| FinnFunn 2003 [newsletter
2/04] November 7-9, 2003 Radisson Hotel Burlington, Vermont by Jeanne Pakkala Frandsen Seventeen members of the Finger Lakes Finns journeyed by bus on November 6, 2003 to the FinnFunn 2003 Weekend in Burlington, Vermont. Ten other members came by car at various times to make a total of 27 members attending. This event was held in the Radisson Hotel in Burlington, which is right on Lake Champlain. It was a beautiful place and I'll bet it is gorgeous in the summer. In Burlington they have integrated the old buildings and architecture with the new. On Friday we participated in either a tour of the Shelburne Museum or a tour of the ECHO Center for Lake Champlain. On Friday evening we enjoyed our first banquet at which we were superbly entertained by Teija Huttunen-Green, a very talented member of the Vermont group. There was also music by Sattuma (Happenstance) a Karelian folk music family quartet performing traditional music of Karelia, Finland, and Russia. The men in this group, Arto Rinne and Dima Demine, are former members of the group Myllärit. They had their children playing and singing with them and were very much enjoyed by all. Later there was dancing. On Saturday there were various programs to enjoy: There was a presentation on “Aki Kaurismäki - Giant in Finnish Cinema”. The Man Without a Past, 2002 was shown several times during the weekend. I attended a presentation by Eric Aho called “Open and Closed: Landscapes of Finland and Vermont” at which he showed slides of paintings he has done of Finland and Vermont. In the afternoon was “The Golden Age of Finnish Art” by Liisa Bradley and Piia Huttunen-Bradley. They showed slides of captured images by Finnish artists that helped to shape the future of the Finnish nation. I enjoyed that one very much and discovered that I have a poster of one painting by Albert Edelfelt in my home. “Saunas and the Forest” was an interesting discussion of the history of saunas and sauna building. They had been to Muurame to the Museum, which many of us visited on our tour a couple years ago. Hemmo Huttunen and Stanley Koskinen enjoyed a presentation of “Finglish for Foreigners” and Stan came away with a list of all the “Finglish” expressions they came up with at this presentation. There were other presentations also - a Kantele Workshop; I-Magic: Rock Art and Reindeer; Sharing Memories - an Oral Workshop; Making Pulla, and a fish smoking demonstration. On Saturday evening there was a very nice buffet dinner with many Finnish dishes on the table. Teija-Huttunen-Green entertained again, as did the Maine Kantele Consort. The entertainment for this weekend was, in my opinion, very special with lots of Finnish music interspersed with classical and popular music. We came home on late Sunday afternoon, arriving about 5:30 p.m. to the K-Mart parking lot. A good time was had by all. Think about attending a Finn Funn Fest. It is a most enjoyable time; you will enjoy making new friends and learning more about your Finnish culture and heritage. Next year it will be held right here in Ithaca, so travel won't be a problem! |