fair in korpilahti

i took mom and dad to korpilahti to a fair today. the fair is organized every year by local businesses, it's called päijänteen palvipäivät. i won't even try to translate that, other than tell that päijänne is a lake, palvi refers to smoke-cured food and päivä is day. basically local entrepreneurs, mainly small ones, show what they make. there are performers, lots of candy to buy, your normal fair stuff. oh, and the obligatory beer tent. what i fail to understand is how anyone can be almost pass-out drunk by 10 am, when did they start? this morning or last night?

this guy is pekka ahonen, he is a blacksmith and it says hiiden paja on his stand. i took his info but lost it!

110912 update:

someone was good enough to send me the hiidenpaja contact info, it's <b>here






here is what mr ahonen has forged: pendants







napkin rings for you next middle ages theme dinner







kallas / hardy arums, quite amazing if you think what the material is







i've always been curious as to what it would be like to live on a house boat. these people use these as summer "cottages". didn't barge into any of them, but most looked like they had saunas on board...







this was the first time i saw that tar had been used to treat a basket







lunch today, fried neulamuikku / coregonus albula. probably the unhealthiest fish food ever with the amount of butter and oil they use. mom was wise enough to eat just a few, stupid me i got seconds and i'm still suffering (acid reflux)!! this is alsolutely and by far the worst thing i could eat (fries take a second place)







there was also a boat maker showing a row boat. this could be yours with only 2200 euros!







at the harbour there is also a gallery called käsityö kaisla. for some reason i didn't take any pics there. they mostly have the same any crafts gallery would have but items from emalipuu were something i haven seen done before. they combine enamel with wood, very nice!



not sure if these were for sale, but they were pretty. black eyed susans, i think, very unusual over here anyways