Hand Me Down the Fiddle Exhibit Opens

The exhibit Hand Me Down the Fiddle: Norwegian Fiddlers, Fiddles, and Fiddle Tunes in the Upper Midwest Exhibit opens August 15, 2024. Who were Ole Bull, Ole Hendricks, Johan Arndt Mostad, Thea Arndt Clark, Bill Sherburne, Arnold Munkel, Ellen Blagen, LeRoy Larson, and Elmo Wick? Find out about these Norwegian and Norwegian-American fiddlers, as well...

The Norwegian Character of Norwegian Mangle Boards Webinar

The host of this webinar is Jay Raymond, author of the book Mangle Boards of Northern Europe, which displays and describes the mangle boards of seven European countries. The mangle boards of Norway present a unique challenge to describe in that they borrow from the styles of the other six countries and, yet, maintain characteristics all their...

A Dying Norway – in a Living America? Exhibit Opens

A Dying Norway – in a Living America? Exhibit Opens on November 8, 2024. This exhibit of documentary photographs by Lars Idar Waage is a portrait of Stavanger, Illinois, by someone from 6,000 miles away in Stavanger, Norway. The tiny town of Stavanger, Illinois, in LaSalle County, is the location of the first permanent settlement...

November Bokprat: Sagas of Luther College

Dr. Maren Johnson, Luther College's Associate Professor of Nordic Studies and Torgerson Center for Nordic Studies Director, facilitates a regular bokprat (book group), discussing Scandinavian authors and Scandinavian life. The November bokprat features Sagas of Luther College: Norwegian and Lutheran Identities Past, Present, and Future, edited by Dr. Maren Anderson Johnson and Rachel Faldet. Sagas...

200 Years of Norwegians in America Exhibit Opens

The ship Restauration set sail for America from Stavanger, Norway, on July 4, 1825, with 52 Norwegians aboard. To commemorate this bicentennial anniversary, Vesterheim presents a special exhibition focusing on Norwegian emigration, by featuring important objects, photographs, themes, and stories from 200 years of Norwegians in America. Even small objects can tell larger stories. A simple, pressed...

200 Years of Norwegians in America Gallery Talk

Everyone is invited to join Vesterheim and Luther College students for a free gallery talk about this new exhibit commemorating 200 years of Norwegian emigration! The ship Restauration set sail for America from Stavanger, Norway, on July 4, 1825, with 52 Norwegians aboard. To commemorate this bicentennial anniversary, Vesterheim presents this special exhibition focusing on Norwegian emigration,...

January Bokprat: The End of Drum-Time by Hanna Pylväinen

Dr. Maren Johnson, Luther College's Associate Professor of Nordic Studies and Torgerson Center for Nordic Studies Director, facilitates a monthly bokprat, discussing Scandinavian authors and Scandinavian life. Join us in January for a discussion of The End of Drum-Time by Hanna Pylväinen. In 1851, at a remote village in the Scandinavian tundra, a Lutheran minister...

Leading with Our Hearts: Conversation with Exhibit Artists

Join us online with the artists of Leading With Our Hearts: Nordic, Sami, and Ojibwe Designs from Nature!  Alison Aune, Chi Ma’iingan, Laurel Sanders, Wendy Savage, and Marlene Wisuri will talk about the contributions to the exhibit and the cultural and ancestral roots of their work in textiles, wood, and paint. Register for a link...

Barneløpet

Get outside and enjoy the winter at the annual Barneløpet, a non-competitive ski or walk event for the community’s youngest skiers, ages 3-13. The collaborative Vesterheim Museum and Sons of Norway event will be held at the Decorah Community Prairie at 10:00 a.m., with registration beginning at 9:30 a.m. Skiers must provide their own skis.

Cultural Connections: Norwegian Sweaters Webinar

Join us for Vesterheim's series of cross-cultural webinars exploring stranded colorwork in knitting from multiple cultural perspectives. Cultural Connections: Norwegian Sweaters is the first in the series and is led by the celebrated Norwegian author and knitting designer Nina Granlund Saether. The cross-cultural series webinars will foster perspective about the way Norwegian and Scandinavian handcrafts...