What: Norway Day Festival 2008
Where: Herbst Pavilion at Fort Mason Centre in San Francisco
When: Friday May 2, 8 p.m till Sunday May 4, 4 p.m
Info and tickets: www.norwayday.org
Click here to read the Consul General's Festival Greeting
The Norway Day Festival is the largest Norway-only festival in the United States, showcasing the best of Norwegian culture, food and music. This is a family-friendly festival with live on-stage entertainment, cooking demonstrations, local vendors selling various Norwegian artefacts (food and culture) and much more. There are plenty of activities for kids as well, including sing-alongs, dancing, storytelling, and games.
Kick off with Arve Tellefsen
The festival kicks off Friday evening at Herbst Pavilion with none other than the world famous violinist Arve Tellefsen accompanied by pianist Sveinung Bjelland. Tellefsen has recently recorded Edvard Grieg's complete violin sonatas at Grieg’s home, Troldhaugen, and will perform pieces from Edvard Grieg's musical interpretation of Ibsen's Peer Gynt and works of Ole Bull.
Something for everyone
Saturday gets going early for those who want to get a fresh and sporty start on the day with the 10k Run For Arctic Awareness. The run traverses a scenic course along the San Francisco waterfront. The official opening speech will be held by the Norwegian ambassador to the US, Wegger Chr. Strommen, at 11 a.m. Saturday and Sunday have a large and varied program. During the day visitors can view live music and dance performances, photo and painting exhibitions, food demonstrations and eat different types of Norwegian food. The fashion show will present hip and interesting Norwegian clothing design by Moods of Norway and Astrid Sibbern.The festival again has a Genealogy a Heritage Centre which has Blaine Hedberg from the Norwegian-American Genealogical Centre to guide the visitors. He will present a series of helpful seminars on how the internet can be used for carrying out your genealogy research, both at the Norway Day Festival and when you return home. Kids can join the foot race inside the Pavilion and there’ll also be lively songs, crafts, snacks and entertainment inside. During the day the Barne Leikaring will be performing traditional Norwegian dances in the national dress, the Bunad.
Lars Lillo-Stenberg and The Young Neils in concert
As the sun sets over the Golden Gate Bridge the Scandilicious evening begins. An evening of fine cuisine, music and dance will highlight the culinary and musical elements of the 2008 Norway Day Festival. The night features the band The Young Neils at Herbst Pavilion. They are inspired by the music of Neil Young and include members from the well known Norwegian bands deLillos and CC Cowboys. They are highly experienced and well known entertainers back home and are absolutelyworth seeing. Before the concert four famous Norwegian cooks, who among others have worked for the Prince of Abu Dhabi and Kevin Costner, will demonstrate some fine cooking. After the concert DJ Finger will be spinning records into the wee hours. He currently works in some of the hottest clubs in LA, and produces a blend of hip-hop, R&B, rock, mashups, and classics of the 70's & 80's.
Beautiful historic surroundings
Many a Norwegian sailor has passed by Fort Mason on their way to the shores of San Francisco. Situated on 13 waterfront acres with a stunning view of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, Fort Mason Centre is a fascinating historic landmark and a lively, ever-changing reflection of the dynamic Bay Area community. The Centre, a model of military base conversion, befriends visitors from every walk of life, providing them with a unique opportunity to experience a diverse and eclectic mix of culture, education, and recreation in an exciting urban park environment.