The Finnish Kennel Club celebrates its 125th anniversary in May. The jubilee year was launched at February's KoiraExpo, a canine-themed international seminar. The theme of the entire jubilee year is Good living with dogs. In addition to KoiraExpo, the jubilee year will be visible in several other Finnish Kennel Club events – the year will be used to showcase a broad range of modern canine activities.
The Finnish Kennel Club traces its roots to 11 May 1889. On that day, a group of dog and hunting enthusiasts gathered to found Suomen Kennelklubi. Over the decades, canine hobbies have become popular across the entire nation and Finland is today home to more than 650,000 dogs. The popularity of dogs is also reflected in the number of Finnish Kennel Club members – membership rose to a record 150,015 at the beginning of 2014.
Dog hobbies and the canine sector were explored extensively at the Finnish Kennel Club's KoiraExpo seminar on 8-9 February. Top speakers like Ben Furman and Tommy Wirén from Finland were present at Expo & Convention Centre Helsinki to speak about topics such as the personalities, health and wellbeing of dogs. KoiraExpo's Saturday evening culminated in the 125th jubilee year gala event.
Two dog-themed books will be published during the jubilee year: Kaija Unhola's 125-year history of the Finnish Kennel Club and Tapio Eerola's book about Finland's domestic breeds.
A historical exhibition has been put together to mark the jubilee year. It will be on display at KoiraExpo, the FCI World Dog Show and the Koira2014 event, in addition to which it can be seen at the Finnish Hunting Museum from March onwards.
The Finnish Kennel Club's jubilee year will be a feature of the following events:
KoiraExpo 2014
8-9 February, Expo & Convention Centre Helsinki
125th jubilee year gala
8 February, Expo & Convention Centre Helsinki
National Dog Day
24 April, Finnish Kennel Club Charity Match Show, Finnish Hunting Museum, Riihimäki
Council seminar 2014
24 May, Hanasaari, Espoo
XXI International Outdoor Fair 2014
5-8 June, Riihimäki
FCI World Dog Show 2014
8-10 August, Expo & Convention Centre Helsinki
Council seminar 2014
22 November, Hanasaari
Koira2014
6-7 December, Expo & Convention Centre Helsinki