PORT TOWNSEND — A slice of Scandinavia comes to Blue Heron Middle School when the Daughters of Norway host the Scandia Fall Fest today.
Food, clothing and activities at the festival planned from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the school at 3939 San Juan Ave., Port Townsend, will illustrate the Danish, Swedish, Norwegian and Finnish cultures.
“This is an opportunity for everyone to learn about the people and culture of Scandinavia,” said Bonnie Svardal of Sequim, a member of the Thea Foss Lodge #45, Daughters of Norway, which is sponsoring the festival.
“There is a depth and a richness in this which can be enjoyed by anybody,” she said.
Free admission
Admission will be free. Twenty-one vendors will sell homemade arts and crafts in the gymnasium, and an informal learning center will feature demonstrations of spinning, weaving and band weaving.
Events tailored for every age and interest are scheduled every hour, Svardal said.
During the Children’s Story Time at 11 a.m., Karen Lopez will read tales about trolls, billy goats, kings and queens.
At noon, the Gladan Band will demonstrate “fancy fiddling,” and the Bunad Style Show and Parade, demonstrating the ornate garments that Norwegians wear on special occasions, will begin at 1 p.m.
Narrator Ellen Ostern will introduce the models and talk about the origin of each traditional garment and how it represents a region of Norway.
Svardal said that the garments are heavy, as Norway is a cold country, and often have complicated woven patterns and jewelry attached.
Their colors also tell a story, since the various shades can indicate the part of the country from which the wearer hails.
Svardal said the bunads are expensive, costing $3,000 to buy or $1,500 for a handmade one.
Several bunads will be on display on Saturday, she said.
“Our ancestors did a lot of beautiful work, arts and crafts and woodworking that was very detailed and ornate,” Svardal said.
After all have been modeled, just as in country church weddings of old, the Gladan Band will lead the parade in, around and through the vendors’ booths.
At 2 p.m., Scandinavian dancers Dick and Roxanne Grinstad will perform, with the Gladen Band setting the pace.
Plenty of food
Then there is the food.
Homemade pea soup will be available from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Desserts, coffee and punch will be available all day.
A plethora of Scandinavian delights — pastries, breads, cookies and kaker — will be sold.
There also will be baking demonstrations of waffler — Norwegian dessert waffles, as well as krumkake and lefse.
Svardal, whose parents are Norwegian and emigrated to the United States, graduated from high school in Ballard, where a football cheer was “Lutfisk, Lutfisk, Lefse, Lefse, Are we gonna beat them? Yes, you betcha.”
‘Yes, you betcha’
But, Svardal said, after she became an adult, she lost interest in her culture of origin for a while.
That has changed.
“Those of us in our 40s and 50s are looking back on our heritage and hoping to reconnect with our roots,” she said.
For more information, phone Svardal at 360-683-2555 or e-mail her at bsvardal@wavecable.com.
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
