Nordic Fest Annual Themes: A Brief History

A common question from community members and regular Nordic Fest attendees is "What is the Nordic Fest theme this year?" Recognition of this question was a good reason to do a little research on the history of the use of themes in each Nordic Fest. 

The use of themes along with the annual Nordic Fest first happened in 1980, which was its 14th year. Early themes used include:

• 1980: Viking Adventure
• 1981: Celebrate Scandinavia
• 1982: Scandinavia Today
• 1983: Sing, Dance and Be Glad
• 1984: Scandinavian Folktales
• 1985: God Jul i Juli (Christmas in July)
• 1986: Trollheim: Home of the Trolls
• 1987: Land of the Midnight Sun
• 1988: Our Scandinavian Heritage
• 1989: Dreams of Norway
• 1990: Gateway to Our Heritage
• 1991: Silver Salute to Scandinavia 
• 1992: Nordic Nonsense
• 1993: A Taste of Norway
• 1994: Just for the Sport of It
• 1995: The Trolls Are Alive in '95
• 1996: Nordic Fest: An Iowa Family Tradition
• 1997: A Scandinavian Sampler
• 1998: See Nordic Fest Again for the First Time
• 1999: Passport to Norway
• 2000: 2000 Reasons to Love Nordic Fest 

What is your favorite Nordic Fest theme, whether listed here or not?

Photo credit above: Creative Commons license: https://www.flickr.com/photos/duncan/