Vesterheim presents this concert with My Favorite Folk! Check back for a link to the livestream. Following four transatlantic tours with the acclaimed Swedish quintet Jaerv, American duo The OK Factor’s cellist Olivia Diercks and violinist Karla Colahan announce an exciting new collaboration. Teaming up with Jaerv's own Markus Gustavsson (fiddle/vocals) and Harald Nilsson (guitar/vocals),...

Enjoy a Foot-Notes dance in Vesterheim Commons! You're in for a treat with this fantastic Decorah-area Scandinavian dance band. You can sit back and tap your toes to the music or join in on the dance floor. There will waltzes and two-steps, plus group dances and lots of community fun. Current band members include Beth...

Join celebrated Norwegian storyteller Johan Einar Bjerkem to hear folktales and sing some songs from Norway – we will meet trolls, princesses, and maybe even the character Askeladden! Bjerkem will also share the history about the stories and tales he tells. Registration for this free class is required. Sign up here.

Dr. Maren Johnson, Luther College’s Associate Professor of Nordic Studies and Torgerson Center for Nordic Studies Director, facilitates a regular bokprat, discussing Scandinavian authors and Scandinavian life. The May bokprat features The Lazarus Solution by Kjell Oda Dahl. Summer, 1943. When a courier for Sweden's Press and Military Office is killed on his final mission,...

The Norwegian-American artist, Herbjørn Gausta, has long been a favorite for fans of Vesterheim and Midwesterners of Norwegian ancestry. Last spring we offered two day trips to explore Gausta’s life and art in the actual places he lived, studied, and worked These tours were so popular that we needed to add a third day trip...

For a long time, the only aquavit an American could get was imported from either Denmark, Norway, or Sweden. In the mid 2000s, there was a surge of American distillers who began making the classic Scandinavian spirit for the American market. With this new batch of distillers came a new outlook of how aquavit could be enjoyed. No longer limited to...

Learn about the "Black Fiddle" with Paul Sveinall before a performance on it by Nina Byttingsmyr. Søren Fleskåsen, called Reve-Søren, was a well-known fiddler from Vest-Agder, Norway. He made a fiddle but dyed it a dark color to disguise its inferior quality. He used it as a loaner instrument, mostly to fiddlers who were going...