St Urho’s day is almost here! St. Urho is a fictional Finnish saint who is said to have chased away the grasshoppers to save the grape crop. There are widespread celebrations across northern Minnesota, and indeed, many places with populations of Finnish descent.
Finland, Minnesota has long celebrated St. Urho’s Day (March 18th, 2023 will mark the 48th annual celebration). There are lots of events to participate in the whole weekend including a Ms. Helmi beauty pageant, a parade, music, face painting, food, snow sculptures, and other community festivities.
The biggest part of St Urho’s day is the parade that takes place going right down the middle of highway 1. There are lots of fun preparations that go into the parade, including float and costume-making! Friends of Finland and the St Urho’s day committee would like to invite you to help build and decorate the St Urho Family Tree at the St Urho Float Workshop on March 10th, 11th & 12th. The workshop will take place at the Clair Nelson Community Center, 6866 Cramer Rd., Finland between the hours of 11 am-3 pm. Join in the fun and help build floats in preparation for St Urho’s parade at noon on March 18th! “It would be really fun to have folks come and participate. It’s a way to participate that’s really artsy and fun. We would love for folks to share their ideas,” says Honor Schauland, who is part of the St Urho celebration committee.
The plan for the group project community float is to build the St Urho Family Tree and decorate it together. They will need brown paper bags as they will be paper mache the family tree and other items. There will also be painting and sign-making to be done. Any and all help is encouraged! Anyone is also welcome to come and work on their own float or costume project – some materials will be provided.
Who should be featured in the St Urho Family Tree? The Family tree would like to include portraits of prominent Finlanders from the last 100 years or so – or any other folks who have helped make the St Urho’s Celebration or the community a better place. Your imagination is the limit here. Bring copies of photos, drawings, or portraits and they will incorporate them into the tree, or you can make your own large-size versions to hang or attach to the tree as ornaments.
Refreshments will be served at the workshop. All float-building and craft skill levels are welcome! “It’s back! It’s a thing that we couldn’t really gather to do together during the pandemic. I’m excited to see the mix of people, creativity and ideas that everyone is able to come up with,” comments Honor. For any questions you can reach Honor at 218-353-0300. Write it on the calendar! All Ages, all skill levels welcome!
