The southwest corner of Washington -- Naselle to be exact -- hosted the 2006 FinnFest USA. Every two years the Naselle community hosts a Finnish-American Folk Festival and this year they were chosen to be the site for the national/international FinnFest USA. No small feat for this rural community - but one that they lived up to.
Having the event in Astoria, Oregon, as well as Naselle, Washington, was a smart move to attract more people to the rural community. The Coast Weekender (a free publication), the Chinook Observer and the Daily Astorian were readily available with full page articles, photos and the schedule of events.
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Painted cutouts for visitors to FinnFest 2006 to pose in. |
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FinnFest USA is the national organization that oversees the festival "FinnFest USA." They provide $5,000 seed money, national prominence and guidelines / advice for the Festival. Beyond that it's up to the organizers to make it theirs. The national FinnFest is usually held in urban locations and this rural spin was fantastic in its dedication to display, information and Sisu (determination). Some of the events were ticketed but the majority were free and open to the public.
FinnFest began in Astoria, Oregon on Wednesday and Thursday. It gave a warm up to the full festivities in Naselle. I attended the Thursday performance of National Endowment for the Arts and Washington State recognized kantele (Finnish lap harp) musician, Wilho Saari., accompanied by his wife Kaisa who tells stories about the kantele's history. Wilho is the fifth generation to play the kantele. The music was intimate and enchanting and Kaisa's Finnish accent soft and lilting.
In the evening, I attended the play, Our Only May Amelia by Jennifer L. Holm. The play, adapted for stage by John Olive of Seattle, is based on the diaries of Jennifer's great aunt, Alice Holm, a girl born in the Naselle area at the turn of the century. It was a tough and adventurous life full of work, rain and fish. The S.W. corner of Washington and the N.W. corner of Oregon have a deep rooted connection to Finland. The fishing industry on the Columbia River and logging drew hard working immigrants to the area. The play was the perfect introduction to this year's FinnFest USA '06. (Side note: Lewis and Clark's journey ended in this area and left the legacy of names like Dismal Nitch.)
Astoria was bustling with FinnFest attendees shopping at the local Finnish store, and attending the events located in the local theaters, high school and "Suomi" [Finnish] Hall. Astoria is growing and maturing. New waterfront developments, a historic downtown area and its scenic beauty have made it a tourist destination. Astoria also has the food and lodging necessary to hold the festival in nearby Naselle.
Friday morning I visited the Naselle Youth Camp, which is the State correctional facility for youth (both male and female). FinnFest provided a concert for the youth there. The Sillanpääs from Finland and Kathi Huhtaluhta and Tom War Cloud from Arizona performed. The young man I sat next to was happy to have the opportunity to hear live music. He asked me if the musicians spoke English and later wondered aloud what they were singing about in Finnish.
The correction facility has a marimba band but otherwise do not have much access to live music. The facility is like a small campus with many buildings and beautiful landscaping. The plants are grown and maintained by the youth. The atmosphere is positive and hopefully they will leave and make positive changes.
On Friday, the festivities were centered at the Naselle High School. The event was well organized with parking in fields and shuttles to take people around. The high school was great with all the classrooms, courtyard, gym and stadium housing dozens of activities going on simultaneously.
My two favorites were the re-creation of the 8'x10' pioneer cabin and the rooms full of local genealogy charts. The cabin re-creation was joined with prerecorded readings from the Newberry Honor award winning book Our Only May Amelia. Holm's book was the basis for the play I had just seen. So it gave a good atmosphere for the cabin, sauna and outhouse. Most Finnish immigrants would build the sauna first -- it was that important to them. The rooms full of local genealogy were fascinating. One local woman, May Saari Adair, was responsible for collecting and organizing the information.
FinnFest is much more than I could experience in two days and without cloning myself. Other events included lectures, movies, tributes to loggers and fishermen, beach walks, kayak/canoe tours, a golf tournament and a genealogy workshop. I know that Founder and Program Co-Chair, Susan Holway learned a ton from her. The countless hours and hours of volunteer work were readily apparent and much appreciated by those visiting.
Site visit and photo by Saya Moriyasu, July 2006.
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