After one week of superb accordion music representing a diverse range of styles in a variety of settings, the Sata-Häme Soi Accordion Festival in Ikaalinen, Finland officially came to a close with an impressive and formal Closing Ceremony.

Attended by former Prime Minister and current Speaker of the House - Paavo Lipponen, the closing ceremony featured several of the performers from the week long festival which drew well over 36,000 people. In addition to the selected performances, festival organizers offered official thanks and presented some awards.

Sata-Häme Soi Director Minna Kulmala is pictured here talking to ex Prime Minister Lipponen and his daughter before the Ceremony.

Festival director Minna Kulmala and Music Director Kimmo Mattila gave thanks to all who had helped make the festival possible. They presented several awards w to people who had helped considerably during the festival by volunteering their time and effort to make sure the event went smoothly. These honors went to:

The former Prime Minister of Finland (as recently as March) Paavo Lipponen (who is now Speaker of the House, making him one of the three most important people in the Finnish Governement together with president Tarja Halonen and actual prime minister Matti Vanhanen) gave an address to the standing room only outdoor audience.

Mr. Lipponen was in Ikaalinen for the last day of the festival as well as to give an interview with Minna Plihtari, Public Relations Manager for the Sata-Häme Soi Accordion Festival.