INFO ABOUT ASAHI

Sedentary lifestyles and chronic stress are leading determinants of physical and mental health. Long, uninterrupted periods of sitting stress the spine and impact how we breathe, cognitive function, and our capacity to release tension. Stress accumulates in the body and suppresses immunity, digestion, and systems also affected by sitting. The combination of prolonged sitting and chronic stress, when unaddressed, can be toxic to our health. This workshop begins with a brief overview of stress response in the body. Recent research on the health effects of sitting will be highlighted. Using a public health lens, we will examine how core characteristics of ASAHI, a science-based Nordic practice, can derail the effects of prolonged sitting, reduce the allostatic load of long-term stress, and build inner resilience.

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Sedentary lifestyles and chronic stress are leading determinants of physical and mental health. Long, uninterrupted periods of sitting stress the spine and impact how we breathe, cognitive function, and our capacity to release tension. Stress accumulates in the body and suppresses immunity, digestion, and systems also affected by sitting. The combination of prolonged sitting and chronic stress, when unaddressed, can be toxic to our health. This workshop begins with a brief overview of stress response in the body. Recent research on the health effects of sitting will be highlighted. Using a public health lens, we will examine how core characteristics of ASAHI, a science-based Nordic practice, can derail the effects of prolonged sitting, reduce the allostatic load of long-term stress, and build inner resilience.

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Performers constantly renew folk traditions, fusing old songs and tunes with new influences to entertain audiences and establish their musical place in an ever-changing world. Join folklorist Jim Leary for sounds, images, and observations from 40+ years of fieldwork with Finnish American musicians in the Upper Midwest, along with a sneak preview of the stylistic range and creative visions of folk musicians figuring in FinnFest 2023. Jim Leary, current vice president of FinnFest USA, is an emeritus professor of folklore and Scandinavian studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he co-founded the Center for the Study of Upper Midwestern Cultures. An award-winning author and two-time Grammy nominee for Best Album Notes, he is the curator of FinnFest’s 2023 folk arts programming. Finnish American Folk Music: All Tradition is Change.

FinnFest USA is pleased to welcome Saara Martikka, a teacher in Hämeenlinna, Finland. Martikka’s innovative teaching methods in her language arts and literature classes have gotten the attention of the New York Times. Since 2011, Finnish Education has been a popular and well-respected topic at FinnFest festivals, and the 2023 Festival will have a workshop about Finnish teaching methods. Saara Martikka is a passionate advocate for literacy skills and an accomplished Finnish language and literature teacher at Kauriala School in Hämeenlinna, Finland. Her extensive background includes serving as a multi-literacy advisory teacher and being a valued member of the media literacy project group for the Uudet lukutaidot (new reading skills) development program. As an expert in teaching Finnish media literacy in international media, Saara's knowledge and experience are widely recognized. Interestingly, Saara is also a renowned international judge of competitive cheerleading, demonstrating her expertise and versatility outside the classroom. Whether evaluating routines, educating students or developing new teaching strategies, Saara's expertise are respected globally.

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Hymns and hymn singing help define the Finnish calendar year and contemporary Finnish culture. School children sing “Suvivirsi” on the last day of school; a flashmob sings “Hoosiana” in a busy mall. Metal bands will include hymns in their repertoire. While immigrants in the past and expats in the present have loved the Finnish hymn tradition, the hymns remain little known in America. This webinar introduces the Finnish hymn singing tradition and the new, versatile “Finnish Heritage Hymnbook” being released at FinnFest 2023. Join Paul Niemisto, Marianne Wargelin, and Margaret Vainio as they introduce the unique hymns of Finland.

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In our stressed-out world people are seeking ways to rest, relax, and invest in their wellness. The world is opening its eyes to the joys of sauna, a beloved tradition that Finland has practiced for centuries. The science of sauna's health benefits are being studied like never before.

View a discussion on North America's growing sauna culture with Justin Juntunen, Founder/CEO of Cedar & Stone Nordic Sauna. Cedar & Stone is a North American leader in public sauna experiences, modern custom-designed saunas, and educating sauna and wellness entrepreneurs. In this interactive discussion and Q&A, you will join those looking to learn how we can all live with a little less stress and more sauna.

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For the November webinar, Justin Juntunen, FinnFest USA board member, interviewed Heli Sirviö, Executive Producer for FinnFest USA 2023 in Duluth, Minnesota. Justin is the owner of Cedar and Stone Sauna in Duluth and is part of the team creating the 2023 FinnFest. Heli Sirviö is the Finnish language lecturer at Columbia University. Part of her work with FinnFest USA has been to explore new connections to contemporary Finland that will become part of the 2023 festival. This webinar will give you a first glimpse at the festival program!

