Enjoy the Finnish/Estonian film Miekkailija (The Fencer) and hot soup at the National Nordic Museum!

Inspired by the life of Estonian fencing champion Endel Nelis, The Fencer is set in Haapsalu, Estonia, in the early 1950s. Having left Leningrad to escape the secret police, Endel finds work as a teacher and starts an after-school sports club for his students. When he teaches his students how to fence, his great passion for the sport conflicts with the need to keep his background hidden.

Cost: $15 for Members; $20 general admission (price includes food and refreshments). RSVP at https://www.nordicmuseum.org/product/6366 required.

Finnish Language classes are held Tuesdays and Wednesdays online using Zoom starting on January 11th:

For students who have taken Finnish for Beginners or who have previously studied Finnish.

• Finnish for Beginners – Tuesday evenings 6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. For students who have not studied Finnish earlier. This class focuses on basic everyday vocabulary.
• Intermediate Finnish – Wednesdays 6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. For students who have taken Finnish for Beginners or who have previously studied Finnish.

RSVP: Please email your name and choice of class (beginners or intermediate) to languageclasses@finlandiafoundationseattle.com if you intend to register for a class.

See www.finlandiafoundationseattle.com/language-classes for further details.

Finnish Language classes are held Tuesdays and Wednesdays online using Zoom starting on January 11th:

For students who have taken Finnish for Beginners or who have previously studied Finnish.

• Finnish for Beginners – Tuesday evenings 6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. For students who have not studied Finnish earlier. This class focuses on basic everyday vocabulary.
• Intermediate Finnish – Wednesdays 6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. For students who have taken Finnish for Beginners or who have previously studied Finnish.

RSVP: Please email your name and choice of class (beginners or intermediate) to languageclasses@finlandiafoundationseattle.com if you intend to register for a class.

See www.finlandiafoundationseattle.com/language-classes for further details.

Finnish Fanfare – Featuring Cascadia Brass

Finland’s long-standing brass band tradition started with military bands, accompanying kings and czars or leading soldiers as they marched. It quickly evolved, however, into entertainment for the common people at folk dances and hunting parties, and later into the world of jazz. It even followed Finnish immigrants to America. The highly acclaimed Cascadia Brass returns to take us on a tour of the evolution of the Finnish brass ensemble, in a grand fanfare to welcome back our Mostly Nordic series!

Musicians:

• Robert Gale, trumpet
• David Cole, trumpet
• David McBride, French horn
• Keith Winkle, trombone
• Edgar Phillips, tuba

Cost: $25 for Members; $30 general admission; $10 students

See https://www.nordicmuseum.org/product/6323 for tickets and more information

The National Nordic Museum together with the Finnish Choral Society invites you to the 46th Annual Kalevala Day Festival—Finnish Kantele: Remembering Wilho. This year’s event is virtual.

The Kalevala Day Tradition goes back to 1835, when the national epic of Finland, the Kalevala, was published for the first time by Elias Lönnrot. The Kalevala epic played an important part in developing Finland’s national identity and Finnish language, art, and music. The first Kalevala Day was celebrated on February 28th, in 1885. The Kalevala Day celebration continues to this day in Finland with cultural events.

The Finnish Choral Society of Seattle has maintained and Annual Kalevala Day since 1976 in Seattle, hosted at the National Nordic Museum since 1982.

This 45-minute YouTube program will feature the Finnish Choral Society of Seattle, the Evergreen Livakat Kantele players, and Arja Kastinen, kantele player and first Finnish folk musician to earn Doctor of Music at Sibelius Academy, Helsinki, Finland.

The program will honor the passing of Wilho Saari, Washington State kantele player and composer who received numerous awards including the Washington State Governor’s Heritage Award, the Finlandia Foundation National Performer of the Year, and the National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellowship in 2006 – the highest honor in the folk and traditional arts.

RSVP at https://www.nordicmuseum.org/product/6460 to get link to event

Meeting agenda: 2022 FFSC Annual Meeting Agenda

Minutes of the 2021 annual meeting: 2021 FFSC Annual Meeting Minutes

Finnish Language classes are held Tuesdays and Wednesdays online using Zoom starting on September 6th:

• Finnish for Beginners – Tuesday evenings 6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. This class will focus on intro-level Finnish vocabulary and sentence building. You do not need any previous knowledge of Finnish to join the Beginner class.
• Intermediate Finnish – Wednesdays 6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. This class will focus on grammatical structures and will expect some basic grammatical and vocabulary knowledge. A variety of abilities are welcome, but you should know how to make basic sentences and express yourself a bit in Finnish.

RSVP: Please email your name and choice of class (beginners or intermediate) to languageclasses@finlandiafoundationseattle.com if you intend to register for a class.

See www.finlandiafoundationseattle.com/language-classes for further details.

Finnish Language classes are held Tuesdays and Wednesdays online using Zoom starting on September 6th:

• Finnish for Beginners – Tuesday evenings 6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. This class will focus on intro-level Finnish vocabulary and sentence building. You do not need any previous knowledge of Finnish to join the Beginner class.
• Intermediate Finnish – Wednesdays 6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. This class will focus on grammatical structures and will expect some basic grammatical and vocabulary knowledge. A variety of abilities are welcome, but you should know how to make basic sentences and express yourself a bit in Finnish.

RSVP: Please email your name and choice of class (beginners or intermediate) to languageclasses@finlandiafoundationseattle.com if you intend to register for a class.

See www.finlandiafoundationseattle.com/language-classes for further details.

After a two year hiatus due to Covid concerns, the Finnish American Heritage Committee invites you to participate in the Annual Finnish Bazaar and Joulumarkkinat on November 12, 2022 at the Swedish Club in Seattle.

Finnish comedian Ismo Leikola (ISMO) is visiting Seattle on Nov 26th. Ismo is known for using his outsider’s point of view to find the humor in the most ordinary things. The show is in English, possibly some small parts in Finnish, though.

Celebrating 105 years of Finnish Independence: 1917 – 2022
The annual Finnish Independence Day Dinner and Dance will be held in Redmond at the Happy Valley Grange.

Saturday December 10th, 2022 starting at 6 PM

Festive Attire, National Costumes Encouraged.

Tickets $45 per person for FFSC members, $65 for non-members, $20 students and children over 8 years, under 8 free