The Story

​In February, I entered a contest during National Sauna Week to win a trip to Finland.

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A few days later, I found out I’d won.

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The prize: airfare and a pass to the World Sauna Forum in Jyväskylä, June 9–11, sponsored by Finlandia Foundation National—the largest organization supporting Finnish culture in the United States.  This was totally unexpected and entirely thrilling!  As a newly established sauna operator in Belfast, Maine, this feels like an extraordinary opportunity.​ The journey has continued to unfold in remarkable ways.

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I was accepted to a five-day media tour in northern Finland through Ruka-Kuusamo and Oulu, where I’ll experience several distinct sauna traditions and cultures before heading to the World Sauna Forum in Finland’s Lakeland region.

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I’ve also received support from the North American Sauna Society, where I’ll be writing about what I learn for their publication.

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Since launching Salty Witch Sauna this winter, I’ve learned a great deal—and I’ve also realized how much there is still to learn.

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In early June, this journey will take me from Helsinki to northern Finland, through the Lakeland region for the World Sauna Forum, and (if plans align) onward to Lapland, before returning home. Along the way, I’ll be learning firsthand about Finnish sauna culture and practice: sauna in different settings—from wilderness to metropolitan, smoke sauna traditions, summer sauna culture, sauna rituals, and the role sauna plays in everyday Finnish life, year-round. I also hope to do a factory tour of Harvia, the Finnish woodstove I have in my sauna!

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As someone who has spent years guiding people on the water as a registered Maine Guide, I’m deeply interested in embodied experiences—how heat, cold, water, rhythm, weather, and ritual shape how we feel in our bodies. Sauna feels like a natural extension of that work.

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This trip is an opportunity to experience sauna culture at its source—and bring that inspiration, insight and experience back to my sauna offerings and the Belfast community.

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Thanks to early support from friends, community members, and organizations, much of this journey is already coming into focus, and I’ve been deeply moved by the generosity and encouragement I’ve received so far.