Events

“SAAPAS” Boot Toss

A traditional Finn Grand Fest event where participants throw a “Saapas” or rubber boot within a marked area similar to a javelin or discus event. Friday, July 30th, 2010, 1:00 p.m. Jo Forman Track and Field, Elizabeth St. Contestants are allowed three throws. No age categories - only men and women. Prizes will be awarded to the first three places for both men and women.

ENTRY FEE: $5.00 per person.
The contestant must be registered with the Finn Grand Fest 2010 as a full or daily registrant and have paid the appropriate registration fees.

Wife - Carrying Race

Wife carrying is a sport in which male competitors race while each carrying a female teammate. This premier event will be held at the Jo Forman Track and Field on Saturday, July 30th, 2010, commencing approximately 12 noon in conjunction with the Wheelbarrow Ferrying Contest. The male will carry the female through a special obstacle track of approximately 250 metres with one wet and two dry obstacles (hay bales). Contestants run the race two teams at a time in heats. The two teams with the fastest times will qualify for the winning round. The “wife” to be carried may be your own or a female competitor. The “wife” must wear a helmet, be 17 years of age or over, with a minimum weight of 49 kilos. If the female is less than 49 kilos, the wife will be burdened with a heavy rucksack so that the total weight is 49 kilos. The only equipment allowed is a belt worn by the carrier. Different techniques of carrying are permissible i.e. piggyback, fireman’s carry (over the shoulder) or Estonian style (wife upside down). There will be only one age category - 17 and over.

ENTRY FEE:
The entry fee per husband and wife team is $25.00 for Finn Grand Fest registrants. The $25.00 includes two “Wife Carrying” logo T-shirts. Please remember to indicate your t-shirt size on your registration form. Both members of each team must be registered with the Finn Grand Fest 2010 as a full or daily registrant and have paid the appropriate registration fees.

Mountain Bike Trail Ride

The event will be a beginner and intermediate ride led by riders from the Sault Cycling Club. The ride will take place on the Crystal Creek and Pinder Mountain Bike trails. These trails have been designed by The Sault Cycling Club and it includes fantastic single and double track riding. The course winds around the cross-country ski trails providing enough double track to pass, but enough not to lull you to sleep. You will be thrilled by forested terrain, views of Crystal Creek and some challenging windy single track.

The ride will take place on the Crystal Creek Mountain Bike, single and double track Trails. All registrants must be registered for Finn Grand Fest 2010. The ride will start at 5:30 on July 29, 2010 so riders should all be there by 5:00pm at the latest.

There will be a beginner’s ride of about 8 km and a intermediate ride of 12 km. The maximum riders that will be accepted will be 20 per group for a total of 40 so register early. All registrants will have to be registered for Finn Grand Fest 2010. All riders will have to sign a waiver form before the ride, and riders will have to provide their own mountain bikes and be in safe working order and wear helmets approved by CSA or ULA.

Finn Grand Fest Bowling

The Finn Grand Fest bowling tournament is open to both women and men. All bowlers play 5 games. The handicap will be 90% of 210. The best 16 advance to finals. The number one seed plays 16, 2-15 until one player standing. A minimum amount of bowlers is required for the tournament to proceed as scheduled. Event will be held at Great Northern Resort and Conference Centre, 229 Great Northern Road, on Sunday, August 1st, 2010 beginning at 10.00 a.m.

ENTRY FEE: $45.00 per person
 

Mölkky Tournament

Mölkky is a very popular throwing game which originated in Southern Finland and is suitable for everyone regardless of age and condition. 

