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The Hanka Homestead Finnish Museum in Askel, MI, is proud to be hosting Finland’s Ambassador to the U.S., Kirsti Kauppi, as part of the celebration of its annual Family Heritage Day on Friday, June 23. At 3:00 p.m., she will be doing a flag-raising ceremony of the Finnish and American flags, assisted by the Chassell VFW and the band Ameriikan Poijat.
Heritage Day at Hanka, in conjunction with the Finnish-American Heritage Center at Finlandia, will also include a “gaggle” of workshops/demonstrations that will showcase the skills and “sisu” that Finnish pioneers employed in surviving and thriving in the wilds of the U.P. in the early 20th century. These include a Finnish folk music workshop, a traveling sauna, a team of Belgian draft horses skidding logs, blacksmithing, horse drawn wagon rides, the Kivajat Children’s Dance Troupe, and many more.
The day will culminate with live music and outdoor dancing beginning at about 4:00. The Feed Mill Café of Tapiola will serve some traditional Finnish dishes as well as Vollwerth’s beer brats and hot dogs. Admission will be $6 for adults, $1 for teens, and children 12 and under will be free.
