The Finland, MN Historical Society has celebrated Midsummer, in June, for many years. Initially, it was celebrated with a May Pole, some music, and a few vendors. In the late 1990s, Paul Deaner started a free music festival, bringing musicians from near and far to Finland. In 2006, the historical society decided to combine the music festival and the Midsummer festivities, move the event to August, and rename it the Tori Music Festival.
The word “Tori” is Finnish for “open marketplace”, and the festival has grown to include local artists, merchants, and traditional craft demonstrations such as weaving. Vendors sell a variety of items, from pottery to plants to fairy house craft kits.
This year, I had the privilege of visiting the Tori Finnish Marketplace and Music Fest with Felicity (age 8) and Alice (age 6). The first thing that caught the girls’ attention was a community Ryijy-making booth. A Ryijy is a type of Finnish carpet hanging, and is made of hundreds upon hundreds of knots tied onto a mesh backing. Felicity and Alice enjoyed picking out colorful strips of cloth to add to the Ryijy.
The next thing that caught their attention was North Woods Pottery’s booth, which displayed many examples of beautiful, handcrafted pottery – such as vases, cups, bowls, and teapots. Felicity admired the artistic quality of the pottery, and the girls remembered the unspoken rule of “look with your eyes, not with your hands.”
The highlight of the festival for them, though, was Duluth Goat Yoga. Goat yoga is a “gentle, all-abilities yoga class with cute little goats,” according to https://www.duluthgoatyoga.com/. Felicity and Alice enjoyed spending some time holding little goats, and Felicity even let a little goat climb on her back. One little goat fell asleep in Felicity’s lap, and after she held it, she handed the still-sleepy goat to Alice.
Both Felicity and Alice are members of American Heritage Girls Troop MN2931, so we circled back to a booth hosted by troop members. This “Imagination Station” area at the festival had lots of fun crafts. All the crafts were tied to Finnish culture – making a paper plate bear (the bear is the national animal of Finland), Northern Lights watercolors, handprint swans (Finland’s national bird), Sisu mobiles (Sisu is a Finnish concept described as stoic determination, grit, or bravery), Finnish himmeli (a Finnish Christmas ornament), miniature rug weaving, tree planting, and fishing for prizes (a traditional Finnish birthday activity). Troop member Madelynn Holbeck played a few songs on piano, and another troop member, Hilda Krekelberg, played tin whistle, entertaining passersby with fun folk tunes.
The Tori Finnish Marketplace and Music Fest isn’t just for children. Adults could be seen milling about, visiting friends and participating in activities such as an essential oils workshop presented by Christina Schroeder from Purple Lotus, or entering the silent auction and raffle. All day long visitors could enjoy music played from the stage, with an end of the day performance by Charlie Parr.
Be sure to watch for next year’s event on the Finland Minnesota Historical Society’s website under “Calendar of Events.” Thanks, Felicity and Alice for a refreshing view of the Tori, and to all those who behind the scenes made this a memorable event.