GAME RULES - The players use a wooden pin, called a mölkky, to try and knock over wooden pins which are marked with numbers from 1 to 12. The pins are initially placed in a tight group of 4 rows in an upright position 3-4 metres away from the throwing spot. The pins are placed in the following order: 1st row- pin numbers 1 & 2, 2nd row – 3, 10 & 4, 3rd row – 5,11,12 & 6, 4th row – 7, 9 & 8). Knocking over one pin scores the amount of points marked on the pin. Knocking 2 or more pins scores the amount of pins knocked over (e.g. 3 pins score 3 points). A pin does not count if it is leaning on the mölkky or one of the numbered pins (they have to be parallel to the ground to count). After each throw, the pins are lifted up again in the exact location where they landed. The first one to reach exactly 50 points wins the game. Scoring more than 50 will be penalized by setting the player's score back to 25 points. A player will be eliminated from the game if they miss all of the target pins three times in a row.
Tournament rules – depending on the number of participants, a series of preliminary games will be held. Individual winners of each preliminary game will advance until a final winner is selected. The next closest places to 50 will win the Silver and Bronze.
This event will be held at the Jo Forman track and field, Elizabeth St. Friday,
July 30th, 2010, commencing at 1:00 p.m. Maximum number of participants - 50.

ENTRY FEE: $5 per person, participants must be a Finn Grand Fest 2010 registrant.

Riverfront Walk/Run 2, 5 & 10 km

A 2 km, 5 km & 10 km walk/runs will be held at the Boardwalk and surrounding areas
on Saturday, July 31, 2010 starting at 9 a.m. with the 2 km, the 5 and 10 km at
9:45 a.m. All events will start and finish in the immediate area of the Roberta Bondar
Pavilion. Bib and t-shirt pickup commences at 8:00 a.m. The 2 km. course will turn
eastwards with the turnaround in the Art Gallery/Sault Ste. Marie Public Library area.
The 5 and 10 km. courses will turn west with the turnaround at the Sault Locks (under
the International Bridge), return to the Roberta Bondar with completion of the 5 km.
The 10 km. will continue eastwards 2.5 km. and return to the Roberta Bondar Pavilion.
The Boardwalk provides a very scenic view of the St. Mary’s River, the International
Bridge and the Michigan side of Saulte St. Marie. Age groups for both male and female
are as follows: 2 km. - 9 & under, 10-13, 14-19, 20 & over. 5 & 10 km. 13 & under,
14-19, 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60 & over with medals awarded to the first three
finishers in each age group.

ENTRY FEE: for the 2 km. - $10.00, 5 and 10 km. $15.00 for Finn Grand Fest registrants which includes a Finn Grand Fest run souvenir t-shirt.
Non-registrants must pay an additional $5.00 participant fee. No registrations for
run will be accepted after 6:00 p.m. July 30/2010 and no late registrations race day.
No guarantee of t-shirts for registrations after July 27/10. Further information can
be found on the RIVERFRONT WALK/RUN entry form.
 

Skateboard Competition

This will be a new event at the Finn Grand Fest 2010 to be held at the Sault Ste. Marie Skateboard Park (near the John Rhodes Center) on Friday, July 30, 2010, 6 - 9 p.m. The event is open to Boys/Girls under 12, ages 13-16, 17 & older and to any skill level. Each contestant gets a 2 minutes run through the skateboard park to perform the best tricks with judges determing their score. Prizes awarded to the top 3 scores in each category. Helmets are mandatory. Equipment will not be provided so bring your own skateboard and helmet. Maximum
number of participants 50. Contestants under 18 need waiver signed by parent.

ENTRY FEE: $15.00 for Finn Grant Fest 2010 registrants, $20.00 for non-registrants.

Track and Field Meet

The Fun Track and Field Meet be held on Friday, July 30th, 2010, 10:00 a.m. at the Jo Forman Track and Field, Elizabeth Street open to competitors 19 and under. Events will be the 100 metre run, 800 metre run (400 metres for those 10 and under), long jump, triple jump and shotput. Age groups will be 18-19 years; 16-17 years; 14-15 years; 11-13 years; 10 and under with those groups to compete in one or all of the 5 events. A special run of 100 metres is being arranged for the 6 years and under. Medals will be awarded to top 3 in each event, by age and gender, participant ribbons for all.

ENTRY FEES: $3.00 per event or $10.00 for all five events for Finn Grand Fest
2010 registrants, additional $5.00 per participant for non-registrants.