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This presentation by Saijaleena Rantanen will focus on working-class women of Finnish background and their musical activities in early 20th century North America. Women played an active role in organizing the cultural life of immigrants. They also wrote songs, sang in choirs and participated in demonstrations in defense of women’s rights and better working conditions. Who were these women and what do we know about them? The songs by and about Finnish immigrant women offer an interesting perspective on the activities and goals of working-class women at the grassroots level.

Saijaleena Rantanen works as a university lecturer at the Sibelius Academy of the University of the Arts Helsinki. She is a music historian, and her research interests are in social, political, and cultural history of music. She is particularly interested in people and phenomena that have been marginalized in history. Her research interests include migration, labor history and the role of women as musical and cultural influencers. In her current research project, she is studying the music culture of the ”Red Finns” in North America and Soviet Karelia from the late 19th century until the late 1930s.

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In 2014, Lisa Wiitala began an in-depth exploration of her Finnish American roots. Part of that journey involved rescuing her grandmother’s carpet loom from the abandoned family farm, learning to weave rag rugs with it as her grandmother once had. She’ll share the story of that rewarding experience, including how it led to the discovery of other family treasures and an additional form of traditional Finnish weaving known as ryijy.

Lisa Wiitala is a science teacher, writer and weaver living in her 117-year-old restored childhood home in Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula, where she thankfully looks forward to the long winters so she can cross country ski. A collector of family stories, artifacts and heirlooms, Lisa houses her grandmother’s Union-36 rug loom in her former bedroom, weaving rag rugs with materials salvaged from her grandmother's supplies. In warmer months, she enjoys gardening, berry picking, and hunting for agates on Lake Superior, the greatest lake of them all.

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Why, after years of neutrality, would Finland suddenly want to join NATO? This dramatic reorientation in Finnish security policy emerged in polls and political debates in late 2021, culminating in the May, 2022 formal decision to apply for NATO membership. Prof. Kaarle Nordenstreng explores the contemporary atmosphere and arguments regarding Finland’s forthcoming NATO membership. To assist us to understand Finland’s present geopolitical situation, he will also guide us through the series of wars and peace treaties dating back to Finland's identity as an Eastern part of the Kingdom of Sweden, followed by a century as an autonomous Grand Duchy of Czarist Russia, leading to Finland’s ultimate independence in the middle of the Russian revolution in 1917. Kaarle Nordenstreng, born in 1941, with a Ph.D. from the University of Helsinki, is a Professor Emeritus of Journalism and Mass Communication at Tampere University in Finland.

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Why, after years of neutrality, would Finland suddenly want to join NATO? This dramatic reorientation in Finnish security policy emerged in polls and political debates in late 2021, culminating in the May, 2022 formal decision to apply for NATO membership. Prof. Kaarle Nordenstreng explores the contemporary atmosphere and arguments regarding Finland’s forthcoming NATO membership. To assist us to understand Finland’s present geopolitical situation, he will also guide us through the series of wars and peace treaties dating back to Finland's identity as an Eastern part of the Kingdom of Sweden, followed by a century as an autonomous Grand Duchy of Czarist Russia, leading to Finland’s ultimate independence in the middle of the Russian revolution in 1917. Kaarle Nordenstreng, born in 1941, with a Ph.D. from the University of Helsinki, is a Professor Emeritus of Journalism and Mass Communication at Tampere University in Finland.

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During the 1970s, there was an enormous American roots music boom in Finland, spawning hundreds of Fin-A-Billy (Finnish rockabilly, country, bluegrass, blues, and related genres) bands with thousands of fans. UW-Madison folklorist and ethnomusicologist Nathan Gibson shares his research and musical samples of the ways many Finns have connected with American culture through American roots music over the last 60 years.

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Gloria Johnson and Erika Suo demonstrate how to make pulla, a Finnish cardamom bread, in Gloria’s kitchen in Oulu, Wisconsin. Gloria has held many classes in her home to teach this baking art. She has also helped Erika pass on this tradition to local youth who attend summer school classes at the Oulu Cultural and Heritage.

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In the second part of the FinnFest February webinar series, we continue the theme of “Multilingual Finland.” The organizers of this webinar, Lotta Weckström (University of California—Berkeley) and Helena Halmari (Sam Houston State University) bring together a panel of four international experts, whose collective specialties cover the following languages, all spoken in today’s Finland: Sami, Romani, Russian, Karelian, Estonian, and African languages.

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Jan-Ola Östman | Past, Present, and Future of Swedish in Finland

Johanna Laakso | Everything You Ever Heard about the Finnish Language Might Be Wrong: A Quick Introduction into a Perfectly Ordinary European Language

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Timo Virtanen, Finnish National Library and Sibelius Academy Sibelius Publication Project, Editor in Chief The Estate of Jean Sibelius gifted the composer’s personal archival collection in 1982 to the National Library of Finland. Häkli oversaw the initial copyright issues, and Virtanen began the massive editing work in 1997, work that continues to this day. Timo Virtanen, Editor in Chief of the Complete Sibelius Works Publication Project, is shown here with Esko Häkli, University of Helsinki Librarian Emeritus

Daniel Grimley is the author of "Jean Sibelius: Life, Music, Silence" (2021). His research interests include music, landscape, cultural geography, ecocriticism and the environmental humanities. Scandinavian music (Grieg, Sibelius, Carl Nielsen) and English music (Elgar, Vaughan Williams, Delius).

