Heikinpäivä "Fun Park".  The Fun Park would be the venue for the "wife carrying contest",  the "boot throwing contest" , skip sleds and whipsleds and of course roasting  marshmallows on an open fire. 

The Wife Carrying Contest
The race begins with the Husband (relatively speaking)  takes off from the starting line carrying his wife using any form imaginable.
The first stop is outside the sauna where the wife unrolls and shakes out three rag rugs and places them on the ground.
The next stop is at the Sauna  where the husband throws water (snow) on the sauna stove.
The husband and wife then run to the kitchen where the wife pours coffee for their hosts and themselves. After taking a sip of the coffee, it's off to the races.
The contestants then run for the finish line. Again the husband is carrying the wife.
above - Third place finishers Pasi Lautala and Meg Pachmayer, from Hancock, MI
Pasi and Meg finnished the course in  37 seconds

The Wife Carrying Contest was won by  Ted and Nancy Ahrenholtz from Minnetonka, MN  the winning time was  29.4 seconds . Finishing in second palce were  Jason and Cassie Selin from  Chassell, MI they completed the course in 31.37 seconds.
Many people ignored the weather and enjoyed the fun filled afternoon.
in the event that someone got lost due to an avalanche caused by a very bad boot throw
Rye and Brandy were on standby for St. Bernard services.

The Boot Throwing Contest
The boot throw is almost as simple as it looks. The rules are simple enough. Throw the boot as far as you can keeping the boot in bounds. Each contest recieved their best score of two attempts.
 Several throws reached  vertical heights that challenged hot air balloons however, vertical distances did not count.
here's one right at you
Contestants came in ages, sizes and sexes.
Boot Throw Winners -

 Women
 1) Cara Shonsey, Hancock, MI - 64 feet, 2 inches
 2) Erin Ballun, Chicago, IL - 59 feet, 7 inches
 3) Valarie Abramson, Mass City, MI - 57 feet, 7 inches

Men
 1) Aaron Addison, Taylor, MI - 100 feet, 2 inches
 2) Corey Wagner, Marinette, Wi - 93 feet, 5 inches
 3) Steve Rummel, Chicago, IL - 77 feet, 9 inches

Children
1) Will Blau, Hancock, MI - 46 feet, 2 inches
2) Chas Worth, Mass City, MI - 41 feet, 2 inches
3) Hope Berringer (no hometown provided) - 38 feet, 2 inches (won tiebreaker throw-off)

official scoring provided by:David Maki, Assistant Editor,  The Finnish American Reporter.

Sleigh Rides
above and below kids riding the kick sleds
photos below youths  taking a spin on the whipsled. 
This is one exciting ride that the children really enjoyed.  It reminded this writer  of a ride in the town park  when I was a kid, and before they invented  tort lawyers.
 
 

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