. Thank you to all the museum members and friends who have given their time, energy, money and talent to make this event possible. We especially thank those who have worked very hard and diligently over the past few months in order to meet our opening date deadline. You know who you are. You have showed a lot of sisu. Kiitos! Kiitos! Kiitos! Thanks goes to the performers, dignitaries and guests who have joined with us to celebrate this weekend. It is our hopes and dreams that future generations will gain from our museum an understanding of the feeling and meaning of what it is for us to be Finnish and Finnish-American. It is a feeling which reaches to the very core of our being, which we hold dear to our hearts and is central and essential to our identity. This feeling is in our stories, our photographs our traditions, our foods, our books newspapers, music, and in the items and artifacts which remind us of Finland and our Finnish heritage. We invite you to share our past, continue to build our museum in the future and to experience our hopes and dreams and lives in very real and personal way. Laura Malkamäki |
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| JOIN US as a MEMBER: YOU ARE WELCOME. WE HAVE MUCH TO DO! | |||
MANY THANKS TO OUR MEMBERSHIP |
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