Iloista vappua! Glad valborg! Happy Vappu!
Please join us on the Fogelbo grounds next to Nordia House for a Vappu Valborg Celebration. Enjoy traditional foods (included), a no-host bar with beer, wine, and sodas and fun activities.
Register: nordicnorthwest.org/vappu
Members of NNW and other partnering organizations: $7 General Admission: $10 Bring your lawn chairs and blankets!
Vappu in Finnish, Valborg in Swedish is celebrated annually on April 30 and May 1 and marks the arrival of spring. Festivities include student traditions such as wearing your graduation hat (ylioppilashattu, in Finnish and gradindelning in Swedish). Finland families enjoy drinking sima with munkki, which is a sweet mead with doughnut while on a Kaivopuisto picnic. In Sweden celebrations include lighting the bonfire, choral singing and a speech to honor the arrival of the spring season.
Exhibit: Sauna is Life:
Sauna Culture in Finland
January 10 – April 24, 2024 – Nordic Northwest
From the start of life to final days, saunas are integral to culture in Finland. Sauna are an old phenomenon with its earliest versions believed to be from 7000 BC. It is marked on the Intangible Cultural Heritage List from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. This is a high honor that indicates how vital this tradition to the Finnish people is: at home and abroad. This exhibit will introduce visitors to the history and tradition of saunas while exploring the future of contemporary urban sauna as well.
“Having sauna is sacred in the sense that it connects you to the world. It’s a place where you find yourself and this peaceful joy of life. And the bareness that the sauna allows. It’s so natural that it reconnects you with nature. There’s no shame, no stress, no tensions there and truly sauna is life.” -Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Proudly sponsored by Finlandia Foundation National
Find more about Sauna Week here!
SOIVA INTERNATIONAL MUSIC CAMP 2024
Soiva means “sounding forth.” A joyful noise!
JULY 15-21
Location: Gwinwood Retreat Center in Lacey, Washington
Tuition (includes all meals, lessons, activities and lodging for the week): $1,500
Final Showcase Concert: 2 p.m., Sunday, July 21 at the National Nordic Museum in Seattle
Soiva 2024 offers youths aged 12-17 the opportunity to unlock their creative potential in a supportive and nurturing environment. Campers will develop skills for creative expression through singing, playing instruments, lyric writing, improvisation and various musical games and activities. Students will spend their time learning how to share, listen, collaborate and create with others.
Find out about Soiva International Music Camp here!
SALOLAMPI FINNISH LANGUAGE VILLAGE
Salolampi Finnish Language Village is a unique experience in Minnesota that immerses campers in a Finnish experience, from the authentic architecture to the food served, daily schedule of activities, the lakeside sauna—even the treats and souvenirs sold in the camp store.
Finnish is one of 15 languages in the Concordia summer language program for seven-to-18-year-olds, and is one of the six cultures that have architecturally authentic villages on Turtle River Lake. The other such villages are German, French, Norwegian, Spanish and Russian.
The languages without villages are taught at these existing language sites and rental properties in the area. In a typical year, the Finnish language enrollment of 150 young people usually arrive from 20 to 25 states.
The camp sessions run for one- two- or four weeks. It is also possible to earn high school credit in the intensive language course.
Click here to learn more!
FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE
Finlandia Foundation National awards funds of up to $300 each for a summertime residential session. In addition, students may be eligible for one of two types of travel grants. Application for Scholarship Deadline for applications is April 30, 2024 visit: https://finlandiafoundation.org/programs/salolampi-finnish-language-village/
2023-24 SCHOLARSHIPS
Scholarships
Deadline: 11:59 P.M. PST on FEBRUARY 1, 2024.
