In addition to being a major holiday in Norway, Syttende Mai will also be formally celebrated in the United States at strongholds of Norwegian culture like Vesterheim Norwegian American Museum in Decorah. For more information on celebrations in Decorah today, click here.
As the above scan from a June 1967 Vesterheim newsletter indicates, the Museum has been a key part of Nordic Fest since the very beginning. After the five Jaycee volunteers started developing the initial concept, they wisely involved the late Dr. Marion Nelson of Vesterheim as one of their co-founders. The result of this collaborative effort is one of the key decades-long strengths of Nordic Fest made clear in my research to date: a focus on authentic Scandinavian cultural celebration.
Vesterheim hosted the first National Rosemaling Exhibition at the 1967 Nordic Fest. This event has since been expanded to include weaving, woodworking and knife-making, all done in authentic Norwegian tradition.
As expressed during a recent gathering of the surviving Nordic Fest founders, "Vesterheim and the National Folk Art Exhibition at Nordic Fest have probably done more to preserve and expand upon authentic art knowledge and preservation than any other effort made in the United States."
Happy Syttende Mai, Vesterheim. Thank you for being a cornerstone of Nordic Fest!
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