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Dear friends,
Finland was named happiest country in the world for a record 9th year in a row! And here in the United States, Finnish happiness is taking place all across Finnish-America. There was hockey night with the Triangle Finnish Association in North Carolina, and St. Urho’s Day gatherings in Minnesota, the Midnight Sun festival in Florida, gala dinners in New York, music performances in Michigan, and sauna gatherings and Kalevala programs in the Pacific Northwest and Washington, DC.
We said one of our New Year’s resolutions was to get to see more of you this year. We’ve seen many of you! In Florida, we visited the Midnight Sun Festival in Lake Worth Beach and spent time with a thriving Finnish-American community that continues to celebrate its heritage with energy and joy.
| Hari Manner, Peter Mäkelä, Tommy Flanagan at Midnight Sun Festival | | |
We also traveled to Charlotte, North Carolina, where we visited longtime supporter Alpo Franssila Crane and his wife Marjorie Knight Crane, cornerstone contributors to the Saving Finland in America campaign, and learned more about his family’s inspiring history of generosity—more on that story soon. In Washington, DC, the Finlandia Foundation National Capital Chapter hosted its annual Kalevala Dinner, where our Lecturer of the Year, Jay Smith, presented the story of John Morton and his Finnish roots. Around the same time, former FFN President and Trustee Anne-Mari Paster received the Medal of the Order of the White Rose of the Republic of Finland. These moments remind us that the people in our community—dedicated, selfless, and inspiring—are the ones whose efforts keep our organization strong and our shared heritage thriving.
Thank you to each and every one of you for all you do in your communities to keep Finnish culture thriving across the country.
Warm regards,
Tommy Flanagan
Executive Director
Finlandia Foundation National
| | Finnish Culture Takes Center Stage in New York | | |
This spring, Finnish culture will take a prominent place on one of the world’s most important stages. Finlandia Foundation National is proud to sponsor “Voicing Innocence,” an international conference in New York City exploring the work of the late Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho (1952–2023)—one of the most influential contemporary composers of our time.
The conference will take place April 7–8 at the CUNY Graduate Center, bringing together scholars, performers, and cultural leaders to examine how music can give voice to memory, trauma, and ethical responsibility in contemporary society. The event coincides with a major cultural moment: The Metropolitan Opera premiere of Saariaho’s final opera, Innocence, beginning April 6. Together, these events highlight a powerful moment for Finnish arts on the international stage. Nordic scholars and artists—including participants from Finland’s Sibelius Academy—will contribute to conversations that connect Finnish artistic expression with global cultural dialogue.
👉 Read more on our blog to learn about the conference, the premiere of Innocence, and how you can participate or watch the live stream.
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A new Chapter begins: Welcome and tervetuloa Sisu Heritage, Inc.
Welcome to our newest FFN Chapter: Sisu Heritage, Inc.! Finlandia Foundation National is proud to welcome Sisu Heritage, Inc. of Embarrass, Minnesota as our newest affiliated chapter. Since 1987, Sisu Heritage has been dedicated to preserving and sharing the unique Finnish-American culture, history, and architecture of the Embarrass region—an area nationally recognized for its remarkable concentration of Finnish heritage sites.
👉 Read more on our blog to learn about Sisu Heritage, the history of Embarrass, and the incredible preservation work underway.
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Anne-Mari Paster Honored with Medal of the Order of the White Rose of Finland
At a recent ceremony at the Residence of Ambassador Leena-Kaisa Mikkola in Washington, DC, Anne-Mari Paster was awarded the Medal of the Order of the White Rose of the Republic of Finland on behalf of the President of Finland. A former board member, President, and Treasurer of Finlandia Foundation National, Anne-Mari played a transformative role in the organization’s growth—leading FFN through the pandemic, launching the Young Leaders Board, and helping advance the Saving Finland in America campaign. The Order of the White Rose is one of Finland’s highest honors, recognizing individuals who have made meaningful contributions in service to Finland. Paljon onnea, Anne-Mari!
👉 Read the full story.
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Milestones in Hancock:
Saving Finland in America donor wall installed, Michigan Arts and Culture Council grant funding, and National Geographic mention!
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Great news! The Michigan Arts and Culture Council (MACC) and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) have just awarded Finlandia Foundation National a significant grant for 2026. This funding provides valuable operational support and facility improvement funding for FFN's Finnish American Folk School and Finlandia Art Gallery in Hancock, Michigan.
"We are so grateful that Michigan continues to provide crucial arts funding in our state, allowing us to provide valuable cultural programming to our region and beyond," said Clare Zuraw, director of the Finnish American Folk School and interim director of Finlandia Art Gallery. "Of course arts and culture are core values at FFN and this grant will give our work a tremendous boost in the coming year."
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A major milestone has just been reached at the Finnish American Heritage Center in Hancock, Michigan. Finlandia Foundation National has installed a permanent donor wall honoring the more than 900 individuals, organizations, and community groups who contributed to the Saving Finland in America campaign.
