Area residents of all ages participate in a snow volleyball contest at Jackson Mine Park. (Journal photo by Jessica Potila)

NEGAUNEE — The Finnish snow god of Upper Peninsula lore delivered on his reputation this weekend as a celebration named in his honor was visited by a spattering of fluffy white flakes that fell from the sky just enough to make things fun, but not too heavily to keep folks from traveling to the Heikki Lunta Winter Festival in Negaunee.

Heikki Lunta was imagined by the late Calumet musician and radio host David Riutta more than half a century ago. Riutta wrote a 1970 song, “Heikki Lunta’s Snow Dance,” in a bid to conjure up favorable weather for a U.P. snowmobile race at risk of being canceled due to lack of snow.

The snow came, the race went on and the Heikki Lunta legend was born.

Lunta’s legacy lived on at the weekend festival through outdoor events often associated with winter, such as an ice fishing competition on Teal Lake and a hockey tournament at the Negaunee Ice Arena.

The festival also included a more unusual outdoor winter event, snow volleyball.

“This is not a typical thing for volleyball,” Negaunee High School varsity volleyball coach Krista Squiers said. Squiers helped oversee the snow volleyball matches at Jackson Mine Park on Saturday.

Snow volleyball may not (yet) be an Olympic sport, but it is not all that dissimilar from beach volleyball, according to Squiers.

“You’ve got elements like slipping around on the court and you don’t have as good of a touch on the ball when you’re setting it up or hitting it, but it’s still a lot of fun,” she said.

Four teams composed of area residents of all ages competed in 20-degree weather during the snow volleyball matches and smiled all along.

If you can bump a volleyball in a snowsuit and mittens, you might just make a fictitious snow god smile as well.

Jessica Potila can be reached at 906-228-2500. Her email address is jpotila@miningjournal.net.