A SIGN OF LIFE: ELONMERKKI
The FINNFEST of 2012 in TUCSON
For those of you who have been waiting to hear more about Tucson’s FinnFest 2012, Nov. 8-11 , this is a sign of life (“elonmerkki” as my Dad used to say when some motion was heard from a baby’s crib) that goes for our Finnish American Club of Tucson as well. Yes, we are now awake and stirring and actually busy counting our resources and approaching them in order to have a super FinnFest in November right here in the Old Pueblo with imported musical and artistic talent in addition to our local treasures and color, vigor and fun.
Arizona will be 100 years old on Valentine’s Day, and our Finnish American Club will have its 46 th birthday February 17. That’s history. After all, the Hohokam tribe lived here at least 12,000 years ago with their irrigation systems; that is archaeology for you. The Spaniard came and built their missions with Father Kino in the lead. The Mexicans owned the land before the westward movement. There might have been Finns among the gold-diggers on their way to California, and for sure there were at least 76 “Finnlanders” who worked the copper mines of Bisbee, Arizona, and were deported and dumped in the desert of New Mexico in the clash of 1917. A field trip is being planned there.
Then finally Midwesterners started coming and taking a foothold on our majestic saguaro cacti and the ever-present prickly pear and – of course - our beautiful weather. In 1966 the group of eleven people from Minnesota and Michigan who - hearing Finnish spoken after the concert by the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra at the University of Arizona - met each other. And they clung together tight! The celebration will probably be waiting for the FinnFest activities. We are almost 100 strong and quite a few of us are native Finns and Finnish speakers. We teach Finnish also.
We have a place for our FinnFest – the Double Tree Hotel in a central spot, close to everything, including mountains, golf courses, the airport, downtown, etc. and opposite to the largest park in town. We have committees and individuals searching things to show and what to perform. The Biosphere 2, the only one in the world is here. We are “the World Capital of Astronomy” and are known for grinding telescope lenses (U. of A.) for the Kitt Peak Observatory and other observatories of the world. We display hundreds of vintage airplanes in the “Boneyard” the men folk especially love. – And there is more.
We welcome YOU with open arms, offering you wholesome program provided by the experts of the FinnFest Board and us. Come early for field trips!
There will the information on registering coming soon.
Tervetuloa! Welcome!
Sinikka Garcia