Husband/Wife Ferry Contest (Wheelbarrow Contest)

Partners must navigate a wheelbarrow through 75 metre long obstacle course. Initially
the husband (male) will ferry his wife (female) in a wheelbarrow through the course.
At the end of the course, the partners will swap positions and the wife (female) will
ferry the husband (male) back to the starting position. Two courses will run parallel. Total time from start to finish is recorded. The fastest times will perform final head to head race (no clock). Prizes will be awarded to the winners.
Wheelbarrow riders must wear a helmet, be over the age of 17 years and minimum weight of 49 kilos. If it is less, the wife (or husband) will be burdened with such a heavy rucksack that the total weight is 49 kilos. This event is proposed to be held in the same time slot as the wife carrying contest which is to be held at the Jo Forman Track, Saturday, July 31st, 12 to 3.
ENTRY FEE: $5.00 per team. Both members of the team must be Finn Grand Fest
2010 registrants.

Finn Grand Fest Golf Tournament

A full 18 hole Golf Tournament will be held on July 29, 2010 at Crimson Ridge Golf Course. This will be a 4 person scramble format with a shotgun start commencing at 10am.
Practice facilities included prior to start time. For teams of 4 persons, your team will be entered as shown.
For groups less than 4 persons, or individual golfers, Finn Grand Fest 2010 organizers will partner golfers into teams of 4 persons. These teams will be posted on the website as the tournament gets booked. This is a first come – first serve basis. Only the Team Representative (Golfer #1) will be contacted by Finn Grand Fest 2010 organizers.
Contact us at info@finngrandfest2010.com or (705) 575-3466 for more information.

ENTRY FEE: Golf Registration fee $135.00 which includes power cart, practice facilities, tournament registration and dinner.
Registration and entry fee is due by June 30th, 2010 to the below address. Cheques are payable to ‘Finn Grand Fest 2010’. Two persons per cart.
 

Youth Hockey Camp

This event, open to both boys and girls, will introduce to the youth of the festival a series of on ice skills and off ice training. The methods taught are used by up and coming OHL players and professional athletes at large. This camp will have current NHL coaches and players as well junior players to share their knowledge and experiences with the players. Youth participating in this event will come away with a more rounded approach to their training and dietary needs. Depending on number of registrants- the Youth Hockey Camp will be held on Thursday, July 29 and Friday July 30th at John Rhodes Arena, Elizabeth Street, approximately 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. If numbers warrant, a third day of hockey camp will be held on Saturday, July 31st, 2010.

ENTRY FEE - $30 per person for Finn Grand Fest registrants, $35.00 per non-registrants.

Evening Fun Hockey Tournament

This event will offer up the opportunity for younger and more experienced hockey players to rekindle some old friendships from the good old days of the Finn hockey tournaments and have a chance to show off their talents in front of family and friends. Open to both men and women.
The evening fun hockey tournamnet will allow youth to play alongside their dads or uncles and even sisters. The intention of this event is to create some comradery and good competitive spirit for the festival. This event will be held at John Rhodes Arena, Friday, July 30th, commencing at 4 p.m.
Maximum number of registrants - 6 to 8 teams.

ENTRY FEE: - $250 per team / $25 per individual registrant

 

Comedy, Evening Dances, Folk Dancing, Gala Dinner and Dance, Movies, Plays and much much more!!

Featured Films and Dance Groups:

~Sisu Film

~Katrilli Sudbury Dancers

~Kiikurit Dancers Thunder Bay

~Kirajat Youth Dancers

~Sampo Rhythmic Gymnastics

~Sisu Dancers

There will be Accordian Music, Choral Groups, Folk Music, Male Choirs, different types of Music Bands, a Wind Band (Finnish Youth Band), our feature concernt is Rajaton, an Acapella Group from Finland and much much more!!!!
 