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Filming Finnish American Folk Dance Music in Michigan's Upper Peninsula with Michael Loukinen was the fifth event in the 2021 FinnFest music series and featured a presentation by Michael Loukinen who was joined by Oren Tikkanen, hosted by folklorists Nathan Gibson and Anna Rue from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

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Aki Kaurismäki is a filmmaker from Finland, who has made films since 1981, winning awards at the Cannes Film Festival and the Berlin Film Festival and earning Academy Award nominations, among others. His films range from dark comedy to farce, from rock and roll to tango, from mocumentaries to passionate advocacy for the least among us. Who is this strange northern artist, whose films have won him a following with art-house and film-festival audiences around the world? The talk provides ways of understanding Aki Kaurismäki’s films and of connecting their Finnish roots to their flight around the world as a favorite of world cinema viewers.

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During the summer of 1886, the ethnographer Aukusti Koskimies conducted fieldwork with two dozen Inari Sámi storytellers, eventually publishing with Toivo Itkonen an anthology of Sámi oral tradition called Inari Sámi Folklore.

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Eric Peltoniemi sings in Finnish, “Finnglish” and English, while accompanying himself on the guitar. Combining live performances with video clips, Peltoniemi’s program includes traditional Finnish folk songs (some interpreted true to tradition, others with reimagined melodies and lyrics) and original songs: “Punainen” (performed in the 2017 Finnish film Ikitie); “Käki se Kukkuu” and “Kävelin Kerran” (popular on 1990s Finnish folk radio); and the patriotic anthem, “O Suomi” (performed with choir at the 2017 Finland Centennial gala in Minneapolis’ Orchestra Hall). Minnesota folksinger/songwriter Eric Peltoniemi's interest in Finnish music began as a teenager, and he's been a fixture in the folk community for over half a century performing live, writing songs for the music theater, and running the Grammy-winning folk label Red House Records. Eric has performed at Finland’s Kaustinen Folk Festival, recorded on various Finnish record labels (EiNo, Royal Mint and Kansan Musiikki Intituutti), and appeared in the Jussi Award (Finnish Oscar)-winning film Ikitie (Eternal Road) singing an original song. Peltoniemi originals also have been recorded by other Finnish artists ( www.redhouserecords.com/artists/eric-peltoniemi/).

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During July’s virtual lecture, we’ll have the opportunity to hear from two incredible speakers from the University of Helsinki: Eila Stepanova, from Karjalan Sivistysseura (The Society of Karelian Culture), and Frog, an Academy of Finland Research Fellow and Associate Professor of Folklore.

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Rebel girls, gypsies, brides, vagabonds, maids, daughters, mothers, artists, journalists, and revolutionaries. Finnish immigrant women came to the U.S. and constructed new lives with a new language and new identities. Through songs and poetry from the voices and experiences of Finnish and Finnish-American women, Jarvi shares their resistance, independence, sorrow, strength, and legacy.

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The Origins of the Finns: Have you ever wondered where the Finns came from? Since Finnish is clearly not a Western language, people have pondered this subject for centuries. Where did the Finns originate? Does their very unusual language make the Finns unique? How are they different from their neighbors? When do Finns appear in the history of Finland? This presentation begins with the prehistoric origins of Finnish speakers, their arrival in Finland, and their lives in tribal settings. It ends with the Swedish era.

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Songs of the Finnish Migration: Offered in partnership with the Nordic Folklife project at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Ralph and Jaana Tuttila play and discuss Finnish-American music and dance in the Upper Midwest. Tom DuBois and Marcus Cederström, the book’s editors, will join Ralph and Jaana to offer insights into the significant contribution of songs to our understanding of the Finnish immigrant experience.

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For 150 years, Finnish Americans have created a culture of their own by blending Old Country traditions with practices either adapted from multiethnic neighbors or created in response to a new life in America. In this lecture, Dr. Virtanen explores the Finnish and American aspects of Finnish American cultural practices and discusses why Finnish roots and American branches continue to matter… and why we are so fascinating to many Finns!

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Finnishinaabe Fusions: Offered in partnership with the Nordic Folklife project at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Elizabeth “Lyz” Jaakola performs and discusses original compositions in a range of musical genres encompassing her dual Anishinaabe and Finnish American experiences.

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As part of the FinnFest USA 2021 Virtual Lecture series, Dr. Tuomas Hovi from the University of Turku presents a lecture entitled "The Kalevala in Modern Finland: Influencing Popular Culture, Arts, and Business Life."