Friends of Finland Winter Update 2023-2024
Newsletter of Friends of the Finland Community, Crystal Bay Township and the community of Finland
Friends of Finland’s mission is to help make Finland and its surrounding area an inviting and vibrant place.
We do that by extending hospitality to everyone, no matter what circumstances have brought them to our door. We work to hold a warm space and a cup of coffee for anyone who needs it.
We work to offer opportunities for folks to come together for healing with weekly Yoga groups, Bone builders, and more. We also work to offer opportunities for folks to come together to share food at the monthly community potlucks, the winter farmers market, and special events. We also offer space for our community to come together in celebration for birthday parties & baby showers, and in mourning when community members pass away.
This place is special.
This is the place where our community comes together. And this place, our community center, is only
possible because of your support. Your support comes in all sorts of ways, from volunteering during events to hosting a monthly community potluck.
Today we are asking if you are able to make a financial donation to help support our work. We understand that times are tough, and inflation has hit every household, so please feel no pressure to donate if your family is struggling. But if you are able to donate, know that your money will make a real difference in making the services we provide possible. Make a donation here.
Clair Nelson Center Septic Situation – December, 2023
This spring the septic at the Clair Nelson Center failed during the melting of the record-breaking amount of snow we had last winter. Due to a whole lot of factors, work to fix the problems was not able to take place this season. The system has been winterized, which means it was capped off so that the existing tanks can be used as a holding tank the way we did all summer, and tank heaters have been installed in the unused portions so that nothing will freeze up and cause more damage. Then it can be repaired properly in 2024. Friends of Finland will monitor the tanks and have them pumped regularly. The Township has committed to helping with snow removal in order to assist with easier pumping.
The tanks were inspected in October to determine what caused the system to fail. The inspection and winterization allows the Township to move forward with a new permit process through the County so that they will not shut down use of the Center over the winter.
The Township (as the owners of the facility) and Friends of Finland (the managers of the facility) are working together to raise the funds to have the system repaired. At least $50,000 will need to be raised by Summer of 2024. We are drafting a letter to all of our elected officials at the County and State to see if there are any funding sources they can direct us to that would help. If other funds cannot be found, the Township will have to bond for the amount of the repair.
Farmers Market Recap:
The Summer Farmers Market thisyear was a great success for everyone involved. A variety of wonderful vendors were here each week offering their delicious products for sale at a great price.
This year our attendance numbers were well over 1300 for the season. Many of those were people taking advantage of some of our programs that are offered at the market. There were over 100 SNAP/EBT purchases this summer that totaled over $1,100. Those that spent over $10 on a SNAP purchase received an extra $20 to spend on food at the market through the Hunger Solutions program. That means we were able to give out an extra $2,000 to those customers. We also were able to continue our Power of Local program this summer in which youth and seniors receive $4 each market to spend at the vendor of their choice. We had over 250 Power of Local disbursements throughout the summer, totaling over $1,000. There were many compliments this year regarding our musical lineup. It really can’t be overstated just how great it is to enjoy live music from truly talented artists. Many people stick around the entire market just for the free show.
Thank you to everyone for making our market such a wonderful place to be! We hope to see you at the upcoming winter markets! Thanks especially to our 2023 sponsors, Lovin’ Lake County and the North Shore Federal Credit Union, as well as past sponsors North Shore Age to Age and the Organic Consumers Association.
Finland Wild Rice House: 2023 Season Re-Cap!
It was a very exciting year for the Wild Rice Project, for the Finland Wild Rice House (processor), and for most area Wild Rice harvesters! As for harvesters: they finally enjoyed a plentiful crop across most of the state for the first time in several years. As a result, the Finland Wild Rice House saw a record amount of rice come through its doors this season, with the final tally coming in at around 15,000 pounds of green rice processed, and 8,700 lbs finished! Also at the processor: 4 new apprentices were trained, and several new connections were made with aspiring DIY and home processors, who we hope to collaborate and brainstorm with more in the future. In the mentorship program this year, 5 new mentors and 15 new mentees participated, and at least 14 mentees from previous years got out to rice on their own!
The Wild Rice Project focused a lot of energy this year on educational and community events as well, including hosting two important webinars in the spring (recordings of these can be found at finlandwildrice.com), a full week of pre-season workshops and classes focused on making equipment for the harvest, and a Season Opener Community Feast followed by an insightful roundtable skillshare. At the end of the season, the Finland Wild Rice House gave a hands on tour to a group of Naturalists from the Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center in exchange for their much appreciated help in closing the shop for the season. Lastly, the Wild Rice Project had a table at the Booya Harvest Festival, both to showcase the achievements of the program over the years AND to raise funds for future dreams and endeavors (and maintenance!) at the processor. If you missed the display at the Booya, it will be up at the Clair Nelson Community Center for the near future.
Click here to donate to support the Finland Wild Rice House
This is a publication produced in partnership between Crystal Bay Township and Friends of the Finland Community. If you wish to receive future copies of this newsletter, please call 218-353-0300 and request that your name and address be added to our mailing list. If you would like to receive monthly email updates please subscribe here or email operations@friendsoffinland.org and you will be added to our email list.