News Archives · Friends of the Finland Community

2019 Featured Donor – Jean Hangartner Cook

By Honor Schauland

Friends of Finland recently got a nice donation from the estate of Jean Hangartner Cook, who was originally from here in Finland, MN, but who made her home in Michigan.

I met Jean back in 2008 when we both staffed the Finland Minnesota booth at FinnFest USA which was held in Duluth that year. I was representing the community center (which wasn’t built yet) and the Finland Co-op. Jean was representing the Finland MN Historical Society. I remember we had a lovely conversation about Finland’s history and where it was going, and when later that year, the newly formed Friends of Finland organization put out a call for donations for building the community center, Jean made a donation of $1,000. I remember thinking that our conversation must have really made an impression on her! After that, she made regular annual donations. I had no idea that she would remember us in her estate. What an unexpected gift!

If you are interested in supporting Friends of Finland beyond your own lifetime, you can plan for it now. It’s easy to leave a bequest of any specific dollar amount, or a percentage of your estate, by including the proper language in your will. Please contact us for more information – 218-353-0300.

The Finland Food Chain Project 2019

Participants at the Finland Food Chain Community Conversation

Hopefully you’ve already heard about it, but 2019 marks the launch of the Finland Food Chain project, a 3 year project funded by Bush Foundation Community Innovation funds, with a mission to create an equitable and interrelated local food system that increases access to healthy foods and builds local wealth in Finland Minnesota and the surrounding area. So far we have had two large community meetings to gather input for projects, and a lot of behind-the-scenes work to get things organized and up and running. Many great ideas for projects to build our local food system are in the works and will get off the ground in the near future.

Many of these first-phase projects involve information gathering as a first step. The Food Chain recently conducted a community-wide survey to gather information on local folks food buying habits, needs and wants.

Projects so far include work on a feasibility study for local wild rice processing, creation of a directory of local food producers, research into a community garden, a planned assessment of local institutional purchasing, classes on farming and gardening, enhancing the Finland Farmers Market, grantwriting to help the Finland Co-op update infrastructure, creating a local seed savers group, and much more.

We are currently in the process of hiring coordinators to work on Infrastructure, Purchasing, Producers and Education for the project.

The Finland Food Chain welcomes participation and input for this ongoing work. There will be many opportunities to participate in the future. For more info, please visit: www.finlandfoodchain.org or www.facebook.com/finlandfoodchain and/or contact Project Coordinator Honor Schauland at 218-353-0300.

Thank You, Amy Gardner!

Friends of Finland would like to thank Amy Gardner for her many years of service as the Coordinator of the Finland Community Youth Program. Amy is moving on, and we want to recognize her dedication and hard work with and on behalf of our community’s kids.

Under Amy’s direction, the Youth Program has grown beyond our wildest dreams and now includes not only Thursday Night Youth Night/Open Gym, but Camp Finland (a week-long summer camp experience in June) as well as various outings and other activities for youth and community members.

We expect all of these great activities to continue uninterrupted, because Amy has built a very capable group of people as staff who will continue to provide quality opportunities for our youth.

Nevertheless, Amy is leaving big shoes to fill. We will be hiring to fill the gaps in the Youth Program in the near future.

Thanks Amy! You will be missed!

2019 Featured Volunteers!

Marc Smith

You’ve heard the expression Behind Every Great Man Is A Great Woman? It’s dated and sexist, right?

But how about this one? Behind Every Great Clair Nelson Center Staffperson Is A Great Partner. A partner that “volunteers” their time to help with the Booya dishes, runs the kids’ booth at St Urho’s, helps with bingo, prepares the meal for a special event, fixes the heater, the ice machine and the….. You get the idea!

Gary Olson

This year’s Volunteer Thank you goes out to our staffpeople’s partners for the hours you have all put in helping us make the Clair Nelson Center the community jewel it is.

Jeffrey Mitchell Jr

Thank you many times over to Marc Smith (Amy Gardner), Gary Olson (Nancy Anselment-Olson), Jeffrey Mitchell (Honor Schauland), Pamela Melby (Kaare Melby) and Kurt Mead (Betsey Mead).

We appreciate you! And so does our community!

Kurt Mead

Pamela Melby

Camp Finland 2019 Was a Huge Success!

This year, we put on the biggest and best Camp Finland we have ever had from June 17th through 21st! We hosted 29 kids ages 5-11 for the Day Camp and 23 teens ages 12-19 for the Teen Camp, so 52 youth total! This was the most elaborate Camp we have ever put on.

Happy Campers, June 2019

Teen Camp was the biggest new addition, and the biggest logistical challenge, since the teens stayed overnight onsite all week, which required more meals, more oversight, more transportation, and a lot more planning. Day Camp of course was bigger and better in its own way as well!

