Vendors show their Scandinavian-themed wares in the Hjemkomst Center’s Ship Gallery.
Nancy Edmonds Hanson
Fans of Nordic cultures look forward all year to Fargo-Moorhead’s venerable Scandinavian Festival, a showcase for the music, foods, arts and lifeways of the nations at the top of Europe. Their moment comes this weekend, when the 46th annual festival – always held on Midsummer Weekend – fills the Hjemkomst Center and surrounding Viking Ship Park with the sights, sounds, tastes and exuberance of regional residents celebrating their ethnic heritage.
After three years of trimmed-down events forced by the Covid-19 epidemic and, last year, a temporary move to the Sons of Norway in Fargo, the festival is back at the Hjemkomst, where it has welcomed thousands of visitors annually since the early 1980s. Admission is $15 for adults (19 and older); $10 for seniors, youth 13-18 and college students; and free for children up to 12 years old.
Iceland is in this year’s spotlight during performances throughout Friday and Saturday. South Dakota author Heidi Herman offers an introduction to the island nation’s culture during several programs, including a virtual vacation of Iceland, folklore for children, and an Icelandic cooking demonstration.
The festival includes two days of performances on the Lena Stage in Heritage Hall and several meeting rooms in the center, as well as on the outdoor Ole Stage. Among featured performers are the Norwegian Bachelor Farmers, the 13 Yule Lads, Bud Larson, the Valley Ukes, the Kringen Accordion Club and Kringenfolkedansklubs. Performances run from 10 to about 5 p.m. Bud and Marlys Larson of Brainerd reign over the festival as king and queen. Bud, a Hardanger fiddler, performs daily.
The North Star Nordic Dancers of the Twin Cities perform village dances from all five Nordic nations to live music performed on the fiddle, guitar, nyckelharpa (Swedish key fiddle), hardingfele (Norwegian Hardancer fiddle) and mouth harp. The 15-year-old group wears tradition folk costumes of Sweden, Norway and Finland.
The Viking Encampment group from Minneapolis occupies the park, focusing on Viking Age crafts, storytelling and battle demonstrations. The group is an education-based performance troupe promoting education, cultural exchange and fun through demonstrations and direct interaction with the Vikings.
A favorite part of the festival is the craft workers who display and sell their wares around the Viking ship. Favorite foods from the Old Country are also on sale inside the center.
