Moorhead, Minn., June 22, 2012 –
For the first time ever, the Midwest Viking Festival and the annual Scandinavian Hjemkomst Festival are joining forces to present Nordic Footprints, a celebration of Nordic culture from ancient times to today, June 22 and 23 at the Hjemkomst Center in Moorhead, Minnestoa. Visitors get two festivals for the price of one.
The Midwest Viking Festival is a gathering of craftsmen, musicians and living history enthusiasts, from throughout the upper Midwest, who specialize in bringing the Viking Age back to life. According to Tim Jorgensen, the event coordinator of the Historical and Cultural Society of Clay County, there will be re-enactors dressed in period clothing, cooking over an open fire and demonstrating historic crafts. “We try to give a historically accurate Viking experience within the confines of the law,” he says with a grin. “We are also excited because this year is the first year there will be another replica of a Viking Ship on display other than the Hjemkomst. Sam Shoults, from Missouri’s Skjaldborg Vikings, will display his own functional Viking boat, the Yrsa.”
Visitors will also experience other Viking activities including glass bead making, coin-striking, silver-smithing, runic reading/writing, chainmail production, blacksmithing, wood carving, fiber production, pottery making, and a variety of challenging Viking games. Staff singer, Kari Tauring, and storyteller, Svein Tunheim will be performing in the stave church both days. Indoor and outdoor battle demonstrations are scheduled for Friday and Saturday as well.
The Scandinavian Hjemkomst Festival is a celebration of Icelandic, Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish and Danish Cultures. Visitors will have the chance to walk through the Hjemkomst Center discovering foods from all of the Scandinavian countries; sampling everything from lefse to pickled herring. Dancing and music will grace the stage with groups such as the Scandinavian Quartet, a saxophone group that hails from the Royal College of Music in Stockholm, Sweden and the local Nor-Swe-Dane Dancers performing folk dances from Norway, Sweden and Denmark.
New to this year’s line up is the Tango Pohjan Tähden. This young quartet from Minneapolis blends tango, jazz, and folk music within the context of classic Finnish tangos, creating a lush, original sound-scape.
Shoppers will take delight in the wide array of items sold at the Scandinavian Marketplace. Rosemaling, wood carvings, jewelry, woolen clothing and even home furnishings are just a few things available to purchase.
To cap the festivities of the day, the Nordic Culture Clubs have organized a series of musical performances at area sites for no extra charge. Customers are able to indulge in Scandinavian delicacies while listening to professional Nordic musicians in some of the best venues the Fargo/Moorhead community has to offer.
Festival admission per day is Adults $10, youth (thirteen to seventeen) $5, and children under twelve are free with a paid adult. The Hjemkomst Center is at 202 1st Avenue North, Moorhead MN. For more information about the two-for-one festival, contact the Historical and Cultural Society of Clay County at 218-299-5511 or check out their website www.hcscconline.org or contact the Nordic Culture Clubs at 218-299-5952 or their website at www.nodiccultureclubs.org.
The Historical and Cultural Society of Clay County collects, preserves, and presents the history and culture of Clay County and the region. HCSCC also provides interpretation of the Hjemkomst Viking Ship, Hopperstad Stave Church Replica, and hosts traveling exhibits in 7,000 sq. feet of temporary exhibition space. The Historical & Cultural Society of Clay County is a community resource for 150,000 people in the Fargo-Moorhead metro area and serves an average of 40,000 visitors a year from all over the world.
The Historical and Cultural Society of Clay County is located in the Hjemkomst Center at 202 First Avenue North in Moorhead.
