The Scandinavian Festival is an annual four-day celebration of

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...

n heritage in

Junction City, Oregon Junction City is a city in Lane County, Oregon, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, it has a population of 6,747. The Junction City area is notable for its Scandinavian heritage, with the city's Scandinavian Festival attracting ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The small city of 6,052 people hosts more than 100,000 visitors each year. ''

Sunset Magazine ''Sunset'' is a lifestyle magazine in the United States. ''Sunset'' focuses on homes, cooking, gardening, and travel, with a focus almost exclusively on the Western United States. The magazine is published six times per year by the Sunset Publish ...

'' rates it one of the best in the U.S. for its emphasis on authenticity. The Oregon Heritage Tradition designation was awarded to the Scandinavian Festival in 2014.

History

The festival was started in 1961 by Dr. Gale Fletchall as a way to save a dying town. Downtown businesses were closing up, as the new

Interstate 5 Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels through the states of Califor ...

bypassed Junction City, diverting most of the traffic going through town on

Oregon Route 99 Oregon Route 99 is a state highway that runs between the southern border of Oregon, and the city of Junction City. Oregon Route 99 was formed from parts of the former U.S. Route 99; it shares much of its route with I-5, but much of it is also ...

. It was then that Fletchall began searching for a rallying point for community spirit. He thought a citywide celebration would be ideal, but he was stumped for a theme. He considered and discarded several possibilities before settling on the most obvious, a celebration of the city’s very real but very dormant Scandinavian heritage. He talked the idea over with older Danish-American residents, and then secured financial backing from the chamber of commerce in May 1961. The first community classes in Scandinavian dancing and singing were organized a few weeks later, and church and civic organizations were persuaded to operate food and craft booths. In August 1961 the first annual Scandinavian Festival opened in temporary booths in downtown Junction City. Fletchall expected perhaps 2,000 visitors; he got 25,000. Today it is one of Oregon's most popular events. No live festival was held in 2020, although most went virtual.

Activities

Since 1961, the city has attracted visitors nationally to the downtown area, which is transformed into an old world town for the occasion. Each day of the festival highlights a particular Scandinavian country—

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

, and

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. Costumed

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

s march down the street, authentic northern European puppet shows are traditionally themed, and colorful costumes are displayed in a fashion show. Storytellers and actors highlight

Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fairy tales, consisti ...

stories, folk dancers perform and instruct, and choral and instrumental groups perform traditional pieces. There are also language classes and the Scandia Run 10 km. Traditional Scandinavian food includes vandbakkelser (chocolate dipped yum puffs),

Æbleskiver Æbleskiver (, ingular: ''æbleskive'' are spherically-shaped Danish snacks made from fried batter. The name literally means "apple slices" in Danish, although apples are not usually an ingredient in present-day versions. The crust is similar in ...

, Swedish meatballs and

Lefse Lefse () is a traditional soft Norwegian flatbread. It is made with flour, can include riced potatoes, and includes butter, and milk, cream, or lard. It is cooked on a large, flat griddle. Special tools are used to prepare lefse, including a p ...

Booths

The festival hosts myriad different stalls, taking up the bulk of the festival space. Most are lined along either side of the street, but some are set up indoors to offer shelter to escape either the sun or rain. Food stalls are the most popular attraction to the festival. The Æbleskiver booth and the meat pie booth are particularly well-known, and are seldom seen without a large crowd. Other booths include handcrafts such as

Hardanger embroidery Hardanger embroidery or "Hardangersøm" is a form of embroidery traditionally worked with white thread on white even-weave linen or cloth, using counted thread and drawn thread work techniques. It is sometimes called whitework embroidery. Hist ...

bobbin lace Bobbin lace is a lace textile made by braiding and twisting lengths of thread, which are wound on bobbins to manage them. As the work progresses, the weaving is held in place with pins set in a lace pillow, the placement of the pins usually de ...

, tatted lace, and

Rosemaling Rose-painting, , or is a Scandinavian decorative folk painting that flourished from the 1700s to the mid-19th century, particularly in Norway. In Sweden, rose-painting began to be called , c. 1901, for the region where it had been most popular ...

are displayed and sold among paintings, needlework, and ceramics. Many handmade toys are displayed as well—puppets on strings, wooden swords, dolls, and others showcase toys from a bygone era that can still be enjoyed today. The featured stalls are expected to match the authentic Scandinavian theme of the festival. There have been incidences in which owners of certain stalls have gotten in trouble for not maintaining this theme. One year, a lemonade stand designed their booth to look like a large lemon. As soon as the festival committee discovered this, they were asked to change the booth to match the theme, leading to an awkward—and unsuccessful—attempt to camouflage the giant lemon behind traditional Scandinavian decorations.

References

{{Reflist, 2

External links

Scandinavian Festival
(official website)
Gale F. Fletchall Award
Tourist attractions in Lane County, Oregon Festivals in Oregon Scandinavia Cultural festivals in the United States Junction City, Oregon Danish-American culture in Oregon Finnish-American culture Norwegian-American culture in Oregon Swedish-American culture in Oregon 1961 establishments in Oregon Annual events in Oregon