As the 49th annual Nordic Fest approaches, it is difficult to remember a time when the event wasn't the Decorah summer standard for residents, volunteers, performers, and those returning home. For at least two generations of people connected to Decorah, they do not know their beloved town without Nordic Fest.
Of course, this was not the case during original planning that started in 1966 for the 1967 event. This planning was centrally organized by members of the Decorah Jaycees and the Norwegian American Museum (which had not yet adopted its current name of Vesterheim).
During a 1990 interview for one of teacher Ron Gesme's Firefox projects for his ninth grade students, founders recalled experiencing reluctant Decorah residents as a challenge to Nordic Fest planning. The report reads:
The planning was not without difficulties. Many residents were reluctant to accept the idea of a major tourism event in their town. Many people weren't aware the Fest was a Jaycee project - they thought Luther College was putting it on. At first, it was hard to get willing supporters. The committee's work the first year was not without a "royal chewing out" from Decorah residents who were opposed to the idea.
One founder recalls receiving late night negative phone calls at home during planning from community women who did not identify themselves. This founder felt these callers may have been fearful of unknown negative effects of promoting tourism and celebrating heritage in their small community.
Although Nordic Fest is now a summer standard for Decorah, getting to that point for recent generations was not without uphill efforts by those who organized the event in its early years.
No comments:
Post a Comment