FinnFest USA
FinnFest USA is an annual festival, typically held in the summer, in locations throughout the United States of America. Aiming to celebrate Finland, Finnish America, and Finnish culture, the festival is organized by a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with a national office maintained by its president, located presently in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
The inaugural festival was held in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1983 with approximately 1,000 people attending. Subsequent festivals have taken place in locations throughout the country, typically hosted by communities with connections to Finnish-American cultural history. Attendance has varied from 2,000 to 7,000, depending on the location. Many attendants, performers and lecturers also include visitors from Finland. Festival events include lectures, classes, concerts, films, theatrical performances, dances, exhibitions and ceremonies. The festivals are financed by registration fees, event tickets, raffles, and many forms of donation and sponsorship.
With 2020 being cancelled caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the 38th was deferred to 2021.
Past FinnFest USA locations
- 1983: Leamington Hotel and Loring Park (Minneapolis, Minnesota)
- 1984: Fitchburg State College (Fitchburg, Massachusetts)
- 1985: Suomi College (Hancock, Michigan)
- 1986: University of California-Berkeley (Berkeley, California)
- 1987: Schoolcraft College (Livonia, Michigan)
- 1988: University of Delaware (Newark, Delaware)
- 1989: University of Washington (Seattle, Washington)
- 1990: Suomi College (Hancock, Michigan)
- 1991: Bryant Park (Lake Worth, Florida)
- 1992: University of Minnesota-Duluth (Duluth, Minnesota)
- 1993: California Lutheran University (Thousand Oaks, California)
- 1994: Northern Illinois University (DeKalb, Illinois)
- 1995: Lewis and Clark College (Portland, Oregon)
- 1996: Northern Michigan University (Marquette, Michigan)
- 1997: Minot Fairgrounds & All Seasons Arena (Minot, North Dakota)
- 1998: University of Southern Maine-Gorham (Gorham, Maine)
- 1999: University of Washington (Seattle, Washington)
- 2000: FinnGrandFest: Mel Lastman Square (Toronto, Ontario)
- 2001: Villanova University (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
- 2002: University of Minnesota-Twin Cities (Minneapolis, Minnesota)
- 2004: Bryant Park (Lake Worth, Florida)
- 2005: FinnGrandFest: Northern Michigan University (Marquette, Michigan)
- 2006: Astoria and Naselle High Schools (Astoria, Oregon and Naselle, Washington)
- 2007: Kent State University (Ashtabula, Ohio)
- 2008: University of Minnesota-Duluth, the City of Duluth, and the Duluth Convention and Visitors’ Bureau (Duluth, Minnesota)
- 2009: Alaska Cruise (including on-shore programming in Sitka, Alaska and Juneau, Alaska)
- 2010: FinnGrandFest (Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario)
- 2011: Town and Country Resort & Conference Center (San Diego, California)
- 2012: DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Tucson-Reid Park (Tucson, Arizona)
- 2013: Michigan Technological University & Finlandia University (Houghton, Michigan and Hancock, Michigan)
- 2014: Hyatt Regency Minneapolis (Minneapolis, Minnesota) [1]
- 2015: Hyatt Regency Buffalo / Hotel and Conference Center (Buffalo, New York)
- 2016: Saint Lawrence Seaway Cruise [2]
- 2017: Hilton Minneapolis Hotel, (Minneapolis, Minnesota) [3]
- 2018: Lapland Hotel, (Tampere, Finland) [4]
- 2019: Sheraton Detroit Novi Hotel, (Detroit, Michigan) [5]
Future location
- 2021: Seattle, WA (no 2020 FinnFest)
References
- ^ "FinnFest USA 2014". Retrieved May 22, 2017.
- ^ "FinnFest 2016". Retrieved May 22, 2017.
- ^ "FinnFest USA 2017". Retrieved May 22, 2017.
- ^ "FinnFest USA 2018". Retrieved April 7, 2019.
- ^ "FinnFest USA 2019". Retrieved April 7, 2019.
External links
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