The Nordic Culture Clubs is a nonprofit alliance of the six Scandinavian clubs in Fargo-Moorhead with a mission to preserve, celebrate and perpetuate Nordic Cultures.

Description:
The Nordic Culture Clubs consist of the six local Scandinavian clubs act as partners and hosts to the Festival including the Red River Danes, Red River Finns, F-M Icelandic Klub, Sons of Norway Kringen Lodge #25, Swedish Cultural Heritage Society of the Red River Valley and Saami Circle.

The organization hosts events throughout the year including the Scandinavian Hjemkomst Festival which is held the last full weekend in June each year. The 31st Annual Festival is scheduled June 27-29, 2008 at the Hjemkomst Center, 202 First Avenue North, Moorhead, MN, with special events held throughout the Fargo-Moorhead.

The Nordic Culture Clubs operates independently of the Hjemkomst Center and the Heritage Hjemkomst Interpretive Center.

History:
The Fargo-Moorhead Scandinavian Hjemkomst Festival has its roots in a Norwegian Bazaar at First Lutheran Church and a weekend celebration of Norwegian culture at Trollwood Fine Arts Park located in north Fargo. The Trollwood event continued to grow as the Festival moved into Downtown Fargo and Moorhead with mini-festivals hosted by banks and businesses. In addition to featuring Norwegian cultural traditions, the Festival expanded to include traditions of the five Scandinavian countries as local Icelandic (1979), Finnish (1983), Swedish (1988), Danish (1990) and Saami (2005) groups joined the Festival. The Festival now makes its home at the Hjemkomst Center with events occurring throughout the community.

One of America’s premier celebrations of Nordic heritage, the Scandinavian Hjemkomst Festival has been awarded several honors over the years. The annual Festival is attended by thousands of visitors, representing $1 million in direct spending in the Fargo-Moorhead metro area.

While the Fargo, Moorhead and surrounding communities are becoming more and more diverse; many of the early immigrants to the Red River Valley had roots in Scandinavia. At the turn of the 20th Century, one-half of Minnesota’s population was of Scandinavian birth or descendants of Scandinavians; and in North Dakota one-third of the population was, and remains today, of Scandinavian birth or descendants of Scandinavians. The 2000 US Census revealed that about 50% of people living in Cass and Clay counties claim Nordic heritage.

The Scandinavian Hjemkomst Festival continues to be a celebratory and educational event that connects thousands of people in the Red River Valley and beyond!

Contact people:

Ann Overby, Administrative Assistant, (218) 299-5452, (email) Anna Marie Johnson, Volunteer Coordinator, (701) 232-2915 Janice Tommerdahl, Volunteer Coordinator, (218) 861-6655

Office fax number: (218) 299-5451

Address:

PO Box 926 Fargo, ND 58107

Web Site: http://www.ScandinavianHjemkomstFestival.org