Finnish American Cultural Activities, Inc. (FACA) P.O. Box 580708 Minneapolis, MN 55458-0708

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March 16 Finn Hall celebrates at a St Urho's party at Kramarcuk's. Music and dancing, great food, family friendly event, no cover charge! 215 East Hennepin Avenue, Minneapolis (612)379-3018 April 5 Ice and Fire: Contemporary Finnish Folk Music at 7:00 p.m. Lloyd Ultan Recital Hall (at Ferguson Hall, University of Minnesota/School of Music) Free entrance. The trio Suo is an exemplary product of the strong New Folk Music movement of Finland. Their music digs deep into the landscape of archaic "runo" singing: the rich language of the Finnish national epic Kalevala, the fascinating myths and spells, and the ageless flow of kantele music (kantele = Finnish national instrument of the zither family). Interpreted by three graduates of the Sibelius Academy music university, this forgotten music becomes alive and gets injected straight into your spine: the energetic guitar of Roope Aarnio, the nimble fiddle of Emilia Lajunen and powerful voice of Veera Voima will take you on an unforgettable journey. Finnish-American musicians Sara Pajunen (violin) and Jonathan Rundman (guitar, harmonium, piano) explore their Nordic roots in the progressive acoustic folk duo Kaivama. The band's pyrotechnic agent is Sara Pajunen with her masterful fiddling. Pajunen's skills as a violinist have earned her degrees from the University of Minnesota and the Helsinki Conservatory in Finland, but she has transcended this classical background to become of one North America's most notable progressive folk fiddlers. Jonathan Rundman frames Pajunen's firepower. A veteran performer and recording artist, Rundman has toured the US and Europe as a troubadour songwriter, collecting raves from publications such as Paste, Billboard, and the New York Times. Hosted by Finnish visiting professors Matti Jutila (political science) and Erkki Huovinen (music). Supported by the Government of Finland, David and Nancy Speer, and the University of Minnesota School of Music. More on the performers: www.suomusic.net, www.kaivama.com April 26-27 Minnesota Genealogical Society is sponsoring a Nordic Genealogy Conference, at Inver Hills Community College, Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota. FGG will participate. Note: Change of Topic for Finnish Genealogy Group March meeting: March 23, 2013: Naming Conventions: Calvin Tormanen will discuss surnames and how they were selected and changed over the years. Note: Change of Date for Finnish Genealogy Group April meeting: April 20, 2013: Back to Basics. Joan Dwyer will coordinate discussion on the how-tos of genealogy research.