Heikinp��iv�� proves Finnish cultural pride Happy to be Finnish, Barbara David prepares to march in the third annual Heikinp��iv�� parade Saturday morning, Jan. 20. HANCOCK ��� Her beaming face surrounded by fur and the brightly embroidered fabric of her headdress, an enthusiastic Barbara David quipped, "Today we���re all Finns," as she prepared to step off for the third annual Heikinp��iv�� parade Saturday morning in Hancock. Representing the Hanka Finnish Homestead Museum in Askel, David joined a half-hour- long procession of people celebrating Finnish and Sami (or Lappish), cultural pride. With the Hancock High School ROTC color guard in the lead, the parade traveled along Quincy Street from Hancock Hardware to the Finnish American Cultural Center on the edge of the Finlandia University campus.   During the parade, Rose Anderson of Chassell leads the plow horse as Ruben Niemisto guides the plow along Quincy Street in Hancock. The trio represented the Hanka Homestead Finnish museum in Askel. Participants in the parade chose a variety of ways to display Finnish culture and ethnic pride. Rose Anderson and Ruben Niemisto, also representing Hanka Homestead, "dug" up the street with an authentic horse-drawn plow. A group of children from the Salolampi Finnish Language Village in Bemidji, Minn., earned the $300 first-place prize offered to parade participants this year with their full-sized paper mach�� renditions of "Moomi Trolls," characters from Finnish children���s literature. From left, Becky Weeks, Cynthia Cot��, Sue Raker and Lisa Peterson of the Community Arts Center in Hancock perform their precision Yooper Scoop drill during the parade. Other popular parade entries included the MTU Pep band, FinPro���s portable sauna and the Community Arts Center���s Yooper Scoop precision drill team. The parade had its share of dignitaries and festival royalty, too. Grand Marshall Carl Pellonpaa, host of the weekly TV show, "Finland Calling," wearing the royal robes of the festival, waved to the crowd. And it just wouldn���t be a Heikinp��iv�� parade without Heikki Lunta, St. Urho, St. Henrik and "the bear who rolled over." Susan Maki of Alston and her sled dog Nanook mush along Quincy Street. The pair represented the Kaleva Ladies and won the $200 second-place prize for their entry. Susan Maki of Alston and her sled dog Nanook mushed along for the Kaleva Ladies��� entry, winning the second-place prize. Third prize went to Maija Stadius��� Hancock Elementary School second-grade class, who marched carrying paper lanterns. Although the bulk of festivities took place Saturday, this year���s Heikinp��iv�� festival officially kicked off Friday evening, with a capacity crowd enjoying an authentic Finnish Sm��rg��sbord dinner at Finlandia Hall. Chef Tony Munch, director of university food services, researched Finnish cookbooks to find the recipes for the authentic dishes served. After dinner, diners were able to relax as Heikinp��iv�� dance band regulars Wilho Kilpela and Friends struck up the music. The dance floor was soon filled as the band launched into a lively set of Finnish tunes. Traditional dances like the waltz, polka, the jankka (also sometimes called a schottische) and the tango kept folks moving and audience members��� toes tapping. Calumet resident John Perona demonstrates his virtuosity on the ���bones��� as he joins Wilho Kilpela and Friends during the Friday night dance in Finlandia Hall of Finlandia University. At right is Oren Tikkanen of Calumet and Alpha on the guitar. A highlight of the evening was the recognition of "bones" player John Perona of Calumet ��� honored as a U.P. recipient of a Michigan Traditional Arts Apprenticeship grant from the Michigan Council for the Arts and Humanities. Under the grant, Perona will teach Wilho Kilpela and Friends��� drummer Randy Seppala of Watton, Mich., the art of playing bones. Seppala is looking forward to learning from Perona. "I am very humbled and honored by the whole process and I want to learn what I can and at least take a part of what he can do," Seppala said. "As a drummer and percussionist, I like to see the tradition carried on. It���s the preservation and perpetuation of a dying tradition." "Bones" are hand-carved wooden sticks which are played by holding them between the fingers and striking them together in rhythm. The art is similar to that of playing the spoons. Perona, Italian by birth, often jokes that he doesn���t have a drop of Finnish blood, but his bones are Finnish, since his "bones" were carved by a Finn. Perona, amidst a crowd of flashing cameras from audience members, gave the crowd a treat as he joined the band for the second half of their set. The second band of the evening was another Heikinp��iv�� tradition, Keskil����nin Pelimannit, a dance band from Minnesota. Ralph Tuttila, mandolin player and band manager, said the group enjoys coming to perform at Heikinp��iv��, especially since lots of folks dance here. "We���re a dance band," Tuttila said. "The energy starts going back and forth between the dancers and the band. This fires us up." An impromptu jam session of musicians, including members of Keskil����nin Pelimannit, also performed at Saturday���s Tori. The traditional market, normally an outdoor affair, was held at the university���s Finnish-American Cultural Heritage Center. Shoppers could meander down the aisles and find birch bark crafts, Finnish books and music, woolens, jewelry and a wealth of information relating to Finnish and Finnish-American societies, publications and associations. From left, Copper Country Spinners Guild members Lorri Oikarinen, Joyce Barna and Laurel Kruse demonstrate the art of spinning at Saturday���s Tori market in the Finnish-American Heritage Center of Finlandia University. Members of the Copper Country Spinners Guild demonstrated a variety of spinning techniques, from the simple and ancient drop spindle, which dates back to Biblical times, to the more modern spinning