Kalevala Festival

Welcome to the 49th Annual Kalevala Festival

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, Finnish language, art, and music. The first Kalevala Day was celebrated 140 years ago on February 28th, in 1885. The Kalevala Day celebration continues to this day in Finland with cultural events. The Finnish Choral Society has maintained an Annual Kalevala Festival since 1977 in Seattle, hosted at the National Nordic Museum since 1982.

The program includes:

• Guest Speaker Eveliina Suuniitty
• Finnish Choral Society of Seattle
• The Evergreen Livakat Kantele Players
• Finlandia Duo
• Katrilli Folk Dancers