Festival celebrates Finnish culture

Greater Sudbury will celebrate its Finnish citizens as they play host to the 70th annual Finnish Canadian Grand Festival, running today until Sunday.

The community is invited to join in the celebration of the Finnish heritage and culture, while enjoying traditional Finnish foods and activities, including the World Cell Phone Toss Championships and the World Wife Carrying Championships.

Activities kick off tonight with the Hoof Beat Outriders Drill team performing at 5:30 p.m. in the main parking lot of Laurentian University, and again each day throughout the festival at 12 and 2 p.m. Demonstrations will include a musical ride, vaulting, flag and barrel races, as well as roping displays.

The fun continues Friday with a Charity Golf Tournament to benefit Finlandia Village at Timberwolf Golf Club. Registration for the best ball tournament is at noon, with a shotgun start set for 1 p.m. Tickets are $125, and are available at Finlandia Village.

On Saturday, a parade starts the daily activities, starting at Bell Park at 9 a.m. and continuing to Lily Creek. Participants should assemble no later than 8:30 a.m.

The Wife-Carrying Contest will be held Saturday at Lily Creek. Registration (for festival goers over 19 years) is $15 per person. The winning team will receive a trip for two to the Blue Lagoon Spa in Iceland aboard Icelandair with two nights accommodation in Reykjavik, provided by Icelandair Holidays. Second prize is a weekend in Niagara Falls. Third place is a weekend in Toronto.

Additional prizes will be given out for most entertaining couple, best costume and the strongest carrier.

Another traditional Finnish event — the Canadian Cell Phone Toss Championship — will also be held at Lily Creek on Saturday. The male and female winner each will receive a grand prize of a round ticket for two to Helsinki on Finnair.

The intermediate winners (ages 13-18) will receive free Nokia cell phones. All junior (12 and under) will receive prizes. Registration is $10 for adults and $2 for intermediates and juniors.

The Sudbury Voima Finnish Theatre will perform Testementti, a comedy in Finnish, on Thursday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. at the Alphonse Raymond auditorium at Laurentian University. Tickets are $10.

The Toronto Finnish Theatre Company will perform When the Cat Is Away, an English farce, on Saturday at 1 p.m. in the Alphonse Raymond auditorium. Tickets are $15.

For more information, phone 560-4146 or visit http://www.finlandiavillage.ca/suurjuhlat2009/.