First show set for Friday night at NY Mills Corn Feed

By Chad Koenen

Publisher

Larger than life puppets will come alive for a pair of performances in the New York Mills area this weekend.

The 17th annual Kalevala Puppet Pageant will feature a lively, large-scale street theater production inspired by Finland’s national epic, “The Kalevala.”

This year’s original production, “How the Finns Found Their Sisu,” will be performed on Friday night at the NY Mills VFW, following the corn feed, and Saturday, Aug. 22 at the Finn Creek Open Air Museum.

Written and narrated by Creative Director Anne Sawyer, the annual Puppet Pageant brings together youth and community members from the New York Mills region to create and perform an original story featuring larger-than-life puppets, costumes, music, and stilt-walking. Participants spend two weeks learning artistic and performance skill,s while creating many of the puppets and props used in the production.

“It is such a great community here,” said Sawyer who is in her 15th year with the puppet pageant. “It is really such a joy the come up and work with the kids and make their creativity come to life. I learn a little more about Finnish culture every time I do this.”

This year’s story explores the Finnish concept of sisu—courage, strength, and endurance in the face of difficulty. When an evil giant invades Finland and places a spell on the country’s rulers, Väinämöinen the Bard and the Dame of Pohjola, the kingdom’s animals and magical creatures must find a way to save their friends and defeat the giant.

“At its heart, sisu embraces courage with heart,” said Sawyer. “We are stronger together when we stand up for one another and use our gifts for the greater good. Sisu also embraces hope, love, and the desire for peace.”

Approximately 25 people are participating in the puppet pageant this year as the event continues to grow in popularity, both in attendance at the performances, as well as the number of participants. 

“(This year) is probably the most we have ever had and it is near to see how it has grown,” said Sawyer. 

In addition to depicting an important part of Finnish culture in the proudly Finnish community of NY Mills, Sawyer said she enjoys the opportunity to come back to the community and watch as the participants grow.

“One of the things that is sort of amazing is coming up here year after year I get to see some of the kids when they start as little guys…and as they get older they get to do stilts and they take on more leadership roles,” she said. 

Friday’s show will begin at 7 p.m. at the NY Mills VFW following the corn feed and Saturday’s show at Finn Creek will begin at 12 p.m. Both performances are free and open to the public. The Friday performance at the VFW is free to attend. For Saturday’s performance, there is a $5 adult gate donation to enter the Finn Creek Festival; children under 16 are free. Freewill donations will be collected at both performances to help support this community program.

Sawyer thanked all of the sponsors of the puppet pageant who make the performance possible every year, as well as a large list of volunteers who work both on the production and performance side of the show.

“I am really grateful for the New York Mills Cultural Center for continuing to support this program and the staff there is really, really amazing,” she said. 

The 2026 Kalevala Puppet Pageant is made possible in part by a grant from Finlandia Foundation National as well as annual support from the NYM Civic & Commerce Association. The Cultural Center is also grateful to the many local businesses, individuals, volunteers, families, and community partners whose support makes this annual tradition possible.