Finnish American Folk School
The Finnish American Folk School (FAFS) was founded in 2017 to promote Finnish folk arts and traditional skills and ensure that they thrive for generations to come. The Folk School is based in the Skyline Commons building and the Finnish American Heritage Center in Hancock, Michigan. We welcome workshop requests or proposals. Scholarships or assistantships are available. Please contact FAFS director Clare Zuraw with all questions, suggestions, or scholarship requests: clare.zuraw@finlandiafoundation.org or 906-370-3722.
Upcoming Programs 2025
August 2025
Ongoing
Open during regular building hours, 8am-4:30pm beginning August 4
Location: Finnish American Heritage Center
Admission: Free, no registration required
Curated by Joanna Chopp, Archivist
This exhibit will focus on the timeline and reasons for Finnish immigration to the Copper Country and explore themes of family, occupation, recreation, and education, as well as social, political, and religious movements among Finnish immigrants and their descendants.
Tuesdays in August: 5, 12, 19,26
2pm ET
Location: North Wind Books
Questions? Contact nate.fix@finlandiafoundation.org
Interested in practicing your Finnish language skills in a low-stakes, casual environment? Would you like to be introduced to the basics? Tervetuloa mukaan! Casual Finnish conversations – Open to all levels of Finnish speakers and learners
Complimentary Coffee will be provided.
Monday, August 4, 2025
4pm, book signing to follow
Location: Finnish American Heritage Center
Admission: Free, no registration required
Meet sports historian and author Kalle Virtapohja, PhD along with Jari Salonen, CEO of Paavo Nurmi Games, as they discuss the history of Paavo Nurmi and how the world’s greatest runner bridged Finland and America. Nurmi, the Olympian also known as the “Flying Finn,” dominated distance running in the 1920s. Nurmi set 22 official world records at distances between 1,500 metres and 20 kilometres, and won nine gold and three silver medals in his 12 events in the Summer Olympic Games.
Monday, August 4, 2025
6:30pm
Location: Finnish American Heritage Center
Admission: Free, donations welcome
Enjoy a performance by Hancock’s Kivajat Finnish American Folk Dancers, a children’s folk dancing group that has been active in the Keweenaw for over 20 years. The group’s founder and leader, Kay Seppala, is a 2025 Michigan Heritage Awardee and a representative from the Michigan Traditional Arts Program will be on site to bestow the award during the event.
The Michigan Heritage Awards honor individuals who continue their family and community folk traditions with excellence through practice and teaching, or individuals who are recognized as outstanding community leaders in the maintenance, documentation, or presentation of traditional arts.
Tuesday, August 5, 2025
7pm
Location: Finnish American Heritage Center
Admission: Suggested donation $20. Tickets available at the door.
The Finnish International Choir presents Songs & Stories of the Heart, a concert weaving together beloved Finnish and Finnish-American songs with personal reflections from choir members. More than just a musical performance, this special evening invites audiences into the lived experiences, memories, and cultural connections that make these songs meaningful. Join this vibrant global community of voices as they share the music that speaks to the heart across generations and borders.
Tuesday, August 5, 2025
10a-12p ET
Instructor: Karen Tembreull
Location: Folk School Flex Studio (Skyline Commons Room 104)
Class fee: $20
SOLD OUT
Registration closes July 29 or when sold out
Questions? Contact clare.zuraw@finlandiafoundation.org
Learn to fold a traditional Nordic Birch Bark Star with flat pinwheel curls. Hand dexterity is needed. Open to students ages 18 and up.
Tuesday, August 5, 2025
10a-12p ET
Instructor: Alice Margerum
Location: Folk School Wood Shop (Skyline Commons Room 102)
Class fee: $20
Registration now closed
Registration closes July 29 or when sold out
Questions? Contact clare.zuraw@finlandiafoundation.org
Learn to make wood shaving ornaments (lastu koriste). The technique is similar to paper quilling. Students will learn how to control the wood shavings so they can be curled and glued into stable decorative ornaments. Students will build at least one ornament during the class and leave with enough shavings to make more at home. No experience necessary. Open to students ages 18 and up. Requires some hand dexterity.
Tuesday, August 5, 2025
10a-12p ET
Instructor: Clare Zuraw
Location: Folk School Fiber Studio (Skyline Commons Room 105)
Class fee: $20
SOLD OUT
Questions? Contact clare.zuraw@finlandiafoundation.org
Learn about the Finnish bowed lyre, a drone instrument traditionally strung with horsehair strings. Of course no musical instrument can be mastered within a day, so this introduction will include an informative presentation and playing demonstration of the jouhikko and its Estonian relative the hiiu kannel. Then participants will have the opportunity to try the instrument themselves. Open to students ages 18 and up.
Wednesday, August 6, 2025
6pm ET
Location: Finnish American Heritage Center
Admission: Donations welcome, no registration required
The Finnish International Choir will join forces with several Copper Country-based groups and individuals to host this community singalong. Come by and take part in the tradition of music, one of our most prized pieces of Finnish and Finnish-American culture.
