Weekend festivals began to draw attention to contemporary Finland, gathering Americans together around food, music, sports, workshops, programs, and talks. Where? Non-Finnish American communities like Palm Springs, California, Tucson, Arizona, and large Finnish American communities like Duluth, Minnesota, and Fitchburg, Massachusetts.

The Twin Cities’ version of this new kind of Finnish-American festival began in 1975.
America’s Bicentennial – In 1976, America’s Bicentennial year, local committees throughout the USA organized elaborate festivals to commemorate the Finnish diaspora in America, giving new forms of visibility to one of America’s smaller immigrant groups.
Finland’s participation: Speakers and presenters. Collaborative history projects. Urho Kekkonen, the President of Finland, attended three USA events: Hancock, Minneapolis, and New York City.
Finn Fest concept – The wording “Finn Fest” first emerged during the Bicentennial and was used to describe the many Finnish-American festivals happening in 1976.

Finnish American communities across the USA created festivals around the theme “Old Friends, Strong Ties”, initiating a new version of connecting contemporary Finland with contemporary USA.