Finnish Language Classes
10 Mondays - April 6 through June 15 (No class May 25)
Advanced: 3:15 - 4:45 pm (includes 4:45- 5:00 coffee)
Beginner: 4:45 - 6:30 pm (includes 4:45 - 5:00 coffee)
Intermediate: 6:30 - 8:15 pm (includes 6:30 - 6:45 coffee)
Tuition: FCSP Members $75; Others $80
Children under 18 years of age may attend for half tuition
(payable by cash or check at the first class)
To register, email finnishcenter@yahoo.com, or call 978-407-9690 and leave a message. Please leave your name, contact info, and which class you are interested in. FCSP memberships are at the Membership tab on the top of website page.
Textbooks for both classes are available at Amazon.com and at Ruslania.com. Beginners and Advanced will use Suomen Metsari 1 by Sonja Gehring and Sanni Heinzmann; Advanced students will use Suomen Mestari 2.
Although the Finnish language can be difficult to learn, instructor Saija Laurla makes it fun and interesting. She was born in Helsinki and raised in Vantaa, the international airport city of Finland. Living accessibly to other countries, her family took her abroad two or three times a year. This gave the talkative Saija the ability to learn French, English, Spanish, Swedish, and Italian. Upon hearing Estonian, Lithuanian, Turkish, and Russian, she also did her best to learn a few words. Saija watched numerous popular TV shows to refresh her English as well as expose her to American culture. Since childhood, she has always exchanged silly sentences in Finnish for English expressions in her teaching. In 2018, Saija had lived in the US for three years by the time she discovered the teaching position available at Saima Park, and felt comfortable to apply. The rest is history; now Saija enjoys teaching Finnish online as well as in person.
Pannukakku Breakfast & Flea Market
Finnish oven pancake, bacon, sausage, fruit, juice, Finnish coffee bread, coffee/tea/cocoa. $13 or 2/$25. Loaves of coffee bread for sale. Vendors of honeybee products, arts and crafts. Finnish Center at Saima Park, 67 Scott Road, Fitchburg. Library/Museum will be open to visitors from 10 am - noon. Flea Market to benefit the Finnish Center at Saima Park Scholarship Fund.
Pulla Workship
There is a saying in Finland: A loved child has many names. This most certainly applies to our loved coffee bread. Nowadays, the whole of Finland calls this soft cardamom bread with a name, “pulla.” We spice this treat with caramel, vanilla cream, pistachio, almond butter, strawberry jam…you name it, and all of it is called pulla.
But there is a western regional dialect where this delicacy is still called, “nisu.” Other dialects call it “venhänen."
For some the Nisu is the braided version of this delicacy, some like to keep it to its original vocabulary form of “breast - nisä,’ when it’s round and looks like an American dinner roll.
But believe it oro not, the name is just as important to cherish as the product. So. Whichever name you are using, please continue, and come bake it.
We are going ot make and bake the dough at Saima Park and make either pulla or nisu. If we get enough interest in the cinnamony-cousin of the pulla/nisu, we will even bake korvapuusti!
Let us know if you want to make pulla/nius or korvapuusti, and we will arrange it.
Max attendance for this clinic is 40. To reserve a space, contact: Finnishcenter@yahoo.com or 978-407-9690. Fee is $25 for FCSP members; $30 for others.
Pannukakku Breakfast
Finnish oven pancake, bacon, sausage, fruit, juice, Finnish coffee bread, coffee/tea/cocoa. $13 or 2/$25. Loaves of coffee bread for sale. Vendors of honeybee products, arts and crafts. Finnish Center at Saima Park, 67 Scott Road, Fitchburg. Library/Museum will be open to visitors from 10 am - noon.
Kesäjuhla/Summer Festival
Chess tournament, outdoor games, chicken barbecue (reservations required), coffee and pulla, hot dogs, music, folk dancers, cultural program TBA. Library/Museum and Sauna Museum open.
