Keweenaw Unitarian Universalist Fellowship

There’s a unique educational opportunity in the Keweenaw: Finnish folk schooling. Learn about folk schooling history and philosophies from Clare Zuraw, director of Hancock’s Finnish American Folk School. The concept of folk schooling began in 19th century Denmark and has developed into an international contemporary movement. Modern folk schools take diverse forms while sharing  non-competitive, community-grounded educational experiences. Zuraw will explain what folk schooling looks like in the Keweenaw and how you can get involved. Clare Zuraw is a musician, fiber artist and teacher with a Master’s degree in Teaching & Curriculum. She works with traditional fiber arts including weaving, knitting, spinning and natural dyeing. In 2023 she was a recipient of a Michigan Traditional Arts Apprenticeship, studying natural dyeing with Dawn Andersson of Calumet. Zurow’s musical focus is traditional American and Finnish music. She performs and teaches piano, hammered dulcimer and jouhikko, a traditional, two- or three-stringed bowed lyre from Finland. In 2016, with support from the Finlandia Foundation, Zuraw began studying the jouhikko with Ilkka Heinonen of Helsinki. In 2019, with funding from the American Scandinavian Foundation, she traveled to Finland to study the instrument with six jouhikko masters.