Located between the main entryway and the Finlandia Art Gallery, the wall recognizes the extraordinary generosity that helped secure the future of the Finnish American Heritage Center. It stands as a powerful reminder of what the Finnish-American community can accomplish when it comes together to protect its heritage.
👉 Read the full story.
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A recent feature in National Geographic asks the question: Is Hancock, Michigan the most Finnish place in the United States? Through the voices of David Maki and Clare Zuraw, the article highlights how Finnish traditions—from sauna to sisu—are not just preserved, but actively lived in the Keweenaw Peninsula. As proud stewards of the Finnish American Heritage Center, Finlandia Foundation National is honored to help sustain this vibrant cultural hub, where heritage continues to thrive across generations.
👉 Read the full National Geographic article here.
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Midnight Sun Festival in Lake Worth Beach, Florida
What happens when Finnish culture meets Florida sunshine? You get the Midnight Sun Festival in Lake Worth Beach—complete with wife-carrying races, salmiakki shots, live Finnish music, and palm trees waving alongside Finnish flags. From hobby horse races and Karelian pies to accordion-playing unicyclists (you know who!) and the famous wife carrying competition, this festival is full of unforgettable moments. Check it out below!
📸 See the photos and read the full story on our blog.
| | | | Upcoming Finnposium: Wed., April 8, 9am PT/12pm ET |
A Finno-Ugric World Tour:
Meeting Our Finno-Ugric “Cousins”
What if you discovered that Finns—and Finnish Americans—have cultural “cousins” across Northern Europe and beyond? Join FFN's Young Leaders Board member Gage “Touko” Keränen for a special Finnposium session exploring the fascinating world of Finno-Ugric cultures.
After traveling to Latvia, Estonia, and Finland, Gage will share stories, photos, and insights from communities such as the Võro, Seto, Sámi, Livonian, and Karelian peoples. Come meet your "cousins" in this deep dive into this rich cultural group that the Finns belong to!
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Spring cleaning? Here's what you can donate to our archive.
As you dig through attics, basements, and barns this spring, you might uncover something that belongs in the story of Finnish America. Our archivist Joanna Chopp explains what the archive is looking for—and how your discoveries could help preserve history for generations to come. . .
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We are excited to share that FFN and the Center for the Study of Upper Midwestern Cultures (CSUMC) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have signed an agreement formalizing our collaboration on the Oral History Project. The two organizations share values around documenting community history and supporting local culture through a range of programming and projects. Under this agreement, Dr. Mirva Johnson will continue to lead the Oral History Project while working at the Center. She is going on maternity leave this month and will be back in June to continue the project. This agreement means so much to FFN and signals our deep commitment to partnership and collaboration. We are incredibly grateful to CSUMC and are excited to see how the Oral History Project develops.
More info coming soon to our website, FinlandiaFoundation.org.
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Finlandia Foundation National is proud to announce a landmark moment in its national network with the designation of the Raivaaja Foundation as its first Heritage Affiliate. This new category of affiliation recognizes organizations dedicated to preserving, documenting, and sharing Finnish-American history. As steward of the legacy of the influential Finnish-American newspaper Raivaaja, the foundation has long played an important role in safeguarding the stories and voices that shaped Finnish America.
By welcoming the Raivaaja Foundation in this role, Finlandia Foundation National affirms the importance of archives, publications, and cultural memory in sustaining our community. Together, we look forward to strengthening the bridge between past and present so that Finnish-American history continues to inform and inspire future generations.
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ME SIIRTOLAISET | WE IMMIGRANTS
Selections from our art + archival collections. On view from March 12 - April 16
Art, artifacts, and oral histories come together to tell stories of Finnish migration to the United States in the new exhibit “Me Siirtolaiset | We Immigrants,” which opened March 12 at Finlandia Art Gallery in Hancock, MI.
Learn more.
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Applications are now open for the 2026 FFN Salolampi Residential Youth Scholarships. Give your child a summer they will never forget! Salolampi Finnish Language Village is a unique residential camp experience that allows youth to learn and practice Finnish while living the culture through music, food, crafts, and community.
🗓 Application Deadline: April 30, 2026
👉 Learn more and apply here.
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In recognition of Women’s History Month, we’re proud to highlight the documentary project Dear Iria, which Finlandia Foundation National is proud to support. The film explores the remarkable life of Iria Leino. Earlier this month marked four years since Iria’s passing on International Women’s Day. In November, the film’s teaser was presented at DOC NYC, the largest documentary film festival in the United States, where it received the Runner-Up Audience Award.
Watch the teaser here.
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NEW TITLE ALERT: The Girl with a Nametag By Maria Bouroncle, FFN Grant Recipient
Twelve-year-old Hilja and her little brother Antti have been forced to leave everyone and everything behind. They are just two of the many Finnish children sent to Sweden to escape the war — to a life without their mother, father, and siblings.
After three days of travel and two weeks in quarantine, they arrive in the small village of Vesene in southwestern Sweden. Despite Hilja’s promise to her mother to always look after her brother, they are separated at the train station. Even so, Hilja soon begins to appreciate her new life on the farm with Aunt Maria and the quiet Artur. What she does not know is that the family is hiding a dark secret…
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