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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2016
At FinnFest, heritage on display
Finnish-American Folk
Fest coming to Naselle
By NICK NIKKILA
EO Media Group
N
ASELLE, Wash. — With the start of
the biennial Finnish-American Folk
Festival a few weeks away, the festi-
val planning committee has now shifted into
a higher gear and anticipation of the event is
running high.
The event, which has come to be known as
FinnFest, is scheduled to take place on July 29
and July 30 with the worship and closing cere-
monies on July 31.
FinnFest has taken place on every even
numbered year since 1982 at the school in
Naselle, often referred to as “the little village
with the big heart.”
The theme for this year’s festival is “My
Finnish Memories,” and is dedicated to hon-
oree Anna Wirkkala Ehrlund. Ehrlund, now in
her mid-90s, is one of the founders of the festi-
val and a much loved local historian.
Debbie Littleield, a Naselle artist, has cre-
ated an exquisite piece of artwork that depicts
Ehrlund, dressed in Finnish clothing, sitting
on her favorite bench recalling memories of
the past. Thanks to the efforts of festival com-
mittee member Jan Wolfe, that artwork can
be found on a number of items such as cof-
fee cups, tote bags, aprons, T-shirts and sweat-
shirts which will be available for purchase
during the festival.
The festival hosts a golf tournament on
July 28 at the Peninsula Golf Course in Long
Beach. It is a team scramble event sched-
uled for a shotgun start at noon. Pre-regis-
tration is required and the application can be
downloaded from the festival’s website www.
naselleinnfest.com. The winning team is
entitled to possess the sought after champions
display for the next two years.
Haleigh See has, once again, organized the
Paavo Nurmi run/walk which will begin at
8 a.m. on July 30. The registration form can
be downloaded from the above mentioned
website. The 5K run/walk is a fun event and
pre-registered participants receive a commem-
orative T-shirt.
Attendees can also participate in the wife
carry and other competitions that will take
EO Media Group/File Photo
Naselle’s Finn-American Folk Festival, held every even-numbered year, is coming up. These girls participated in 2014.
place on the football ield under the direction
of Rob Dalton.
Performance chairman Lyle Haataja and
his committee have lined up an array of tal-
ented musical performers for the festival. Per-
formances will take place outside in the stadium
as well as in the school commons on July 29
and July 30.
One new group of performers is creating
quite a buzz. It is the Laulaa Out Loud chil-
dren’s choir made up of local children between
the ages of 3 to 11. The choir, under the direc-
tion of Becky Underhill, is scheduled to per-
form during the festival opening on July 29
and again as the opening act on July 30 in the
school commons. Local girls, under the guid-
ance of See, will perform the Maypole dance.
Cultural programming chairman Anita Rais-
takka has arranged a number of lectures, ilms,
displays and instructional programs which will
take place in various classrooms. These include
presentations by local historian and author
Bryan Pentilla and an introduction to the Finn-
ish language for children by See. A 58-minute
ilm entitled, “This is my Childhood; Finland at
War,” will be shown on July 29. Lectures will
cover a variety of topics, such as: why Nordic
emigrants settled in the Lower Columbia; the
History of Longview/Kelso Finns; Sami Sha-
man ancestry; and the successes and frustrations
of tracing family genealogy.
The Tori, a marketplace for Finnish and
American crafts will be open in the school’s
gymnasium. Outside, various food vendors
will be available with a variety of Finnish and
other food items. In addition to the vendors’
food booths, the local Alpha Theta Chapter of
Epsilon Sigma Alpha will have a Pannukakku
(Finnish oven-baked pancake) breakfast from
7 to 10 a.m. July 30. The Grays River Grange
will be serving a salmon dinner from 11 a.m. to
2 p.m. later that same day.
Pokemon players are trespassing, risking arrest or worse
Craze drives
players to
wander around
By BEATRIZ
COSTA-LIMA
and MARY HUDETZ
Associated Press
PHOENIX
—
The
“Pokemon Go” craze across
the U.S. has people wan-
dering into yards, drive-
ways, cemeteries and even
an off-limits police parking
lot in search of cartoon mon-
sters, prompting warnings
that trespassers could get
arrested or worse, especially
if they cross paths with an
armed property owner.
Since the release of the
smartphone game last week,
police have gotten a lurry
of calls from residents
about possible burglars or
other strangers prowling the
neighborhood.