List of Performers:

~Anssi Salminen & Markus Luomala

~Ari Haatainen

~Ari Lahdekorpi


~Black Tie Dance Band

“Black Tie” – a dance band from Sudbury, Ontario, Canada and formed in 1996. The group specializes in continental and pop stylings with a particular attachment to Finnish dance standards. The group has entertained at a wide variety of events including Finnish grand festivals, galas and community dances. In 2003 Black Tie was the “Finnish band” at a 14 day cultural trade show entitled Scandinavia by Design a cultural trade show held in conjuction with Klondike Days in Edmonton, Alberta. In 2004 Black Tie released a CD entitled Kravattisonni a collection of traditional Finnish waltzes, tangos, jenkkas and foxtrots. The Black Tie boys Antti, Elias, Jarmo, Shaun and Brian look forward to seeing everyone at FinnGrandFest 2010!
 

~Casey Aro

~Cindy Koistinen

Praised for her pure, clear tone and beautiful voice, soprano Cindy Koistinen’s performances have been described as “so compelling that it simply shut off any critical thinking. Seldom can you hear such a lovely voice carried from such genuine musical feeling, that you just close your eyes and listen.” A singer of great intelligence, sensitivity and sincerity, Ms. Koistinen engages her audiences in performances of opera, oratorio and concert repertoire. 

After completing a B.A. in Women’s Studies at the University of Alberta, Ms. Koistinen decided to pursue full-time studies in music at UBC. At her audition she was offered a place in the Master’s program and the role of the Countess in The Marriage of Figaro, and went on to perform several roles during her studies including Ann Putnam from The Crucible and Belinda from Dido and Aeneas. She was also chosen to work with distinguished guests such as Dr. Irving Guttman, Rudolf Jansen, Stuart Hamilton and Edith Wiens.

Ms. Koistinen has toured internationally, performing in the Czech Republic in the lead role of Sandrina in Mozart’s Die Gärtnerin Aus Liebe. Other operatic roles she has performed include the role of Eurydice in Offenbach’s Orpheé aux Enfers, Donna Anna from Mozart’s Don Giovanni and Violetta from Verdi’s La Traviata.

Ms. Koistinen’s concert experience includes the soprano solos from Handel’s Messiah and Fauré’s Requiem, Schubert’s Mass in G, as well as Sibelius’ Luonnotar for soprano and orchestra, and most recently the Brahms Requiem and Vaughan Williams Dona Nobis Pacem with the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir.
 
Cindy is currently enjoying her collaboration with pianist Heidi Saario and they are planning to record a CD of Scandinavian art song in the near future. In addition, she has a private voice studio in Toronto where she lives with her husband, baritone Gilbert J. Anderson, and their daughter Kaelyn.
 

~Conga Se Menne

~Don Reinholm

~East Helsinki Institute Wind Band

~Emmanual Gasser

~Esa Ruuttunen

~Finnish American Singers

~Finn Hall Band

Finn Hall is a group of musicians dedicated to preserving the feel and sounds of historic Finnish-American dance halls of the last century.

Based in Minneapolis, we recreate this experience for local dancers, offering waltz, polka, schottische, mazurka, tango, humppa and other dances. We perform in concert settings as well, adding listening selections. We also tour internationally whenever possible

~Finn Aire

~Finnot Dance Band

~Harmoni

~Heidi Saario

Heidi Saario is a versatile musician as a soloist, a collaborative pianist, and a piano instructor. Her playing has been praised having “a dynamic range of expression that runs from rippling fine sounds of a brook to the thunderous chords of a storm”. A native of Finland, Ms. Saario currently lives in Toronto. She has performed as a soloist and a chamber musician internationally. Recently she has added a Scandinavian focus in her repertoire. Heidi Saario’s debut CD “Jean Sibelius - Compositions for Piano” was released in March 2008. The CD includes a selection of Sibelius’s solo piano pieces. It was recorded at the CBC studios in Toronto and has been warmly welcomed by audiences in Europe and North America. In addition to playing the solo piano repertoire, Ms. Saario actively collaborates with soprano Cindy Koistinen. This duo focuses on promoting and performing Finnish and Scandinavian art song repertoire. Their upcoming projects include recording a CD of Scandinavian music. Heidi Saario’s solo and collaborative performances take her continuously into many communities across Ontario as well as other provinces in Canada.

