Thank you to all who joined in Saturday's World in Bloom parade and to all who helped set up and take down our displays in the Norway Garden. Special thanks to Kristen Birkeland for exhibiting her beautiful rosemaling and to Steve Birkeland for opening up the stabbur for tours. Both were big hits! We enjoyed getting to interact with our neighbors from Switzerland, Sweden, Finland, and other countries as we learned more about their cultures and enjoyed seeing their national co

Master bunadtilverker Gina Nylund took us on a whirlwind tour over all of Norway, giving a broad overview of this iconic and beautiful clothing and its regional (and sub-regional) variations. With humor and enthusiasm, she shared tips for wearing, cleaning, and preserving a bunad using examples from the bunader worn by those who participated. Her presentation was a perfect example of what Sons of Norway is all about: Discovering more deeply and meaningfully the culture that c

You couldn't ask for better weather Saturday high in the mountains above the Heber Valley at Troll Hagen. Amid the cool air, wildlife, and scenery, we hunted for trolls, burned our names in wood using runic characters, and learned nålbinding. And to top it off, we had an amazing lunch of vafler, smørbrød, pølse med lompe, Ukrainian shuba (herring salad), and more. Thank you to LoriAnne, Anita, and Lisa for all the work they put into preparing the activities and food that made

Saturday's weather was perfect for Constitution Day: Cloudy and cool enough to wear a bunad! That may be the reason record numbers of participants showed up to honor the founding of the Norwegian Consitution and celebrate their Norwegian connections.

Who knew Scandinavian dancing could be so much fun?! Tom Oesleby and Gwen Trefts managed to overcome the double-left-footed and rhythm-challenged among us to actually produce something like a dance--and we had a blast learning from them! Thank you to Tom and Gwen and also to June and Mary, who accompanied us on violin and had enough faith in us to speed up the tempo when they thought we could handle it (we sort of did). They taught us the Allemansmarsj, the Titityy Jenkka, an

We had a great turnout for our presentation on the Nordic Heritage Center, a proposal to establish an institution for the Nordic countries in Utah and the Mountain West where the past can be honored, the present explored, and the future anticipated. Chanel Myers also demonstrated how to make lefse and share tips from her experiences making this quintessential Norwegian staple. Special guests for the evening included: Niels Valentiner, honorary consul of Denmark in Utah Ceceli