This past Saturday the Heikinpäivä parade took place on Quincy Street in Hancock. The weather was great and I heard there were around 1000 people in attendance at the parade and the fun events afterwards, including the Spiral Bear Dance, Kick-Sled races, Wife Carrying contest, Polar Plunge and later the Iltamat (dance and buffet). Kathy Erkkila Ptaszek was there and snapped today’s photos of the various characters of their Finnish folklore, like St. Henrik, St. Urho & Heinäsirkka (the grasshopper) and Joulupukki (Santa Claus), to name a few. Kathy reported that “the bear has officially rolled over in his den! Can spring be far away?”

Visit Keweenaw gives us the lowdown on the Heikinpäivä – Mid-Winter Festival, featuring an interview with Jim Kurtti, the Copper Country Chair of the Finlandia Foundation. He explains the Finnish folklore that surrounds this Finnish American Festival.

A VEREY HAPPY GROUNDHOG DAY TO ALL!!

It WAS a happy Groundhog Day! Tho we feel so sorry for everyone impacted by the various cancellations of races in the Yoop and even the Tip O' The Mitt.

Interesting pics…so many traditions.
And to each his/her own.

“It's your thing, do what you wanna do.
I can't tell you, who to sock it to.”
(The Isley Brothers)

What a fun day for all. And the weather certainly
cooperated. The weather is so strange, I keep
expecting our resident bear to turn up any day, or
the deer to come back. I'm enjoying this different
kind of winter, but you have to wonder about the
impact it will have on many things.

I really enjoyed the video, too.

BTW…did I miss a day or am I
stuck in “Groundhogs Day”?

Alex, depends on if you had breakfast with Bill Murray or not............

JB…he just left driving a red pickup truck.

Way cool, and great video...