Hundreds of long tables invite to eat together 25-27 August 2017

The weekend of 25-27 August is already commonly known as a date to celebrate all kinds of end-of-summer events, such as Finnish Nature Day, the start of the mushroom season, the Venetian traditions of the Finnish archipelago, and other local versions of harvest celebrations. This year, the Let's Eat Together thematic year hosts its main events on this very weekend, with planning reaching back as long as two years ago. "It has been magnificent to witness how the celebratory year has brought so many people and groups together for a shared goal of togetherness", rejoices Seija Kurunmäki, the Let's Eat Together promoter and head of the ELO Foundation for the Promotion of Finnish Food Culture. Participants include dozens of companies and over 100 associations and communities to ensure that the whole country is filled with events.

Flying flags and roaring laughter in shared tables on 26 August 

This year, Finnish Nature Day on 26 August is also marked as an official flag day. All 40 national parks will hold events and invite families and groups of friends alike to roam the wilderness with picnic baskets and to hear choirs singing. The national park events are coordinated by Parks & Wildlife Finland.

Long tables take over the country on 26 August in an event called Dinner Under the Sky, run by the NGO Yhteismaa. The concept sets foot in many cities, including Helsinki, Espoo, Tampere, Turku and Lahti. Anyone is welcome to jump in with their satellite version in the Finland100 Dinners event through registering their tables at Yhteismaa. The Dinner event is also visible abroad, and the Finnish Foreign Ministry will be setting tables in (at least) eight embassies around the world. The expat dinner parties carry the name Finnish Your Dinner. 

All around Finland, squares and street corners, cities and villages, schools and hospitals will host shared moments for food. For example, Lemmenjoki in Lapland will host a Sami language event, Ilomantsi in Eastern Finland will serve wild food while observing bear carving, and the city of Pori in Western Finland hosts an outdoor dinner on the oldest pedestrian street in the country. In Vantaa, the association Yhteinen pöytä ('Share Table') will set a table where all are welcome. The Scouts movement will serve a meal for 3000 scouts on a 750 metre long table at a leadership event at the Evo campsite in Hämeenlinna.

Let's make sure no-one eats alone

Eating together has many benefits. It is enjoyable, but also healthy both physically and mentally. Eating together is a natural way to bring people together and to create new friendships and boost communality. The "Together" weekend sees a country filled with events, and those who are active and mobile will find it easy to find a seat. Regardless of this, many are used to eating alone if there is no family member or neighbour to ring the doorbell, or to invite over for coffee and a sweet bite. "The biggest joy would be one where as many of us as possible would find a person that is used to eating alone and bring them along", project manager Sini Garam reminds.

Where, what and with whom will you eat on the Together weekend?

Many events and encounters are stamped on the digital archive when you remember to use the hashtag #syödäänyhdessä or #letseattogether in English.