It Comes with Being Part of the Community: A First Nordic Fest Memory

Lila and Marion Nelson

Photo courtesy  Vesterheim, used with permission,  taken circa 1991

Recently, Lila Nelson agreed to be interviewed for the #nordicfest50 project. For a brief overview of Lila's many contributions to Vesterheim and Nordic Fest, click here. 

Lila shared a particularly neat story about the first Nordic Fest, shared here in her own words: 

"One of the things that delighted me so was that it was important for Marion not only that the Museum have a good showing, but when there was street activity - street dancing, he felt it was very important that we had to be out there taking part in that.

I can remember that when they started the music in the evening in the streets. At first, no one was going out and dancing. Marion said, 'Alright, we have to get out there and dance!' 

Well, that was the last thing I wanted to do, because I am just not the kind of person who likes to go out there. But we did it! I can remember starting to dance and the bands kind of picking it up. Pretty soon, the street dancing was just delightful. Everyone was doing it."

Lila reports that first Nordic Fest dance she and Marion helped get started was a fast waltz. 

Thank you, Lila and Marion for your many contributions to getting Nordic Fest started, including that first street dance! 

A Nordic Fest Salute to Lila Nelson

Photo courtesy: Holm Collection, Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum Archives, Decorah, Iowa, used with permission 

One primary resource for the #nordicfest50 project is the handmade book assembled for entering Nordic Fest into the State and National Jaycee Project of the Year contests in 1968. The book includes many Decorah Newspapers articles published before and after the first Nordic Fest in 1967. 

Throughout those articles, the name of Lila Nelson appears frequently as a dedicated, passionate organizer. Lila's late husband, Marion Nelson was the first executive director of an independent Vesterheim and a Nordic Fest founder. The news accounts of that first year make it clear that Marion had a tireless and equally passionate Norwegian heritage and Nordic Fest work partner in Lila.

Among her many contributions, Lila served as Vesterheim's first textile curator for a total of 27 years. She also served as Vesterheim registrar and was very active with the museum's folk art education program. Together, Lila and Marion cataloged and started conservation of 16,000 Vesterheim artifacts. 

In 2000, the Norwegian government bestowed upon Lila the prestigious St. Olaf's Medal in recognition of the worldwide impact of her preservation efforts and contemporary revival of traditional Norwegian textile arts, especially weaving, as she demonstrates in the above photo. The Lila Nelson Weaving Classroom at Vesterheim also recognizes her incredible dedication. Many of her weavings now grace the Vesterheim collection. 

As thousands prepare to gather in Decorah later this week for the 48th Nordic Fest, it is the perfect time to salute Lila for being such a critical part of bringing together the first Nordic Fest and perpetuating its success. Thank you, Lila! 

Nordic Fest: Many Parts of the Story

The above photo is from the front of the 1967 Nordic Fest program. In nearly 50 years, there have been many parts of the Nordic Fest story that have added substantially to the overall outstanding guest experience. Some of those story parts over the years include:

• Church dinners 
• Entertainers from Norway and other Nordic countries 
• Fishing fly-ins 
• Food booths throughout Water Street with tasty Nordic treats 
• Home tours of historic Decorah properties 
• Lutefisk eating contest
• Nordic Dancers 
• Nordic Fest medals, as first designed by Grant Woldum
• Nordic Rock Throw
• Pokey Pete 
• Luren Singers 
• Trollheim: Tur til fots
• Vesterheim Folk Art Exhibitions 

This list only begins to scratch the surface of specific memories made over nearly 50 years of Nordic Fests. What are some of your favorite parts of the story? Use the comments field below to add your ideas. 

On Syttende Mai, a Salute to Vesterheim

Today marks the 200th Norwegian Constitution Day, also known as Syttende Mai. For more information on the Bicentennial celebrations in Norway, click here. 

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!