Friday, August 15, 2025
6-8pm ET
Instructor: Lindsey Heiden
Location: Folk School Ceramics Studio (Skyline Commons Room 103)
Class fee: $40 per couple
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER
Registration closes August 13 or when sold out
Questions? Contact clare.zuraw@finlandiafoundation.org
For those who want to go out on a Friday night and have some fun this night is for you. A twist on what a date night can be. Bring a date and work on a pottery wheel together to make a mug, cup or bowl. Your date can be anyone, a spouse, partner, friend, family. Folks will be able to pick out a glaze color and the work will be glazed and fired for them. Though you certainly can just come for the fun and not the finished piece. For the couples that think wheel throwing is not for them, hand building is an option. Date night clothes are not recommended. Everyone should wear clothes that they do not mind getting a little dirty. Though couples will be working with clay maybe for the first time, this night is about having fun and not necessarily learning or becoming proficient in working with clay. There will be some guidance from the instructor.
Saturday, August 16, 2025
10am-12pm ET
Instructor: Lindsey Heiden
Location: Folk School Ceramics Studio (Skyline Commons Room 103)
Class fee: $40 per couple
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER
Registration closes August 13 or when sold out
Questions? Contact clare.zuraw@finlandiafoundation.org
For those who want to play with clay on a Saturday morning with a friend, partner, or child aged 8 and up. A twist on what a brunch date can be. Bring a date and work on a pottery wheel together to make a mug, cup or bowl. Your date can be anyone, a spouse, partner, friend, family. Folks will be able to pick out a glaze color and the work will be glazed and fired for them. Though you certainly can just come for the fun and not the finished piece. For the folks who think wheel throwing is not for them, hand building is an option. Everyone should wear clothes that they do not mind getting a little dirty. This event is about having fun and not necessarily learning or becoming proficient in working with clay. There will be some guidance from the instructor.
Wednesday-Sunday, August 20-24, 2025
10a-4p ET
Instructor: Wynne Mattila
Location: Folk School Ceramics Studio (Skyline Commons Room 103)
Class fee: $350
Handout fee: $15
Materials: students purchase warp & weft independently, details provided after registration or upon request
Registration now closed
Registration closes July 26 or when sold out
Questions? Contact clare.zuraw@finlandiafoundation.org
Krokbragd is a traditional Norwegian design translated as “crooked path.” In Finland, it is known as Raanu of Karjala. It is a boundweave, meaning a plain weave shot—used once in every three shots—ties the pattern yarns together for stability and contributes to the thickness of the rug. Krokbragd is a weft-faced weave that relies on color rotation and contrast to develop a pattern. It is threaded on three shafts. In this workshop, Wynne introduces participants to Krokbragd’s design possibilities and emphasizes good techniques to use in rug weaving. Wynne weaves her Krokbragd rugs with wool rug yarn on 8/5 wet spun linen warp sett at 5 epi in a 10 dent reed. The planned project is a runner 14 inches wide by 30 inches long. Handouts include information, illustrations, inspiration, weft options and end finishes for weaving Krokbragd rugs, as well as sources for linen warp and wool rug yarn. Participants provide their own wool rug yarn for weft and their own warp. One and one-half pounds of yarn will be used in the runner. Wool yarn may be purchased from the Folk School or ordered from sources in the handout.
Floor looms need to be warped to the point the reed has been sleyed and the heddles have been threaded before the start of the workshop. Registrants will be invited to a pre-class info session via Zoom that will be scheduled a few weeks before the class begins to allow everyone to prepare materials and begin thinking about design choices.
Skill level: Ability to wind a warp, read a draft, and warp a floor loom independently. Looms will be available for warping during the two days prior to the workshop, August 18-19.
Participants should bring to class:
Wool Rug Yarn for Weft: need 1/2 pound (8 ounces) per square foot. Total of approximately 1 and 1/2 pounds rug yarn needed for a 14 inch wide by 30 inch long project, 3 colors minimum, more preferred for design possibilities.
Handout
Temple (if you already own one) able to accommodate the width of the project—metal temple preferred *
Scrap knit fabric for the header—an old cotton t-shirt will work
Scrap wool rug yarn for the header
Stick shuttles (approx. 21” long), 1 or 2 per yarn color, depending on the design *
Needle nose pliers
Tapestry needle (large) 7cm., #13
Needle threader able to accommodate the thickness of wool yarn
8/5 Linen warp remaining on the spool
Calculator
Tape measure
Scissors
Graph paper and colored pencils
* The Folk School has some
Biography:
Wynne Mattila wove her first rug in 1985 at the Weavers Guild of Minnesota and before it was finished, she knew she was a rug weaver for life. Wynne’s goal is always to use color to its full potential to create a beautiful rug. The great granddaughter of a Finnish Sami reindeer herdsman, many of her designs are influenced by place and the natural environment, and she works to create rugs which embody this beauty and spirit. Wynne grew up in the Copper Country of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. She has been teaching rug weaving for more than 25 years, focusing on good weaving techniques and the creative use of color.