So far, few tickets have
been issued, and there had
been no reports of arrests or
assaults through Wednes-
day on trespassers playing
the game, whose object is use
the phone’s GPS technology
to ind and capture animated
creatures in real-world places.
“Be careful where you
chase these Pokemon or
whatever it is you chase
because we have seen issues
in other places with peo-
ple going onto private prop-
erty where a property owner
didn’t want them on there,”
said Assistant Police Chief
Jim McLean in Plugerville,
Texas.
Legal gray area
Some
players
have
expressed worries on social
media that the game could
result in a fearful property
owner pulling a gun — a sce-
nario that could fall into a
legal gray area in the nearly
two dozen states with “stand
your ground” laws that allow
people wide latitude to use
deadly force when they
believe they are in danger.
McLean’s
department
posted a Facebook warning
Monday after oficers spot-
ted a man playing the game
in a section of a police park-
ing lot where the public isn’t
allowed. The player had to
pass keep-out signs and go
over a fence or under a gate
to reach the area.
“I’m not sure how he
got back there, but it was
clear what he was doing,”
McLean said. “He was play-
ing a Pokemon game with his
phone up in the air.”
In Utah, Ethan Good-
win, 17, of Tremonton, was
slapped with a trespassing
ticket that he worries could
cost him up to $200 after
he and a couple of friends
went on an early morning
Pokemon chase at an aban-
doned warehouse. He man-
aged to catch three creatures.
“I wouldn’t say it was
worth it, but I would say I’m
glad I have the Pokemon
I have now,” he joked. He
added: “It’s a dumb game,
really, really stupid.”
Be aware
Every time the app is
opened, a warning from
game maker Niantic pops up,
ble for any property damage,
injuries or deaths that result
while playing.
But those warnings don’t
seem to be getting through.
In Phoenix, police have
started posting humorous
and colorful warnings on
social media, saying chasing
the orange dragon Chariz-
ard is not a valid reason to
set foot on someone else’s
property.
Nor is chasing the cat-like
Mewtwo, according to Boise,
Idaho, police. They posted
a Facebook message saying
oficers responded to sev-
eral calls about players tres-
passing on private property
and illegally trekking across
parks after dark.
Watch for traffic
AP Photo/Mark Thiessen
A sign at the National Weather Service in Anchorage,
Alaska, Tuesday informs Pokemon players that it’s illegal
to trespass on federal property. The staff started noticing
an uptick of people in the parking lot after the location
was included as a gym in the popular game.
telling players to be aware
of their surroundings. Play-
ers must also agree to ine
print saying they cannot
enter private property with-
out permission.
There’s also a disclaimer
that says Niantic is not lia-
Gamers are also being
warned to watch for traf-
ic while playing and not to
drive while on the app.
One
woman
told
WPXI-TV in western Penn-
sylvania that her 15-year-
old daughter was hit by a car
while playing the game and
crossing a busy highway. The
girl was hospitalized with an
injured collarbone and foot,
as well as cuts and bruises,
said her mother, Tracy Nolan.
Capt. Michael Fowler
with the Hanahan, South Car-
olina, police said his depart-
ment in the city of about
20,000 has gotten a few
suspicious-activity reports
related to “Pokemon Go,”
including multiple calls from
a woman who feared for her
safety as she watched cars go
in and out of a church park-
ing lot across from her house.
“I didn’t know what was
going on. The last time I
heard about Pokemon was
back in the ‘90s,” Lynn
Menges, 59, said.
Lt. Lex Bell, of the Uniied
Police Department in Utah,
said oficers outside Salt
Lake City have responded
to similar calls. Most come
after dark, with residents
saying they believe motor-
ists driving slowly through
their neighborhood may be
casing their homes. In one
instance, a woman mistook
a few glowing cellphones for
lashlights as players hunted
characters near her daugh-
ter’s car.
Several
cemeteries,
including Arlington National
outside Washington, have
expressed worries about
players on their grounds.
At Mobile Memorial Gar-
dens in Alabama, president
Timothy Claiborne said he
has seen visitors walking or
driving around with phones
in their hands, playing the
game. He asked people in
about three dozen vehicles
to leave over the past cou-
ple of days, earning him the
title “chief of the Pokemon
patrol” from the staff.
“I just think we need to
continue to have respect not
only for the dead but for
those who are grieving the
dead,” he said.
Hudetz reported from
Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Associated Press writers Jon-
athan Drew in Raleigh, North
Carolina; Hannah Cushman
in Chicago; and Samantha
Shotzbarger in Phoenix also
contributed to this report.
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