As always, we had a great roster of Directors, Counselors, Counselors-In-Training, kitchen helpers, class instructors and volunteers, because we couldn’t do it without all of their help. We put a lot of work into it and really enjoyed our week with all of the amazing young people who attended.

Please donate to support this amazing program! Checks can be mailed to Friends of the Finland Community (with Camp Finland or Youth Program in the memo), PO Box 582, Finland, MN 55603, or donate online here: https://www.givemn.org/organization/Friends-Of-The-Finland-Community

Donations are tax-deductible.

Spanish Camp at the Clair Nelson Center

Due to unexpected staffing issues, we have made the hard decision to cancel Spanish Camp this year. We will plan to do it next summer.

Friends of Finland is excited to announce our second ever Spanish Camp, which will be held at the Clair Nelson Center in mid-August of 2019. Spanish Camp is being planned as a day camp for children ages 5-13, with an emphasis on language, cultures and food in the many Spanish-speaking countries around the world. Spanish Camp will be Aug 12th, 13th and 14th. This year the camp will be focused on exploring the migrations of animals and people across the world. We will have assistance from local folks with firsthand experience in many Spanish speaking countries.

The food especially is going to be really fun. Many of the foods we take for granted, like corn and potatoes, and things like tacos have their origins in the indigenous cultures of the (now) Spanish-speaking countries of North and South America. Food is also a great starting point for learning a new vocabulary when it comes to learning a language like Spanish.

There will also be fun games and music, as well as cultural stories and legends from the various Spanish-speaking countries. Wednesday the 14th will wrap up with a skit performance from 2-3pm that is open to the public. Please come have a snack and hear what the group has learned from the 3-day experience.

Anyone interested in participating in Spanish Camp should fill out a Spanish Camp Finland 2019 Registration form and contact Honor Schauland at 218-353-0300 in order to sign up! Please sign up ASAP as there is limited space available. Cost for the camp is $25 per child, but there are hardship scholarships available.

Download the Spanish Camp Finland 2019 registration form here.

This new addition to our programming has been made possible by a grant from the Duluth-Superior Area Community Foundation’s Global Awareness Fund and North Shore Age to Age.

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Teen Camp Finland is Almost Here!

June 11, 2019

Dear TEEN Camp Finland Parents/Guardians and TEENS,

Teen Camp Finland is almost here! We’re so glad your teen(s) can attend! The following is important information regarding Teen Camp:

THINGS YOU MUST BRING WITH YOU TO CAMP:

1 Large Backpack
1 Smaller Daypack

All Items must fit into these two bags:

1 Sleeping bag and/or blankets
1 Air mattress or closed cell pad
1 pair of real hiking boots
1 pair of shoes that can be worn in water ie: crocs, old tennis shoes etc.
5 pairs of socks and undies
1 Sun hat and sunscreen
1 Working flashlight and/or headlamp with extra batteries
Weather appropriate outdoor clothing – Think mosquitoes and getting dirty
1 pillow
1 swimsuit
1 towel
1 water bottle with child’s name on it;
Toothbrush and paste
Mosquito repellent

Optional but recommended:

Musical instruments for playing around the campfire will be kept dry and safe.
Any personal toiletries. Non-toxic Dr. Bronner’s soap will be provided.

All food will be provided – No food or snacks from home please. We have a day camper w/ a severe peanut and shellfish allergy.

Also please leave your phones at home. If parents need to contact teens at camp they can call us at anytime @ 218-220-7215.

MONDAY, June 17th: First day of camp! Camp starts at 8:30 am sharp. Parents/Guardians must drop teens off. Look for signs on the road in front of the community center – teens are to be dropped off with all of their gear in the parking lot on the far side of the ball field.

FRIDAY, June 21st: Last day of camp. Family Members are invited to an ICE CREAM SOCIAL @ 3:00 to 4pm. Pick up for your teens will be after the social (4:15 pm), again, in the parking lot on the far side of the ball field.

For more info or questions before or during TEEN Camp call Andrew Norcross anytime @ (218) 220-7215 or the Clair Nelson Community Center @ (218) 353-0300

Teen Camp Counselors: Andrew Norcross, Kelsie Carlson, Honor Schauland and Margaret Sager

Guest Day Counselors: Steven George, Kurt Mead and Kaare Melby

Finland Community Youth Program Director: Amy Gardner (218)353-7536

Camp Finland is Almost Here!

June 4, 2019

Dear Camp Finland Parents/Guardians,

Camp Finland will be here before we know it! We’re so glad your child(ren) can attend!

Following is important information regarding camp:

Light breakfast and hearty lunch provided every day, as well as dinner and snacks for the overnight.

