Finnish Your Dinner Event Charmed Locals in D.C.

We organized a joint potluck dinner on at the beginning of August. The event is known globally under the name Finnish Your Dinner. Check out the atmosphere in the event from our video(Link to another website.) on Facebook!

The idea for the event dates back to 2013 when an event called Dinner Under the Helsinki Sky was organized in the Finnish capital to celebrate the city’s birthday. The organizers set a long table in the city center for a thousand people to dine and enjoy each others company in the Finnish summer evening. The event was fully booked in two minutes and so the story of Finnish Your Dinner began.

In 2017, the event went global, when similar dinners were set simultaneously all over the world to celebrate the centenary of the independence of Finland. Anyone could participate with one’s own dinner party and celebrate Finland and each other. The idea of doing something like this together was so amazing that we wanted to make it a yearly tradition, so now we aim to host a Finnish Your Dinner event for friends of Finland each August!

This year we set up a long dinner table in the Finland Hall of the Embassy, space where it almost feels like being in nature because of the stunning view to the forest behind – only we were safe from the unpredictable D.C. weather. To get a real Finnish late summer atmosphere, we decorated the space with lots of natural flowers, birch branches, patio lights and Marimekko tablecloths. Traditional Finnish music was playing on the background and a glass of sparkling wine and blueberry pie for dessert were on the house. The event was open to anyone who wanted to eat together around the same table with their friends, family, and new people and share their food, drinks, and thoughts.

The idea behind Finnish Your Dinner is to bring people together to enjoy life. Judging by hearing 60 people laughing and talking around the table, we really succeeded!

Text by: Katharina Bäckman, Cultural Counselor at the Embassy of Finland