Pannukakku Breakfast
Finnish oven pancake, bacon, sausage, fruit, juice, Finnish coffee bread, coffee/tea/cocoa. $13 or 2/$25. Loaves of coffee bread for sale. Vendors of honeybee products, arts and crafts. Finnish Center at Saima Park, 67 Scott Road, Fitchburg. Library/Museum will be open to visitors from 10 am - noon.
Pannukakku Breakfast
Finnish oven pancake, bacon, sausage, fruit, juice, Finnish coffee bread, coffee/tea/cocoa. $13 or 2/$25. Loaves of coffee bread for sale. Vendors of honeybee products, arts and crafts. Finnish Center at Saima Park, 67 Scott Road, Fitchburg. Library/Museum will be open to visitors from 10 am - noon.
Pannukakku Breakfast
Finnish oven pancake, bacon, sausage, fruit, juice, Finnish coffee bread, coffee/tea/cocoa. $13 or 2/$25. Loaves of coffee bread for sale. Vendors of honeybee products, arts and crafts. Finnish Center at Saima Park, 67 Scott Road, Fitchburg. Library/Museum will be open to visitors from 10 am - noon.
St. Urho’s Dinner Dance
St. Urho's Dinner Dance: Celebrate this fictional saint who drove the grasshoppers out of Finland and saved the grape crop! Enjoy appetizers, Swedish meatballs with sides of mashed potatoes, butternut squash, pickled beets, cranberry sauce, bread and butter, plus dessert and coffee or tea. BYOB. Music by Central Mass Accordion Club; some dancing led by Leila Luopa, director of Revontulet Folk Dancers. Decorate a hat and play a game for prizes! $25. For reservations contact finnishcenter@yahoo.com or 978-407-9690. Finnish Center at Saima Park, 67 Scott Rd, Fitchburg MA.
Board of Directors Meeting
Board of Directors meeting. All members are welcome to attend.
Trails Open House
The Finnish Center at Saima Park welcomes the public to explore its trails via hiking, snowshoeing, or cross-country skiing, depending on conditions. Some equipment will be available to borrow. Think snow!
Please note that trail grooming is dependent on enough snow. For trail grooming information, text Frank at 978-407-6940.
Enjoy the snow! Members can use the trails during all daylight hours. Annual memberships are $30 per person. Membership forms can be found on the membership tab at the top of the website page.
National Sauna Week Celebration
Pannukakku breakfast & vendors. Program to follow. Sauna Stories and a Scavenger Hunt. Library and Sauna Museum will be open 9:00 am - noon.
Trails Open House
The Finnish Center at Saima Park welcomes the public to explore its trails via hiking, snowshoeing, or cross-country skiing, depending on conditions. Some equipment will be available to borrow. Think snow!
Please note that trail grooming is dependent on enough snow. For trail grooming information, text Frank at 978-407-6940.
Enjoy the snow! Members can use the trails during all daylight hours. Annual memberships are $30 per person. Membership forms can be found on the membership tab at the top of the website page.
Pulla/Nisu & Korvapusti Workshop
Baking Workshop. Make and bake traditional Finish “pulla/nisu” dough with Finland native Saija Laurla. $25 for members of the Finnish Center at Saima Park; $30 for others. Sign up at Finnishcenter@yahoo.com or 978-407-9690. Limited to 40 participants. Finnish Center at Saima Park, 67 Scott Road, Fitchburg, MA.
Pannukakku Breakfast
Finnish oven pancake, bacon, sausage, fruit, juice, Finnish coffee bread, coffee/tea/cocoa. $13 or 2/$25. Loaves of coffee bread for sale. Vendors of honeybee products, arts and crafts. Finnish Center at Saima Park, 67 Scott Road, Fitchburg. Library/Museum will be open to visitors from 10 am - noon.
Fitchburg State Community Orchestra
Open rehearsals under the Pavilion. Weather permitting. Bring a picnic!
Nature Walks with Mike
Learn interesting facts and lore about Saima Park’s flora. Free and open to the public.
Event One
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