St. Urho's Tay — Wednesday, March 16

It's that time of year again when Americans with Finnish roots celebrate Urho's miraculous rescue of the grape crop. The words he uttered: “Heinäsirkka, heinäsirkka, Mene taalta hiiten!” (Grasshopper, grasshopper, go home!) so alarmed the little critters that they all disappeared. 

You might practice saying the words — you never know when something like that will come in handy. For sure, dig out your purple and green clothing to wear on St. Urho's Tay, interestingly timed one day before another fun March celebration. 

Lots of ways to celebrate:

Beforehand: A Grasshopper Hop in Crosslake, Minnesota—March 5. So we missed that. 

Finland, Minnesota, kicks of festivities this weekend, March 11-13, their 41^st annual event: a Miss Helmi talent and beauty contest, food, music, parade!

 

On the actual day, March 17, the day is commemorated by folks in Butte, Montana, (crowning of St. and Miss Urho, live music and bag pipers) and in Donna, Texas (dinner).

Menahga, Minnesota, celebrates March 18-20 by crowning their own St. Urho King and Queen, a magician/comedian, pancake breakfast, horse drawn wagon rides, mojakka feed, the changing of the guards, St. Urho’s Day parade, bar stool races on Spirit Lake and live music. And on Sunday, enjoy the Blueberry Pines snow sculpture contest (if snow remains).

In Finlayson, Minnesota, on March 19, you can enjoy a parade, various tournaments for volleyball, basketball and cribbage, a pancake breakfast, antique snowmobile show, kid games, a medallion hunt.

Squaw Lake, Minnesota, also celebrates March 19. 

If nothing else, kick back and appreciate a nice glass of wine.

Nikki

St. Urho celebrations abound

The town of Finland, Minnesota, will celebrate St. Urho’s Tay with a season opener for hoppers March 15 and a scavenger hunt March 16. This year’s theme is Hunting and Fishing.

Another Minnesota town, Menagha, plans a pancake breakfast March 15, the changing of the guards at noon, followed by the parade. At 1 p.m. folks can join bar stool races and a golf (kols) tournament on the lake, weather permitting. Last year they held a mojakka cookoff (mojakka is a stew — with its own website).

This St. Urho website lists festivities across the Midwest — among them are Finlayson, Minnesota, Barnes, Wisconsin, and Thunder Bay, Ontario. The dates span back to 2010. (Hope they update in time for this year’s festivities.) 

What celebrations do you know about?

Nikki