wheels. Several small wooden medallions were carved by members of the Copper Country Carvers, while Buellwood Weavers member Toini Kilpela wove a rug using strips of a chenille-like fabric and a technique called twining. One disappointment for many was the last-minute cancellation of the reindeer and the Sami camp, but there was still fun to be had in front of the Hancock Middle School. Children and adults alike enjoyed wandering along the snow path and checking out interactive snow sculptures built by the members of the 3-D design class at Finlandia University. Their effort included an arch and walkway which led past a shrine to the bear that rolled over and a snow fort for children to play on complete with stairs, a slide and a tunnel which led into several rooms. Gail Neufeld of Hancock provides the power to give her daughter Kyra, 3, a ride on the vipukelkka, or whip sled, at Saturday���s Heikinp��iv�� festivities. The vipukelkka, or whip sled, was also popular. The manually powered contraption, a sled attached to the end of a pole that rotates on a central support, combines the fun of sledding with that of a merry-go-round. For sheer craziness, the dock of the Ramada Inn was the place to be as more than 40, mostly young people, jumped into the frigid waters of the Portage Canal. One of the few adults who braved the waters was Major Glen Archer of the Michigan Tech Air Force ROTC. Truly a man of his word, the major jumped into the water at last year���s festival as well as this year���s. "I believe in leading by example," he said after his second jump of the day. "Last year I brought three cadets; this year 15 came." Most of the participants in this year���s polar bear plunge, after warming up in the motel���s sauna, pool or hot tub, went back for second, third and even fourth jumps. MTU ROTC member Candice Gates took the plunge a record EIGHT times during an impromptu competition against fellow jumper Rich Lehtimaki. Fernando Silva braces for the drop into the icy water of the Portage Canal during the Heikinp��iv�� Polar Bear plunge. More than 40 people took the dive, many more than once. (Photos by Karin Emond) Reports of what the experience felt like varied from Fernando Silva���s thought that "the water���s not much different than Lake Superior in the summer" to Phi Kappa Tau member Dan Goldman���s reaction to his first jump ��� "You just get numb the second you hit." Houghton Mayor Tom Merz, who, along with his daughter, Erin, jumped into the water during the first Heikinp��iv�� celebration two years ago, said Erin told him at the time that hitting the water was "like being electrocuted." Tony Zingrone, #10 on the Finlandia Lions Hockey team, took home the second place medal for both his creativity and spending the longest time in the water. Using his hockey team experience, Zingrone smacked a puck into the hole in the ice. Shouting "Oh, no I���ve lost my puck, I���ve lost my puck," he dove in after it. After three failed attempts at retrieval, he left the water empty-handed. "It���s not as bad as I expected it to be," said the first-time jumper. "When I went down for the third time I couldn���t hold my breath. Once you���re out, the air feels warm." Scuba divers, who were stationed in the water as a precautionary safety measure, later returned the puck. Activities took a much calmer ��� and warmer ��� turn as the day concluded at the evening Konsertti, or concert. The audience was treated to a variety of musical styles by a line-up of talented performers ranging in age from 8 to 80. Maija Stadius��� second-grade class stole hearts as they sang several Finnish folk tunes. Hancock High���s select chorus, as well as vocalists Marja Kilpela from Helsinki, Finland; 15-year-old Lindsey Maki of South Range; Dan Maki of Ahmeek; and Tanja Stanaway of Ishpeming sang traditional folk tunes. The sounds of accordion, mandolin, guitar and bones were followed by the sweeter harp-like sounds of the kantele. Dance music by Ed Laulumaa of Chassell on violin, joined by Dennis Halme and Ralph Tuttila of Keskil����nin Pelimannit on accordion and mandolin, rounded out the program. For the finale, all musicians gathered onstage and asked the audience to join in the singing of the Heikinp��iv�� theme song "Kotimaani Ompi Suomi." More music brought the third annual Heikinp��iv�� Festival to a close Sunday afternoon. Gloria Dei Lutheran Church was the site for a recital by Finlandia Foundation Musician of the Year organist Vicki Lundberg Gornick. The program consisted of a mixture of classical, folk and dance songs, as well as an original composition by Gornick. After a standing ovation by the 60 or so audience members, Gornick concluded her performance with Sibelius��� Finlandia, bringing tears to the eyes of one audience member, raising goose-bumps of delight on the arms of another. One audience member, Pearl (Trudgeon) Jalkanen , widow of former Suomi College President Dr. Ralph Jalkanen, was obviously delighted with the performance. "It was just wonderful," she said at the conclusion of the program. A former opera singer, the elderly Hancock resident sang along with several of the folk tunes and either conducted or tapped along with the rest. During the tango, she and a friend were tempted to start dancing in the aisles. Jim Kurtti, co-chairman of the Finnish Theme Committee, said that despite the missing reindeer, this year���s event was a success. Festival-goers like Karen Arnett of Cincinnati, Ohio, agreed. "I was lucky enough to visit during this time. It���s wonderful. I love it. I���m going to have to come up here every year now." ��� Karin Emond January 22, 2001 Click here for photos of the ski races and results�Ķ Click here for more photos of other Heikinp��iv�� events�Ķ Editor���s note: Karin Emond, of Green  Bay, Wis., is a guest writer for Keweenaw Today. A former reporter and photographer for The Daily Mining Gazette, Karin enjoys returning to the Copper Country to visit her old  haunts.