Two of her wool rugs, a Krokbragd and a Raanu, are in the 2013 eBook “Best of Handwoven: Top Ten Rugs on Four Shafts.” She wove a Raanu Rug, now the family heirloom, for a man born in Finland who left at an early age. Wynne said, “It was a joyous piece to weave and I’m honored that one of my pieces is the beginning of their inheritance.” In 2023 Wynne wove her first Krokbragd rug using cotton fabric strips. It won first place in the Fine Arts Exhibit’s Textiles/Fiber category at the Minnesota State Fair. Three of her Krokbragd rugs are pictured in Angie Parker’s recent book, Krokbragd – Contemporary Weaving with Color.
WHO: Potters who have taken at least one FAFS ceramics class and are interested in accessing the studio for independent work. Open to ages 18+.
Before attending, open studio participants must complete a studio orientation with studio manager Lindsey Heiden. After making work, open studio potters will glaze their work as part of a guided glazing session led by studio manager and scheduled as needed. This guided glazing is aimed at protecting kiln equipment and everyone’s work.
WHAT: Scheduled times when community members can use the studio outside of classes. Open Studio benefits:
- Access to shared community work space
- Access to studio tools and materials
WHEN: The current Open Studio schedule is Tuesdays 9am-1pm, Wednesdays 5-9pm, Saturdays 12-4pm. This is subject to change based on studio monitor availability.
Open Studio access will begin Friday, February 7 when Lindsey Heiden will host the first studio orientation 5-6pm on February 7. As interest develops we will schedule additional orientation times.
COST: $10 per 4 hour session plus $3/lb for clay. In addition to use of the studio, this cost includes the cost of glaze and firing. Payment and registration in advance is required for the session fee. Clay payments can be made as needed while working in the studio.
All potters working in the the FAFS Ceramics Studio must use the clay and glaze provided. Outside clay and glazes are not permitted. Firing arrangements will be coordinated with Lindsey Heiden, studio manager, who is the only person permitted to use the kilns. All members must sign a waiver and participant agreement before beginning work. All questions should be directed to Clare Zuraw clare.zuraw@finlandiafoundation.org 906-370-3722.
Steps for Signing up for Open Studio:
- Email clare.zuraw@finlandiafoundation.org to express interest and find out when the next studio orientation will happen.
- Attend studio orientation.
- Complete paperwork (liability waiver, studio guidelines doc).
- Schedule and pay for studio time.
WHO: Experienced potters who can work independently. Open to ages 18+.
WHAT: A limited number of monthly memberships are available to experienced potters seeking regular access to the studio. Members benefits:
- Reserved semi-private studio space with table and shelving
- Access to studio tools and materials
- Discounted price on clay/glazes/firing
- Extended access hours to the studio
- Early registration access to upcoming clay classes
WHEN: Members can access the studio Monday through Saturday, 9am-9pm.
Memberships are available starting March 1, 2025. New members must participate in a studio orientation before beginning work.
COST: $100 per month plus $2/lb for clay. In addition to use of the studio, this cost includes the cost of glaze and firing. Monthly payment must be received before the 1st of the month.
All potters working in the the FAFS Ceramics Studio must use the clay and glaze provided. Outside clay and glazes are not permitted. Firing arrangements will be coordinated with Lindsey Heiden, studio manager, who is the only person permitted to use the kilns. All members must sign a waiver and participant agreement before beginning work. All questions should be directed to Clare Zuraw clare.zuraw@finlandiafoundation.org 906-370-3722.
Steps for Signing up for Membership:
- Email clare.zuraw@finlandiafoundation.org to express interest. Members must be approved by the studio manager.
- Attend studio orientation.
- Complete paperwork (liability waiver, studio guidelines doc).
- Schedule and pay for monthly membership.
Next meetings: Mondays April 7, April 28, May 19, June 2
5:15-6:15pm ET
Finnish American Heritage Center
No cost to participate
RSVP required by email: copper.country.singalong@gmail.com
Oren Tikkanen and Alice Margerum have a vision for re-seeding old songs in the community, one singalong at a time. Join them to learn or re-learn songs and sing as a community. The group will begin by singing songs in Finnish (with English translations when available). Each meeting the group will focus on a new song, eventually building a shared repertoire we can sing together. The organizers will share song lyrics and audio with participants digitally before each gathering. No formal music or language training is necessary to participate. Please do not bring instruments for this gathering as we will be focused on learning words and melodies from recordings and each other. Initially this group is open to singers ages 13 and up. Questions? Email copper.country.singalong@gmail.com or call the FAFS at 906-370-3722
Tuesdays 12pm-1pm
*NOTE: During the month of July we’ll be knitting together at North Wind Books*
Fiber Studio Room 105
Call 906-370-3722 or email clare.zuraw@finlandiafoundation.org for more information
Do you like to knit? Need feedback on your yarn choices? Want to learn new knitting tips and tricks socially from other knitters while on your lunch break? Join Finnish American Folk School director Clare Zuraw for a weekly knitting circle in our fiber studio. This is not a workshop! We’ll knit together, and Clare will be available for some light feedback during the hour, but there’s no lesson plan. Registration isn’t required – just show up with your knitting, a lunch, and maybe a friend. There’s no fee to participate, though if you find this to be an enriching experience donations the Folk School are always appreciated.
The Finnish American Folk School is a proud member of the Folk Education Association of America.