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Live reindeer will be returning to the Copper Country for this Saturday’s Heikinpäivä celebration after a multi-year hiatus.
Dave Maki from the Finnish American Reporter says reindeer are a big deal at this year’s festival. “We thought for it being the 20th anniversary of the festival, we’d try to do something a bit bigger, a bit bolder of Finnish-American culture, and we decided to invest our energies into reindeer,” said Maki.
A reindeer herder from Finland will be at Heikinpäivä this year and now a herder from St. Clair, Michigan is also coming up and bringing his reindeer with him. “He and a couple of reindeer are going to be present on Quincy Green during Heikinpäivä’s big festival day. It’s the first time in a long time we’ve been able to lock in the fact that we’ll have some live reindeer at Heikinpäivä.
The deer will be available for public viewing from about 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday.
The Finnish Theme Committee is hopeful the reindeer’s presence will help spark their larger endeavor – exploring whether reindeer herds can be established in Upper Michigan. That topic will be the subject of a forum on Monday at the Finnish American Heritage Center. Anyone with an interest in learning more about reindeer – particularly those who might be interested in having a herd of their own – are encouraged to attend.