Aside from performance, Ms. Saario maintains a busy private studio in Toronto teaching students of all ages and levels. She is a member of the College of Examiners of the Royal Conservatory of Music as well as the Ontario Registered Music Teachers’ Association. She also works as an adjudicator for music festivals and recently adjudicated a Queens County Music festival in Charlottetown, PEI. In addition, she works as a coordinator for the Contemporary Showcase Music festival in Toronto. It is an annual festival promoting music of contemporary Canadian composers.

Heidi Saario started taking piano lessons at the age of four and her professional studies took place at the Helsinki Conservatory. She studied with Anne Kuusanmäki and graduated with a Bachelor of Music Degree. At the Glenn Gould School of The Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, she studied with Leslie Kinton, earning a Masters Degree in Performance and Pedagogy. In Finland, Ms. Saario complemented her studies in Master Classes with Liisa Pohjola, Matti Raekallio, and Teppo Koivisto and in Canada with Jane Coop, Marc Durand, Robert McDonald, and John Perry. She is a recipient of several awards and scholarships including the Women’s Art Association of Canada - Barbara Wilkes Scholarship and Hilda Dorothy Borman Scholarship. For more information about Heidi Saario, please visit www.playthepiano.ca.

~Kasareikka

~Kulkurit Mixed Choir

~Minna & Vesa Formunen

~Nyt Nauraa

The Finnish comedy and musical troupe 'Nyt Naura' ('Now Laugh') performs comic reminiscing, hilarious folk songs and lyrics (flavored entirely in English...accented with a dose of Finnish spice) that will tickle your funny bone
 

~Papu & Towhead

Papu and Towhead both play Finnish dance tunes on accordion, and also do some Finnish folk dances in traditional costume.

The performance listed is Juhannus in Wixom at the Finn Camp, Towhead and local musicians, Papu lives in Vermont.
 

~Pelimannit Thunder Bay

~Pelimannit Toronto

~Rajaton

~Ren Olsen

~Soittoniekat

~Sointu Choir

~Vesipumppu & Mika Mikkola

~Wild Turkeys


 

From the icy shores of Northern Ontario, comes this new sizzling hot band of pickin’ and grinnin’ cowboys. The Wild Turkeys fun stage presence and energetic sound has been recently coined as "Swamp-Stomp Country".
Armed with fiddles, mandolin, guitar, bass, harmonica, a tin can percussive suitcase contraption, and melodic four part harmonies, the Turkeys win over the hearts and ears of audiences everywhere.

This gang of brothers first came together as a band in the winter months of 2006 and quickly formed a stronghold in the Sault Ste. Marie Algoma region. Perpetually on tour, the Turkeys follow a busy schedule performing at festivals, house concerts and small venues. Over the past two years, The Wild Turkeys have shared the stage with artists such as the Fred Eaglesmith, Prairie Oyster, Harry Manx, the Good Brothers and Elliot Brood. This band blends masterful classical techniques with a youthful and theatrical approach to old time country.

In April 2007, they released their first independently funded, original album entitled "Unplucked", which gained nominations from the Northern Ontario Music and Film in Motion Awards (MFM) for “Best Album” and “Best Songwriter”. April 2008, saw the successful release of their second, full length album, “Suspendered”. Watch out for these Turkeys as they are quickly gaining national and international success.
 

Lectures and Seminars 

Exciting lectures will take place at our new Delta Hotel, located on our beautiful waterfront. A selection of different topics including Finnish-North American History, the Kalevala, Genealogy, Writers Workshops, Readings, and more will be offered. There will be something for everyone; you won't want to miss it.

List of Lecturers:

~Anita Smiley

~Ari Orelma

~Beth Virtanen, PhD - Professor and Paloheimo Scholar,
Finlandia University

~Duane Westfield 

Duane Westfield is a retired US Army Chaplain. He is a graduate of Suomi College and Seminary, and US Army Command and General Staff College. He serves as adjunct faculty at DLI, School of Russian, at the Presidio of Monterey, CA.

