SCHEDULE

Wednesday, June 21, 2000
10 am - 5 pm - Heritage Hjemkomst Interpretive Center
10 am - 4 pm - Smorbrod Lunch and Crafts Show, Sons of Norway
5:30-7:30 pm - Hands Across the Sea reception, Hjemkomst, reservations required
7:30 pm - Midsummer's Dance, Gooseberry Mound Park, Moorhead

Thursday, June 22, 2000
10 am - 5 pm - Heritage Hjemkomst Interpretive Center
10:00 am - Opening Ceremony - Icelandic National Anthem and other music
10:30 pm - The Huldufolk with Kathy Arnason, storyteller
11:00 am - Humorist Suzann Nelson
11:30 am - Hardanger Fiddle Music - Bud Larsen
1:00 pm - The Huldufolk with Kathy Arnason, storyteller
1:00 pm - Author Janice Stewart, "The Folk Arts of Norway"
2:00 pm - Icelandic Music Concert, Björg Karítas Bergmann & Ingibjörg Thorsteinsdóttir
3:00 pm - The Huldufolk with Kathy Arnason, storyteller
4:00 pm - Icelandic Songs - Sue Jacabson
5:00 pm - Festival closes for the day at Hjemkomst
7 pm - Festival Banquet, Concordia College, reservations required, cost $13.50, 1-218-299-3454

Friday, June 23, 2000
10 am - 5 pm - Heritage Hjemkomst Interpretive Center
10:00 am - Opening Ceremony - Icelandic National Anthem and other music
10:30 pm - The Huldufolk with Kathy Arnason, storyteller
11:00 pm - Nelson Gerrard lecture "Why They Left Iceland"
11:00 pm - Nordic Folk Dances, Kringen Youth Dancers
11:30 am - Humorist Suzann Nelson
12:00 noon - Author Janice Stewart, "The Folk Arts of Norway"
1 pm - Folk Costume Style Show
1:00 pm - The Huldufolk with Kathy Arnason, storyteller
2:15 pm - Icelandic Music Concert, Björg Karítas Bergmann & Ingibjörg Thorsteinsdóttir
3:00 pm - The Huldufolk with Kathy Arnason, storyteller
3:00 pm - Nelson Gerrard lecture "The Search for New Iceland"
4 pm - Norswedane Dancers
5:00 pm - Festival closes for the day at Hjemkomst
5:30-7:30 pm - Kringen Lodge Turkey Dinner, Sons of Norway - reservations required, cost $9.50
8 pm-11pm - Fargo's Festival Dance, El Zagel Hall, Fargo
8-12 pm - St Hans Crowning and Dance, Sons of Norway

Saturday, June 24, 2000
10 am - 5 pm - Trollwood Park
10 am - 5 pm - Heritage Hjemkomst Interpretive Center, admission charge: adults $3, Seniors and Juniors $1.50, children under age 4 free
Schedule at Trollwood
11:00 am - H & V Melodies
12 noon - Scandinavian Flags Parade
12:30 pm - Maypole Dance, Claudia Pratt & H&V Melodies
1:00 pm - H&V Melodies
2:00 pm - Sue Jacobson, Icelandic music
2:30 pm - Scandinavian Music, Melinda Brobeck
3:00 pm - Reindeer from Red River Zoo
4:00 pm - Sue Jacobson, Icelandic music

Sunday, June 25, 2000
10 am - 5 pm - Trollwood Park
10 am - 5 pm - Heritage Hjemkomst Interpretive Center, admission charge: adults $3, Seniors and Juniors $1.50, children under age 4 free
Schedule at Trollwood
11:00 am - Scandinavian Church Service
12 noon - Scandinavian Flags Parade
12:30 pm - Maypole Dance, Claudia Pratt & H&V Melodies
1:00 pm - Sue Jacobson, Icelandic music
2:30 pm - Sue Jacobson, Icelandic music
3:00 pm - H&V Melodies

