Vesterheim Events Schedule

at the 42nd annual Decorah Nordic Fest

July 25-26, 2008

General Museum Information


Information booth outside the museum entrance
• Open 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., Friday and Saturday.

Vesterheim Museum’s main building, general exhibitions
Displays of both Norwegian and Norwegian-American furniture, woodcarving, rosemaling, bunader (festive costumes), 25-ft. ship TradeWind, silver, fine art, press gallery, church gallery, military gallery including the Civil War and World War II.
• Open 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., every day.
• Admission to the main building is $7.00 for adults, children ages 7-18 and seniors 65+ is $5.00.

Open Air Division, behind the museum’s main building
Immigrant homes, school, Norwegian home, and mill.
• Thursday and Sunday, the buildings may be toured with guides at 10:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m., and 2:30 p.m. Meet in museum lobby.
• Friday and Saturday, 12:00 - 4:00 p.m., the buildings are open to the public free of charge.

Museum Store, the museum’s main building
Museum store with sweaters, jewelry, folk art, cooking supplies, books, and more.
• Open 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., every day.

Folk-Art Supply Shop, Westby-Torgerson Education Center
Featuring books and supplies for rosemaling, woodworking, and other folk arts.
• Open 9:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday; 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. all other days.

Fladager Reference Library, Westby-Torgerson Education Center
• Open 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 - 5:00 p.m. on Friday, and 1:00 - 5:00 p.m. on Saturday.

99th Infantry Battalion (Separate) WWII Veterans

Welcome these Norwegian-American World War II veterans and their families to Nordic Fest. They will have maps and memorabilia, and will share stories and answer questions.
• In the Amdal-Odland Heritage Center, 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
• In the 99th Infantry Battalion gallery in the basement of the museum’s main building, 1:00 - 5:00 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

Kaffistova (Coffee Shop)

Lower level of the museum’s Bethania Lutheran Church, 113 N. Mill St.
Norsk lunches and delicacies á la carte, including varme pølser, ertersuppe (split pea soup), lefse, rømmegrøt, kringla, mandel-vannbakkel (almond puff), kaffe, tyttebær saft (lingonberry juice). Air-conditioned.
Open 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m., Friday and Saturday.

Special Exhibitions and Sales:

National Exhibition of Folk Art in the Norwegian Tradition
Westby-Torgerson Education Center, Hauge Gallery, 1st Floor
Annual exhibition of the finest American artists working in the Norwegian tradition.
Ribbons will be placed at 9:00 a.m. on Thursday. Pieces for sale by silent auction that concludes Saturday at 4:00 p.m. Visit the exhibition for details.
• Open Saturday, July 19, through Saturday, July 26, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

16th Annual Vesterheim Rosemaling Raffle
Westby-Torgerson Education Center, Hauge Gallery, 1st Floor
A plate hand-turned by Paul Loftness, carved by Becky Lusk, and rosemaled by Jean Simonson Giese. Tickets on sale in the Hauge Gallery and the museum stores.
• Drawing at 3:00 p.m. Saturday. Need not be present to win.

Folk-Art Sales - Westby-Torgerson Education Center, 3rd Floor
Ribbon-Winning Rosemalers Vesterheim Sales Shop, with Nisse Rosemalers, Postville, Iowa.
Odden’s Norsk Husflid, Milton and Jean Odden, Barronett, Wis.
Oneota Weavers and Spinners Guild, Decorah, Iowa.
• Open 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

Fire and Wood
Museum’s main building, 3rd floor
Explores the intersecting traditions of woodworking and metalworking.
• Open 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. daily.

Kubbestol: From Seating to Symbol
Museum’s main building, 3rd floor
Looks at the changing role of the Norwegian log chair, from utilitarian piece of furniture to icon of cultural identity.
• Open 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. daily.

Demonstrations and Displays:

Open 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., Friday and Saturday, unless otherwise noted.

Museum’s Main Building

Beatrice Hole and Floyd Foslien, Eden Prairie, Minn. • Psalmodikon • 1st Floor
Ingebjørg Monsen, Morvik, Norway • Weaving • 3rd Floor (Friday and Saturday 1:00-3:00 p.m.)
Oneota Weavers and Spinners Guild, Decorah • Weaving • 3rd Floor

Open Air Division and Museum Lawn

Norskedalen, Coon Valley, Wisconsin • Bunad Display
Carl Homstad, Decorah, Iowa • Woodcut Prints
Paul Loftness, Gibbon, Minn. • Wooden Plate and Bowl Turning
Jasper Bond, Sauk Rapids, Minn. • Pottery
John Drewes, Red Wing, Minn. • Leather Craft/Knifemaking
David Johnson, La Crescent, Minn. • Making Dovetailed Chests
Tom Latané, Pepin, Wis. • Timber Framing
Connie Peterson, Storden, Minn. • Flax Spinning
Norm Peterson, Storden, Minn. • Woodworking