 

~Ernest Hekkanen

Ernest Hekkanen is Editor-in-Chief of The New Orphic Review and co-curator of the home-based New Orphic Gallery. In addition to that, he is a poet, short story writer, novelist, essayist, playwright, anthologist, reviewer, publisher, printmaker, painter, sculptor and carver. He has published over 40 books. The latest include The Collected Short Stories of Ernest Hekkanen: Naturalistic, Modern Gothic, Surreal & Postmodern, Volume One and Volume Two, Of a Fire Beyond the Hills (a finalist for the George Ryga Award, 2008), Shadows on a Cave Wall, Kafka: The Master of Yesno, Heretic, The Life of Bartholomew G., Melancholy and Mystery of a Street and The Last Thing My Father Gave Me. Recently, Hekkanen had work published in Finnish-North American Literature in English: A Concise Anthology (Edwin Mellen Press, New York, 2009).

For more information about the author, consult www.abcbookworld.com and enter Ernest Hekkanen’s name. Hekkanen is also listed in the Encyclopedia of Literature in Canada (editor, William H. New, University of Toronto Press, 2002) and Contemporary Authors (Thomson Gale) in the United States. A comprehensive list of publications by him can be found at the Finnish North American Literature Association website, www.finnala.com. For a more detailed account of the author’s life and work, consult Margrith Schraner’s book: The Reluctant Author: The Life and Literature of Ernest Hekkanen.
 

~G. K. Wuori

~Hanna Snellman, Board of Directors of the Kalevala Society and Borje Vahamaki, Professor Emeritus of Finnish Studies, Member of Kalevala Society

~Jim Johnson

~John Byk

~Josef Aukee

Josef Aukee is the author of the poetry collections Town and Country, Where Bright Stripes Go, Hill People, and a recorded two collections, Industrial Strength and Afterbeat. His work has appeared in Out of Our, 5_Trope, Ink, SF Reader and Kippis! among other journals. He has appeared at the Bowery Poetry Club in NYC, Highways Word 4 festival in Santa Monica, FinnFest (Duluth, MN) and many other venues in the San Francisco Bay Area. Aukee received his M.A. English: Creative Writing from San Francisco State University. He lives in Sausalito, California. www.josefaukee.com

~Karrina Brooks

Kaarina Brooks, a retired elementary teacher, immigrated from Finland with her parents and older sister in 1951. Since early childhood, writing and art have played a big part in her life. Her short stories, articles and poetry have appeared in magazines, e-zines, literary journals and anthologies, and she has written books and/or done translations for Thomson/Duval, Scholastic Canada, Aspasia Books, Write Words Inc. and Wild Rose Press. Her translation of The Kaleva—Tales of Magic and Adventure (published by Simply Read Books) won the Aesop Award for 2009 from the American Folklore Society. She has sold her watercolours at shows and festivals around Ontario and her paintings have found homes as far away as California and Finland. In the fall of 2009, the book received the prestigious Aesop Award for 2009 from the American Folklore Society.

~Kent Randall, Archivist, Finnish American Historical Archive, Finnish American Heritage Center, Finlandia University


~Lauri Anderson

~Les Ristinen


~Lillian Lehto and Steve Lehto, Birmingham, Michigan, “The Folk Poetry of Eelu Kiviranta”

Lillian is a retired educator. She lives in Birmingham with her husband Paul, who is a retired school administrator. She graduated from Suomi College, and has a B.A. and M.A. from Oakland University. After their six sons were grown she taught for several years in private Christian schools. She is a Fennophile and has traveled to Finland about twenty times, seven of those as an organizer and leader of a tour group. All four of her grandparents immigrated from Finland. Finnish was her first language, but she has had to acquire a modern Finnish vocabulary to replace the old Finnish and Finglish she learned as a child. She currently volunteers as a librarian at the Finnish Center in Farmington, Michigan.

