July 16 -18 Gerry Rodeo Grounds will be transformed into the Ninth Annual Scandinavian Folk Festival celebrating Scandinavian heritage and culture.
“We’re the only festival like this in the area … from Pittsburg to Toronto, Cleveland to Albany,” said Don Sandy, festival coordinator.
For three days, 2,500 to 3,000 people will be able to enjoy Scandinavian food, music and most importantly, experience their culture. Throughout the weekend there will be constant musical entertainment provided by many Scandinavian musicians, such as Paul Dahlin and Äkta Spelmän, Smörgåsbandet, Bosse Brewitz who plays the unique Nycklharpa instrument, The Viking Chorus, Nordanvind and Svenska Spelmän.
The Scandinavian region covers Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and the Lapland region, which is inhabited by the Sami people.
There will be many activities for both children and adults to participate in. The highlights of the three days are: Friday, the Swedish meatball dinner and The Viking Chorus; Saturday, they will decorate the Midsummer pole that celebrates the life and growth of crops, the ring dance around the Midsummer pole performed by The Thule Lodge's Swedish Children's & Adult Folk Dance Teams, which will also perform at another time, the Korv dinner, as well as a Bonfire around 9:45 p.m.; Sunday will conclude the festival with a Swedish pancake breakfast as well as a visit from Vallhund dogs, which are Swedish dogs that were popular in the early ages of Swedish and are now making a comeback in both Sweden and the States.
The festival, associated with the American Scandinavian Heritage Foundation, will also be featuring some unique tents and activities as well, according to Sandy. Over the weekend, people will be going back to their roots living in The Viking Village showing the public how Vikings lived and demonstrate the lifestyle.
In the village there will also be a Viking ship replica and games of Kubb, as well as a Kubb tournament. “Kubb is a lawn game where you throw batons to knock down the opponents blocks,” Sandy wrote in an e-mail. “Once you have completed that process you can toss your baton to knock down the King and be the winner.”
There is also a culture tent that will hold demonstrations, have handanger embroidery, chip-and-wood carving, Swedish weaving and felting. The tent also holds “workshops where people can make their own felted items or make a midsummer head wreath or make a clay Scandinavian figurines,” said Sandy. In addition, the culture tent has activities for kids such as a sawdust coin scramble that contains all Swedish coins, a “make-your-own-pendant” station, story telling and much more.
A gift shop, a “loppis” (flea market), and many other vendors will be present at the festival supplying food or other items for people to purchase.
The festival also features two guest speakers: Ben Olander and Barbara Hillman Jones. Olander will be talking about Raoul Wallenderg, who was part of the Swedish council in WWII and helped to save 120,000 Jewish people by providing them with Swedish passports to escape the Nazi regime and relates Wallenderg’s experiences to modern day life. Hillman will be talking about her book “Recollections of a Jamestown Swede.”
The festival will run Friday 3:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., Saturday 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. and Sunday 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. People will be admitted for $4.00 on Friday, Sunday and Saturday after 7 p.m., but $6.00 Saturday before 7 p.m. Those 16 and under or in a Scandinavian costume will be admitted for free.
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