Westby-Torgerson Education Center:

Woodworking Shop, 1st Floor
Richard Enstad, Eagan, Minn. • Ropemaking (periodically Friday and Saturday)

Woodworking Classroom, 1st Floor
Arve Mosand, Skreia, Norway • Dragon-style Woodcarving (Friday and Saturday 12:00-2:00 p.m.)
Fred Cogelow, Willmar, Minn. • Woodcarving (Friday only)
Hans Sandom, Minnetonka, Minn. • Acanthus Carving (Saturday only)
Becky Lusk, Coon Valley, Wis. • Figure Carving (Saturday only)
Harley Refsal, Decorah, Iowa • Figure Carving (Friday only)

Gold Medalists Classroom, 3rd Floor
Eli Sælid, Røn, Norway • Valdres-Style Rosemaling (Friday and Saturday 1:00-3:00 p.m.)
Jean Giese, DeSoto, Wis. • Telemark-Style Rosemaling (Friday 11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.)
Joanne MacVey, Blue Grass, Iowa • Telemark-Style Rosemaling (Friday 3:00-5:00 p.m.)
Lois Mueller, Platteville, Wis. • Rogaland-Style Rosemaling (Saturday 11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.)
Eldrid Arntzen, Watertown, Conn. • Telemark-Style Rosemaling (Saturday 3:00-5:00 p.m.)

Ethel Kvalheim Classroom, 3rd Floor
Else Bigton and Phillip Odden, Barronett, Wis. • Acanthus/Dragon-Style Carving
Gene and Lucy Tokheim, Dawson, Minn. • Ceramic Turning and Knifemaking

Performances

Canopy 4 - on Water St., on Water Street in the museum block

Sponsored in part by Decorah Sons of Norway Valdres Lodge #1-503.
Friday
1:00 p.m. My Norwegian Trunk of Memories Karen Teslow, Decorah. Stories and items from days gone by.
2:00 p.m. Johann Svensen and the News from the Old Country Peter Jorgensen, Decorah. Is Scandinavian humor an oxymoron? You might say it’s not after you hear Johann Svensen’s up-to-the-minute news from Denmark, Mexico and who knows where and the goings on with Lars, Anna Katrina, Mogens, Ole, Sven, and Lena.
3:00 p.m. Storytelling and Children’s Activities Sharon Rossman, Decorah, will read the Jan Brett book Trouble with Trolls.
Saturday
1:00 p.m. My Norwegian Trunk of Memories See above.
2:00 p.m. Johann Svensen and the News from the Old Country See above.
3:00 p.m. Storytelling and Children’s Activities See above.

Vesterheim’s Bethania Lutheran Church, 113 N. Mill St. (upper level)

Friday
3:00 p.m. Ordinary People, Extraordinary Art Theatre performance by young people inspired by stories of a handful of Norwegian Americans, untrained as artists, who were seized with the need to create and produced remarkable pieces of art. Presented by Vesterheim Museum and Upstart Crow Theatreworks, Decorah, Iowa.
Saturday
1:00 p.m. Scenes from Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler The Commonweal Theatre Company, Lanesboro, Minnesota. From their forthcoming 2009 production.
3:00 p.m. Ordinary People, Extraordinary Art See above.
3:45 p.m. Ordinary People, Extraordinary Art See above.
4:30 p.m. Ordinary People, Extraordinary Art See above.

United Methodist Church, 302 W. Broadway

Friday
1:00 p.m. The Inside Story of Outhouses Ron and Freda Nowland, La Crosse, Wis. A nostalgic look back at a little building familiar to previous generations. Humorous stories, historical facts, and pictures of many outhouse styles combine in this illustrated talk.
2:00 p.m. Timeless Tales of the Ancient Norse Dag Rossman, Decorah, Iowa. Norse myths and folklore put us in touch with the world of our ancestors and help us understand what they thought it meant to be human.
Saturday
1:00 p.m. The Inside Story of Outhouses See above.
2:00 p.m. Timeless Tales of the Ancient Norse See above.

 

Special event - Sunday, July 29

Vesterheim Museum Bethania Church

113 North Mill Street
10:30 - 11:30 a.m. Old-Time Gospel Hymn Sing with local old-time musicians. Free-will offering.

To learn more about other aspects of the fest, call the “troll-free” hotline at 1-800-382-FEST, or check out the Nordic Fest website at <www.nordicfest.com>.