St. Urho was a Finn with a big voice who chased away the grasshoppers to save the grape crop by shouting “Heinäsirkka, heinäsirkka, mene täältä hiiteen” (translation: “Grasshopper, Grasshopper, go away!”). St. Urho’s Day is traditionally celebrated on March 16th anywhere there are enough Finns (or wannabe Finns) to have a celebration. Finland, MN boasts the longest running annual St. Urho’s Celebration. It’s always the weekend closest to March 16th and features a beauty pageant, a parade, music, facepainting, food, snow sculptures, and other community festivities. The parade, which is the biggest event of the weekend, always takes place at noon on Saturday, and is the only parade where permission is granted to shut down a state highway. After the parade is over, many of the local businesses have music, food and drink specials. There is always a lunch and a craft fair (tori) at the Clair Nelson Community Center after the parade on Saturday.

Phone: 218.353.0300

Website: https://friendsoffinland.org/st-urhos-day/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sturho/

Amenities: community cultural festival event, food, drink, entertainment

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