Festivals & Heritage

The American Scandinavian Society invites members and friends to “Welcoming Spring” on Sunday May 5, on board “The Destiny” where the Annual Scandinavian Luncheon is held. Please also join the luncheon in commemorating May 5th, as the day when Denmark and Norway were liberated by the USA and its Western Allies in 1945. Read more

From July 26 through August 3, Oslo will be filled with aspiring soccer players. Last year more than 1,600 teams played in the tournament. This year your team can join. Read more

Through the EEA and Norway Grants, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway support efforts to com-batting anti-Semitism and protecting Jewish Cultural Heritage in Europe. Cultural dialogue and under-standing is increasingly important in multicultural Europe. It creates awareness of cultural diversity and strengthens citizens’ cultural identity. It shows us what can be achieved when cultures meet and... Read more

His Excellency Ambassador Wegger Chr. Strømmen of the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Washington, D.C. has the honor to announce that the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit will be conferred on President Richard Torgerson of Luther College. President Torgerson will be awarded the Order by Norwegian Honorary Consul Quentin Boyken on behalf of His Majesty King Harald V of Norway as part of the program of... Read more

On June 11, 1913 all Norwegian women gained the right to vote, and so this year we are celebrating the 100th anniversary of true democracy in Norway. Read more

Norsk Høstfest, North America’s largest Scandinavian Festival is a four-day and five-night event in Minot, North Dakota. The Festival is celebrating Scandinavian heritage from Iceland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland. The 36th annual Norsk Høstfest festival will be held from October 1-5, 2013, and kicks off Tuesday night at 5 PM (Oct. 1) with opening ceremonies and an evening concert. After... Read more

On March 16, nearly 400 civilian first responders, community members and members of the Maryland National Guard together with other service members gathered in LaPlata, Md. with members of the Norwegian Military Attache’s Office to participate in an event styled after a Norwegian military tradition known as the Norwegian Challenge. The event, dubbed “The Norwegian Challenge: Maryland Army... Read more

Every year, the Embassy “adopts” a class at a Washington, D.C. elementary school and teaches it about Norway. This year, a class from Stoddert Elementary School is the lucky one. Recently they got to experience the Kennedy Center, with all its history and Nordic Cool exhibits. Read more

Friends of Scandinavia will meet at St Giles Presbyterian Church, 5101 Oak Park Rd, Raleigh, NC 27609,  Saturday, March 16 at 7:15pm. Program: Susan Dahlin Bashford,  will present: “A Norwegian Legacy” – her Norwegian heritage, her TV Channel 5 experience, and her ensuing career as an accomplished artist. All are welcome and there is no charge.  Refreshments served. Contact: (919) 8 Read more

The Norwegian ambassador speaks very warmly about the organization Ski for Light. This organization works towards enhancing the quality of life and independence of visually impaired adults through cross country skiing. Ambassador Strommen participated at their Ski for Light International that was held the last week of January in Traverce City, Michigan. He himself has only one functioning eye a... Read more

DEADLINE EXTENDED. SEE BELOW. The Ibsen Scholarships award innovative projects in the field of drama and performing arts and projects that act as incentives for critical discourse in regards to existential and society-related subject matters concerning Henrik Ibsen and his plays. Read more

Photo: NTB Scanpix.

Embrace Winter is a celebration of the arts & cultural heritage in the Bay Ridge area of Brooklyn. Music, dance, history, games, arts and crafts will be some of the attractions shown off in the area along Third Avenue between 69th & 75th street. The event is happening on Saturday, February 9th between 12 AM and 5 PM. Read more

The International Summer School (ISS) at The University of Oslo offers intensive Master's and Bachelor's courses over six weeks. They welcome more than 550 students from nearly 100 countries from late June to early August. Read more

Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum announces the opening of “Childhood,” a new exhibition about the lives of nineteenth- and early twentieth-century children. Read more

On Sunday October 14, almost 6,000 runners galloped around Central Park in memory of one of the New York Marathon’s greatest champions, the late Grete Waitz. The event was also in support of the AKTIV Foundation, which aims to prevent and aid in the treatment of cancer. Read more

Photo: Guri Dahl / tinagent.com  .

Roughly 500 years before Columbus sailed the ocean blue, Leif Erikson, it is widely believed, became the first European to set foot on North America. Every year since 1964, the U.S. president has declared October 9 "Leif Erikson Day" in honor of the feat. Read more

The Festival is free of charge. Open to the public, this one-day, interactive, educational event is brought to you by some of the many Embassies in Washington D.C. Norway joins over 20 Embassies with educational booths that highlight our countries’ rich cultural heritage through children-focused activities, food, and information. Read more

On the Oceanfront Boardwalk in the coastal city of Virginia Beach stands the “Norwegian Lady,” gazing out to sea. On the other side of the Atlantic, in the Norwegian city of Moss, stands an exact replica of the nine-foot bronze statue, looking right back at her sister. They commemorate the lives lost in the 1891 shipwreck of the Norwegian bark Dictator off Virginia Beach and the lifesaving... Read more

Embassy staff in Norwegian Hardanger Bunad. 
Photo: The Norwegian Embassy.

With national costumes, arts and crafts and traditional raisin buns the Norwegian Embassy participated in the 2011 International Children's Festival at the Meridien International Center in Washington DC, May 21. Read more

International Women's Day logo. 
Photo: International Women's Day.

International Women’s Day (March 8) is a global day celebrating the economic, political and social achievements of women past, present and future. It has been observed since the early 1900s, a time of great expansion and turbulence in the industrialized world that saw booming population growth and the rise of radical ideologies, when oppression and inequality spurred women to become more vocal... Read more