What to Bring every day: backpack with a water bottle; sandals or flip flops and closed-toe shoes; weather-appropriate outdoor clothing;; sun hat; sunscreen; change of clothing. NOTE: We will provide insect repellant and be responsible for helping children put it on. IMPORTANT! One of our campers has a severe peanut and shellfish allergy! PLEASE, NO SNACKS FROM HOME! We will have plenty of snacks on hand.

MONDAY, June 17th: First day of camp! Our Camp day starts at 9 am and ends at 4 pm.

Arrowhead Transit Bus will be picking up Silver Bay kids at 8:30 am Mary MacDonald Center, Dilly Dally Door. The bus will be stopping at the intersection of Hwy 61 and MN 1 (by Whispering Pines Motel) at 8:40 and Finland Co-op at 8:55 am for Finland Kids who want to ride the bus.

On the way home the bus will drop kids at Finland Co-op at 4:05 pm, Whispering Pines at 4:15 pm, and Mary Mac at 4:30 pm. ** Please note these times are approximate.

TUESDAY, June 18th: same bus schedule

WEDNESDAY, June 19th: same bus schedule

THURSDAY, June 20th Field Trip to Flathorn Lake, Isabella AND Overnight Camp-out at Clair Nelson Center!!! Kids will have the same morning pick-up but there will be no afternoon bus service. Spending the night is optional. What to Bring for Field Trip and Overnight: same as every day plus: Swimsuit and towel, WARM sleeping bag and/or blankets; Air mattress or closed cell pad; pillow; toiletries. NOTE: We will be providing headlamps for kids to use and, once again, we will provide insect repellant. Kids who aren’t spending the night need to be picked up no later than 9 pm and brought back to the center 9 am the following morning.

FRIDAY, June 21st: No am bus service. Same pm bus service. Family Members are invited to Talent Show/Award Ceremony 3:00 to 4 pm. Children may take the bus home or go home with a family member(s) after the program.

Looking forward to a fun and rewarding Camp Finland 2019!

Camp Finland Director/Coordinators: Amy Gardner 218-353-7536 and Cindy Hanson Clair Nelson Community Center 218-353-0300

Lead Counselors: Kenny Albrecht and Rebecca Larson.

Counselors-In-Training: Alexa Harrison, MacKenzie Krech, Marlee Lehtinen, and Madison Sundvick

Special Needs Counselor: Katherine Nelson

Spring Runoff Fundraiser 2019 – Dinner and Variety Show

Come one, come all to the Spring Runoff Pasta Dinner and Variety Show! The main event will take place on May 18th from 7-9pm on the Finland Community Center Stage. This is a fundraiser. It’s $5 at the door. We are not pre-selling tickets to the show.

The pasta dinner will take place from 6-7pm before the show. A limited number of tickets are available, so get them ASAP! Tickets for the dinner are $15 and that includes the price of the show afterwards. Please call 218-353-0300 or stop by the Clair Nelson Center for tickets.

This event is sponsored by North Shore AGE to age. AGE to age sponsors a wide array of intergenerational programs in the communities of the North Shore, many of which take place in Finland, MN. Learn more here.

What’s New at the Finland Farmers Market for 2019?

Get Ready for the Finland Farmers Market 2019!
Summer 2019 at the Clair Nelson Center
Starting June 13th and continuing through October 3rd!
Every Thursday evening from 5-6:30 pm
Under the Pavilion at the Clair Nelson Center
6866 Cramer Road
Finland, MN 55603

Vendors: 1st week is free! – $5 per week or $50 for the season
More info or to register call 218-353-0300

We are able to accept credit cards, EBT and Snap Benefits! We have a system in place for this where folks needing to use any of these options can approach Stefan Meyer, our Farmers Market Coordinator, who can swipe a card and give the customer Farmers Bucks to spend with any vendor at the Market. Vendors are reimbursed for Farmers Market Bucks at the end of each market session. We are excited to have the opportunity to help folks of all different economic situations patronize our Market and have access to healthy food.

Something new this year is the Power of Produce (PoP) Club for kids ages 3-15! A PoP Club is an incentive program that empowers children to make healthy food choices. Each week, participating children receive a $2 token to spend on fresh fruits, vegetables, and other healthy foods. Parents and kids who want to participate may sign up at the weekly Market with Stefan Meyer, the Market Coordinator. Signing up is as simple as filling out a simple form. Donate to support this program here!

The Finland Farmers Market was started in 2014 as part of an effort to focus on local food in the Finland MN Area as an economic development strategy. The idea is to make space for local producers to sell their goods in their own community. The Clair Nelson Center also has a commercial kitchen space that is MDA certified and available for those taking that next step and creating a food product for retail sale. The Finland Farmers Market is a vital link in the Finland Food Chain. Learn more here: https://friendsoffinland.org/finland-food-chain/

Market sponsors include: the Organic Consumers Association and North Shore Age to Age. Thanks so much to our sponsors! We couldn’t do it without your support!