A century celebrated

When wearing a Rautjarven costume, the redder you are the better off you look, says a Finish resident.

The Finlandia Club officially turned 100 years old at the end of March but held off on its celebrations until later in the summer. The celebrations started on Friday and continued throughout the weekend.

More than a hundred people crowded outside the Finlandia Club Saturday. Raija Tilus wore her Rautjarven costume and decorated it with as much red as she could and the largest brooches possible.

"The more red you have on a costume the higher up you are," Tilus said. "I guess red is a difficult colour to make. In Finland, different areas have different costumes."

The costume originated from the part of Finland taken over by the Russians after the Second World War, she said.

Tilus said it was marvelous to celebrate and have a Finnish monument like the Finlandia Club. She added she enjoyed how the traditionally reserved Finnish community was able to express their culture and history.

"We have always been here in the community: quite and reserved," she said. "But today, we’re are demonstrating our…uniqueness."

Lawrence Timko, 73, came to the festivities and listened as the Finish Male Choir, the Otava as they went on stage to perform. He said he planned to enjoy all the festival had to offer from food to beverages.

Having lived in Thunder Bay all his life, Timko said it was great to see the Finlandia Club reach such a milestone and glad to hear the facility was renovated to keep the old building operational.

"The Finlandia Club always puts on a good program," Timko said. "I’m going to stick around for most of the day and enjoy the festivities."

Margit Peura, chairperson for the 100th Year Anniversary Committee, said they decided to host the festivities in the summer so everyone in the city could enjoy.

Peura said she was very proud to see the century old building still standing and functioning.

"It is a very sentimental place," Peura said. "We have to think of this building as a monument to Finish immigration in North America. We are, that I know of, the only structure of this type that is still standing and functioning but still owned by the people that actually built it."

The festivity wraps up on Sunday with a pancake breakfast in the morning and an evening concert.