Title of presentation: THE FOLK POETRY OF EELU KIVIRANTA
By: Steve Lehto and Lillian Lehto

Synopsis: Eelu Kiviranta (1873-1953) was a Finnish immigrant from Oulainen who immigrated in 1901, after which he lived all his life in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula where he worked in copper mines and mills, bought a farm which he tended carefully and wrote down most of what he experienced, both in Finland and the USA in verse form. He owned a printing press, printed and bound his books, which he sold all over the Upper Peninsula, traveling in the summer on a bicylce, and in the winter on skiis. His poems contain observations about life in pre-1900 Finland, politics, historical events as well as social commentary. Because they reveal so much about typical Finnish life both in Finland and the USA, they have become collectibles. Lillian is Eelu’s granddaughter and Steve is his great-grandson. Lillian and Steve (a published author) are currently collaborating on a book of Eelu’s poems. The program will include a powerpoint presentation as well as poetry readings in both Finnish and English.
 

~Nancy Mattson


~Sheila Packa and Kathy McTavish

Sheila Packa is a poet and writer from Northern Minnesota, her book of poems 'The Mother Tongue' was published by Calyx Press Duluth in 2007. She also has three chapbooks 'Dear Bird', 'Fearful Journey', and 'Echo & Lightning'. She has taught writing composition at Lake Superior College and she also performs spoken word/poetry in collaboration with cellist Kathy McTavish. For more info go to www.sheilapacka.com.

~Syrene Forsman, The Swedish Finn Historical Society "Building Bridges"


~Tanja Neuvonen, Embassy of Finland, Ottawa

Born: 1970 in Helsinki, Finland. Married, no children
Educational Background:
- 1998 Helsinki Business Polytechnic, Studies on Modern Languages and Executive Assistant tasks, BBA on Business Administration
Career:
Head of Consular Affairs, Embassy of Finland, Ottawa 2003 –
Assistant & Visa Officer, Embassy of Finland, Moscow 2000 – 2003
Assistant, Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland, Helsinki 1999 – 2000
Office Manager, Attorneys at law Kallioinen, Tolppanen,
Salminen & CO, Helsinki 1997 – 1999
Office assistant, Oy Valitut Palat – Reader’s Digest Ab, Helsinki 1989 – 1994

Syntynyt: 1970 Helsingissä. Naimisissa, ei lapsia
Koulutustausta:
- 1998 Helsingin liiketalouden ammattikorkeakoulu, Sihteerityön ja kielten koulutusohjelma, BBA yrityshallinnossa
Työura:
Konsulivastaava, Suomen suurlähetystö, Ottawa 2003 –
Assistentti / Viisumivirkailija, Suomen suurlähetystö, Moskova 2000 – 2003
Assistentti, Ulkoasiainministeriö, Helsinki 1999 – 2000
Toimistopäällikkö, Asianajotoimisto Kallioinen, Tolppanen
Salminen & CO, Helsinki 1997 – 1999
Toimistoapulainen, Oy Valitut Palat – Reader’s Digest Ab, Helsinki 1989 – 1994
 

~Tim Laitila Vincent

There will be various word and song programs and services offered throughout the festival, including concerts, musical performances, and a large worship service held Sunday morning at the Essar Centre. Other locations for programming will be the Finnish Pentecostal Church , Zion Lutheran Church, and St. Mary's Lutheran Church.

Song and Word Friday morning

Friday Evening Concert

Word & Music - Saturday Evening

Joint Worship Service (Finnish - English)

US-Canadian Suomi Conference Festival

Gospel Music

US - Canadian Suomi Conference Festival
 

The Art Show and Sale and the Craft Show and Demonstartion will be taking place from 9am until 3pm daily at the Elks Hall.

Looking to purchase genuine Finnish merchandise? Then the Tori marketplace is for you! Hosted at the upper level of the Essar Centre, the Tori will host over 50 vendors with items ranging from Finnish clothing, foods, arts and crafts, sauna products, collectibles and much much more!!

Tori Times:

Wednesday July 28, 2010 - 2:00-4:00
Thursday July 29, 2010 - 10:00 - 4:00
Friday July 30, 2010 - 10:00 - 4:00
Saturday July 31, 2010 - 9:00 - 3:00
Sunday August 1, 2010 - 12:00 - 4:00