Finland had just survived its life and death struggle of the Winter War of 1939-1940. In an effort to provide aid to the people of our war-ravaged country an idea was born in Sudbury, in the sauna of Lempi Johnson, to have a Finnish Song, Sports and Co-operative summer festival with the proceeds from it going to Finland. The first festival in 1940 obviously was a success since it was repeated six times in Sudbury. By this time it was becoming a summer tradition in the Finnish Canadian community which continued in Timmins in 1946 and then moved to other Ontario Finnish communities and Montreal in 1956 when the original purpose for having the festivals became obsolete.

As a result of this it became apparent than an organization was needed, that would guarantee the continuation of the Grand Festivals. At the same time it became necessary to create a Finnish Canadian Central organization to represent Canada’s Finnish community under the new multicultural policy of Pier Elliott Trudeau`s Liberal government in 1971.

Mauri Jalava, who had acted as the chairman of the steering committee for three years, had been talking about the necessity of a central organization for many years. An article was also written in Vapaa Sana, very convincingly, about the same by a bookstore owner named Paavo Lehtonen in Port Arthur.

At the Windsor Grand Festival in 1971 foundation of the Finnish Canadian Cultural Federation took place and the steering committee ceased to exist. The first chairman of the newly formed organization was Mauri Jalava.

The aim of the Cultural Federation was to expand the festivals beyond the boarders of Ontario and only two years later Vancouver hosted the Finnish Canadian Grand Festival in 1973.

At a special meeting on June 21, 1973 The Federation was incorporated to make it a registered federal organization. The objects of the Corporation were to act as a non-political co-ordinator between associations, congregations, clubs and other groups of Finnish ethnic background in Canada and to promote Finnish culture and ethnic customs in Canada, to promote Canada in Finland, to arrange cultural visits, to represent Finnish Canadians within other ethnic groups and to actively support the Finnish Canadian Grand Festivals.

Full membership with voting rights is open to all Canadian non-political organizations, clubs and other groups of Finnish ethnic origin.

The present board of directors, at their meeting last October, made a motion to be presented at the annual general meeting here in Vancouver to open the membership to individuals also.

In the 80`s the Cultural Federation organized and sponsored seminars to promote teaching the Finnish language and keeping up with the constant development of the language. After three seminars the Finnish language teachers formed an organization of their own in 1984 and took over the responsibility of running these events.

There were several similar short seminars including the Theatre Seminar in 1977 directed by professor and dramaturg Ritva Heikkila from the University of Helsinki and hosted by the Cultural Federation and the Finnish Social Club Actors of Toronto.

Training sessions were also held for activity directors of Finnish clubs, sports associations and youth leaders.

Not to forget its social responsibilities, the Cultural Federation formed a social committee to study the special needs and issues of the Finnish Canadian pensioners.

The executive committee initiated the meeting that led into signing of the reciprocal Social Security Agreement between Finland and Canada on February 1. 1988. The basic old age pension from Finland was stopped, but hundreds if not thousands Finnish Canadians received a small additional pension in 1980`s to 1990`s.

The Cultural Federation, over the years, has rewarded Finnish groups, choirs, artists and other deserving individuals with a variety of trophies.

The first rotating award was a donation from the Scandinavian Airlines, a bronze bust of young Jean Sibelius sculpted by Kaij Tapper and now on display in Toronto’s Suomi-Koti.

Jorma Sarkijarvi, a long time board member and organizer of Grand Festivals in Thunder Bay, with his wife Elma donated a large wooden plaque, which for the first time was awarded in Toronto in 1987. The plaque was returned to Thunder Bay after it was filled with the nameplates of close to twenty recipients.

A baton, originally belonging to the University of Helsinki Student Union male choir and used in their concerts in the 1940`s was another Cultural Federation trophy for a male choir deemed to be most deserving by a three member jury.

The latest award is a personal keepsake, a plaque donated by Vapaa Sana Press Ltd. and presented to an individual who has been instrumental in advancing Finnish cultural activities in his lifetime or has made his or her mark in the field of art in general.

After the Finnish American clubs and associations started to plan their nation-wide annual celebrations in early 1980`s under the name of FinnFestUSA, the first one was held in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1983. It did not take long before the organizers on both sides of the border started talking about getting together for a continental Finnish gathering.

Mauri Jalava, the first chairman of the Finnish Canadian Cultural Federation and Robert W (Bob) Selvala, first chairman of FinnFestUSA, sat down, in earnest, at the Timmins Grand Festival in 1996 to start planning for the first combined event. The idea, proposed by Jalava, was to have the first joint festival – later named FinnGrandFest- at Niagara Falls in order to celebrate the 250^th anniversary of the Finnish botanist Pehr Kalm`s visit to Niagara and also to start the new millennium in a grand style.

Niagara Falls, logistically was not feasible, so the festival ended up in Toronto with Hans Myrskog, the current chair of the Cultural Federation, heading the Organizing Committee.

Unfortunately Bob Selvala did not see this magnificent accomplishment. He died of brain cancer 14 weeks before the Opening Ceremonies of FinnGrandFest 2000.

The joint festival was relived in Marquette, Michigan in 2005 and once more in 2010 in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario with Raimo Viitala Chairing the Organizing committee.

These are just a few glimpses into the history of the Finnish Canadian Grand Festivals and the activities of the Finnish Canadian Cultural Federation. You may read more in this book written by Lauri Toiviainen, once a member of the board of the Cultural Federation and a former editor of our Finnish newspaper Vapaa Sana.

We have a very challenging future ahead of us. The first generation is aging and it is getting increasingly difficult to find communities to host the Grand Festivals. Ideas have been tossed around what to do and how to do, but no definite solutions have been found as yet. All ideas are welcome and more importantly everyone`s involvement in our future is critical. Only together shall we stand strong. Only together shall we succeed.