Björg Karítas Bergmann & Ingibjörg Thorsteinsdóttir (also see main festival page)
Both professional musicians from Iceland, Björg Karítas Bergmann, the soloist, and Ingibjörg Thorsteinsdóttir, the pianist, will be performing traditional, popular, and sacred Icelandic music. Selections include the extremely popular "Maístjarnan" [May Star], from a poem by the Nobel prize winner Halldór Kiljan Laxness and his "Barnagæla frá nya Íslandi" [Lullaby from New Iceland] which draws a heartbreaking picture of the difficulties the Icelandic immigrants faced in their new colony on the west shore of Lake Winnipeg [in Manitoba] in the mid 1870s. "Á Sprengisandi", a poem by Grímur Thomsen that everyone knows from earliest childhood, is about farmers collecting sheep in the mountains of Iceland in desperate fear of darkness and outlaws. When Grímur Thomsen was a young student in Copenhagen, Denmark, he met a young Danish lady who became his secret lover. She wrote a poem in her native Danish tongue, "Jeg elsker dig" [I love you] and the music, composed by Jón Thórarinsson, has made it one of the most beautiful and touching lovesongs in the repertoire of Icelandic music.
A special treat will be "Sunshine in Dakota" from a poem by KN Júlíus (Kristján Níels Jónsson Júlíus, an early settler in the Mountain, ND, area). KN (Kauenn) was a laborer in the community - farm worker, grave digger, general handyman - but had a gift for poetry and is today considered one of the greatest kimniskalds (satiric poets). The music was composed for last year's 100th 2nd of August celebration in the Icelandic community of northeast North Dakota, being first performed in Vikur Church in Mountain. The composer, Hildigunnur Rúnarsdóttir, who originally wrote it for voice and strings, has adapted it for piano and voice for this festival.
There will also be religious music, so important to the Icelandic traditions, and the Icelandic national anthem "Lofsöngur" (song of praise), commonly called "Ó, Gud vors lands", among the most musically moving of all anthems and, to Icelanders, a sacred aria.
Short performances Wednesday evening at the Hands Across the Sea reception at the Hjemkomst (reservations required) and Thursday evening at the Festival Banquet at Concordia College (reservations required, cost $13.50). Regular performances Thursday at 2 pm and Friday at 2:15 pm at the Hjemkomst.
Their attendance at the festival is made possible by the kind cooperation of Icelandair.

Kathy Arnason and the Huldufolk (also see main festival page)
A story teller and published author of 3 children's books, 2 dealing with the Huldufolk, Kathy has spent the last 7 years delivering writing workshops to children throughout Manitoba schools. She recently returned from visiting 12 schools in Ottawa and is presently editing her book of poetry and writing a screen play for a feature film.
Kathy works as a researcher for Senator Janis Johnson, dividing her time between Ottawa and Gimli and owns her own consulting company known as "Saga Lane Consulting and Productions". She is a facilitator, lobbyist, fund-raiser, and creative consultant for special projects and events.
Kathy and the Huldufolk will be telling stories on both Thursday and Friday at 10:30 am, 1 pm, and 3 pm at the Hjemkomst.

Nelson Gerrard (also see main festival page)
A noted historian and genealogist, Nelson Gerrard, present give two lectures on Friday dealing with the history of the Icelandic settlements in North America. The first, "Why They Left Iceland" (11 am), will deal with the conditions in Iceland and some of the history which led up to the massive emigration starting in the early 1870s and the second, "The Search for New Iceland" (3 pm), deals with the early immigration period and the Icelanders' quest for their own 'colony' in Canada.

Sue Jacobson
A professional artist and instructor from Bottineau, North Dakota, and a descendent of pioneer Icelandic settlers in northeast North Dakota, Sue Jacobson will be performing traditional Icelandic songs. These include the Icelandic national anthem at the opening of the festival each day and many others, including folksongs and lullabies, during scheduled performances (Thursday at 10 am & 4 pm; Friday at 10 am; Saturday at 2 pm & 4 pm; and Sunday at 1 pm and 2:30 pm).

Scandinavian Story Tellers
In addition to learning about the Icelandic Huldufolk, be sure to visit the Swedish and Norwegian story booths. Thelma Paulson will be telling stories about the Norwegian "Nissen" in the same booth displaying her "Nissen" dolls. And the Swedish storyteller Mary Fuxa will be presenting "Pinkel", a folk/fairy tale at the Swedish storytelling booth (Thursday at 11 am, 1 pm, and 3 pm; Friday at 10:30 am, 12:30 pm, and 2:30 pm).

Suzann Nelson
Suzann Nelson, the noted humorist, author, and lecturer, will give talks about her misadventures while creating, with her partner in humor, Janet Letnes Martin, such classics as "They Glorified Mary, We Glorified Rice", "They Had Stores, We Had Chores", "Cream Peas On Toast", and their latest, a compendium of phrases we heard growing up, "Is It Too Windy Back There, Then?". Also visit the 100% Norwegian-Lutheran Suzann at her booth during the festival.

Kringen Youth Dancers
The Sons of Norway Kringen Youth Club cultural program includes training in traditional Norwegian folk dancing. Several of the members, from age 5 to 15, have formed the Kringen Youth Dancers, and will be performing during the Festival. Schedule tbd.

Norswedane Dancers - Scandinavian Folk Dancers
This newly formed group will perform traditional Scandinavian (NORwegian, SWEdish, and DANE) dances (such as the kjore vatten, mat vise, sex mans ril, and attetur fra asker) wearing traditional folk costumes. Scheduled performance is June 23 at 4 pm.