Seeds planted at the first Nordic Fest: guest post from Rebecca Hanna

Rebecca Hanna and her sister Ruth at the first Nordic Fest in 1967

One of Vesterheim's many talented Gold Medalists from nearly 50 years of Folk Art Exhibitions is wood carver Rebecca Hanna. Here Rebecca recounts how a visit to the first Nordic Fest in 1967 helped plant the seeds of her own celebration of her Scandinavian heritage:

My parents, sister and I had taken a vacation to the east coast from our farm west of Forest City, Iowa in 1967. On our way back home, we drove through Decorah (when the highway went right through town - no bypass at that time). We noticed there was a Norwegian festival going on and since my mom was 100% Norwegian and my dad half, we decided to stay for a couple days. . On our way back home, we drove through Decorah (when the highway went right through town - no bypass at that time). We noticed there was a Norwegian festival going on and since my mom was 100% Norwegian and dad half, we decided to stay for a couple days. 

We had our pickup camper so camped down at the police station/city hall at that time. We ended up in the Decorah paper in a picture showing us entering a store.  We also had our photo taken with Norwegian rosemaler Sigmund Aarseth, who would one day be famous to all rosemalers in the US! I saw Sigmund every time he was here over the last years and when I first showed him the photo of he and I and my sister, he chuckled and said, “We’ve all changed a little since that time!” Who knew back in 1967 that I would end up living my life over here in Decorah and that I’d be so involved with Vesterheim! 

Thank you, Rebecca and all the incredibly talented artists from around the world who have joined with Vesterheim to make Nordic Fest one of the premier locations in the world for celebrating Norwegian folk art! 

The limited edition Nordic Fest 50th anniversary book is now available for pre-sale at 23% off its rate during Nordic Fest. Online presales are available through Monday, July 4, 2016.  It includes 22 chapters, great photos, a spot to record your favorite Nordic Fest memories and a DVD with movie footage from the first event in 1967. Reserve your piece of Nordic Fest history today: http://www.nordicfest.com/site/nordic-fest-50-book.html