NASELLE, Wash. — Organizers of the Finnish American Folk Festival of Naselle have voted to cancel the 2024 event.

The reason is because there are plans for its traditional venue, the Naselle schools campus, to be remodeled.

Barbara Swanson, who works year-round on activities at the Naselle Community Center, announced the decision.

“A vote was taken on Sunday with a unanimous decision to cancel our festival planned for next summer,” she noted. “The reason being, the school will be off-limits due to a grant that was awarded the school to finish remodeling projects around the building.”

Lisa Nelson, superintendent of the Naselle-Grays River Valley School District, said the remodeling work will be on the music and vocational wing, the oldest portion of the campus, which dates back to 1957. The project will be grant-funded with a price tag of $4.8 million. School leaders will work on selecting an architect later this month.

“We plan to start as quickly as it can happen, before school’s out,” she said.

She acknowledged that the Finn Fest is held on even-numbered years and school leaders have previously tried to schedule repairs on odd-numbered years to avoid conflicts. But they could not do that next year because of the funding arrangements.

The work will involve windows, wiring and seismic enhancements. “It’s a pretty complete overhaul,” Nelson said.

Once the school’s building timetable became known, the committee of festival organizers considered other possible locations but eventually voted to cancel.

“It’s really great that the school is doing that, but we sadly don’t have sufficient other areas,” Swanson said.

The festival celebrates Finnish heritage and traditions with music, cultural displays and games. It is such an undertaking, it is held only on alternate years. While it had to be postponed during the COVID shutdown, it returned for the 20th annual celebration last year.

“We fill every room,” Swanson said. “The classrooms would not be available or the areas that we usually use. The school is totally off-limits.”

The festival began in 1982, originally as a one-time event that grew. A core of families has been involved. Swanson is secretary and program chairman; her husband, Mike, used to be treasurer. His late mother, Sally Sue Manula Swanson, who died in 2020, was among its early leaders.

Last year’s event attracted visitors from all over the United States and some from overseas. Among guests were Veikko Valli, honorary consul of Finland, and musician Eeppi Ursin, named performer of the year by the Finlandia Foundation National.

The Naselle Community Center committee next meets Aug. 27. “We will look at when to schedule our next festival,” Swanson noted, saying leaders weren’t yet sure whether to plan for 2025 or 2026.