Finn Festival 2019

Press | Lehdistö

Finn Festival 2019 Schedule — Finn Festival 2019 Sponsors

Performers | Esiintyjät

Sauna Auction | Huutokauppa

Finn Festival Canada is an annual celebration of Finnish heritage and culture happening in different Canadian cities each year. Finn Fest 2019 is being held in Thunder Bay which has the highest number of Finn’s outside of Finland (Suomi).
As you may or may not know, sauna’s play a crucial role in Finnish culture and this year for our festival we are auctioning off a sauna made by local Finn: Kari Jamsa. Kari Jamsa believes it should be every Finlander’s mission in North America to promote saunas. With a background in carpentry going back to 1966, Jamsa began making prefab saunas in 2000, building them in his workshop and then assembling them on location.
The sauna will be auctioned off at this year’s Finn Festival, with all proceeds going toward the Finnish Canadian Cultural Federation. Last year, Jamsa biked from Thunder Bay to Toronto to raise funds but with this year’s festival being here in city he wanted to do something else. “I’m not cycling this year, so I figured I would build a sauna instead.”

Auction Link:
https://www.32auctions.com/organizations/53793/auctions/66903/auction_items/1825056
Read Kari’s article about the sauna in the Walleye:
http://www.thewalleye.ca/kari-jamsa/

Tori | Marketplace Vendors

Nordic Film Festival | Pohjoismainen elokuvafestivaali

11:00am – My Father From Sirius (Isäni Tähtien Takaa)
*Finnish language with English subtitles*

1:00pm – Finnish Society of Edmonton – Our Migration Stories (short documentary series) – Q&A following with Ava Karvonen
& The Lakehead At War: Where The Poppies Grow – Q&A following with Kelly Saxberg

2:00pm – Who Was Silvia & Finnish Society of Edmonton – Our Migration Stories (short documentary series – part 2) – Q&A following with Ava Karvonen

3:00pm – Eskolan Kesateatteri *Finnish language only/no subtitles*

Passport Office |Passitoimisto

Passport issuing is by appointment only! Applicants should contact the Toronto Consulate by phone at 416-964-0066 ext 0 or by email at toronto.ott@formin.fi

Link to instructions.

During Friday & Saturday of the Festival, the passport office can be reached at 416-434-6460 (preferably by text message).

https://finlandabroad.fi/web/can/applying-for-a-passport-or-an-identity-card

Where | Missä

Speakers | Kaiuttimet

10:00am – Finns in Canada (Pa-1005)
- Veli Ninimaa
- Kelly Saxberg – Orphaned Seniors
- Ava Karvonen – Finnish Society of Edmonton: Out Migration Stories
11:00am – Finns in Fiction (Pa-1005)
- Mark Munger
- Roy Blomstrom
- Liisa Kovala
12:30pm – Hard Work Conquers All (Pa-1005)
- Dr. Michel Beaulieu – History of Finnish Immigration and Settlement in Canada
1:15pm – A History of Relations between Canada and Finland (Pa-1005)
- Dr. David Ratz
2:00pm – The Nolalu Homesteaders and its Early Finnish Immigrants (Pa-1005)
- Eldon Oja
3:00pm – Sisu in Sport: The Finnish Canadian Sporting Legacy (Pa-1005)
- Dr. Nathan Hatton
4:00pm – Meeting of the Expatriate Parliament (Pa-0019 – Basement)

Roy Blomstrom

He has published short fiction, poetry, and essays, and wrote an education column for the Kitchener-Waterloo Record. He has had five ten-minute plays produced as part of Thunder Bay’s 10×10 Play Showcase. Two were also performed in Finland and at the Brighton Fringe Festival.His new novel, SILENCES: A NOVEL OF THE 1918 FINNISH CIVIL WAR, draws heavily on the experiences of his parents, both of whom lived through those destructive, tense days in Finland.

Mark Munger

Mark Munger a District Court Judge since 1998, serves a four county region of Northeastern Minnesota.His work has been published in Writer’s Journaland his essay “Leaving Mayo” was a finalist for the 2000 Pirate’s Alley Faulkner Writing Award.

Liisa Kovala

Liisa Kovala is a Finnish-Canadian teacher and writer living in Sudbury, Surviving Stutthof, published by Latitude 46, recounts her father’s experiences as a Finnish merchant marine imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp in Poland. It was short-listed for a Northern Lit Award in 2018. Her current writing explores the life of a former Lotta Svärd as she navigates a diagnosis of early onset Alzheimer’s and her fading memories of life during the Winter War.

Veli Ninimaa

Veli Ninimaa was born in Finland and immigrated to Canada in 1964. He studied at the University of Toronto. Dr. Niinimaa has served as President of the Calgary Finnish Club, Board Member of the Finnish-Canadian Cultural Federation, and the Alternate Deputy Speaker for the Finnish Expatrieate Parliament, Canada Region. Most recently he published Accomplished Finnish-Canadians: Ansiotuneita Kanadan-Suomalaisia, a book about Finnish contributions to Canadian society.

Kelly Saxberg

Kelly Saxberg is a film producer, director, editor and cinematographer who has worked on over 100 films. She works in English, French, Spanish and Finnish.Kelly was the writer/ director/ editor of Under The Red Star, a feature length historical docu-drama shot on super 16mm film in Finnish and English about the Finnish Labour Temple.

Eldon Oja

Eldon Oja is a Finnish-Canadian genealogist living in Thunder bay. He descends from the first Finnish homesteaders to the Nolalu area in 1900. He has joined other genealogists from Thunder Bay and Finland as well as local historians to embark on a novel approach to historical and genealogical research. The results of that group’s efforts are reflected in Nolalu Homesteaders project page which can be found by the following link: https://www.geni.com/projects/Nolalu-Homesteaders/46960