One of the largest Nordic festivals in the western United States will returns to California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks on Saturday and Sunday, April 18 and 19.
The 41st Scandinavian Festival will celebrate the cultures of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden and the Saami people from the Arctic regions of Scandinavia.
The festival will run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. with music, dancing, food, lectures, demonstrations, vendors and activities for people of all ages.
BUY TICKETS NOW: Admission is free for children under 13 , $4 for teens and $8 for adults.
SCHEDULE
The festival will run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. with music, dancing, food, lectures, demonstrations, vendors and activities for people of all ages.
BUY TICKETS NOW: Admission is free for children under 13 , $4 for teens and $8 for adults.
This year's festival has a Children's Theater, performances by community children's groups, and a puppet show of the Hans Christian Andersen story "The Nightingale." In the second Sven and Ole Olympics at the 41-year-old festival, kids compete for medals in events including a relay, a three-legged race and a troll trot. Crafts for children will include sanding butter knives and decorating head wreaths.
Festival goers can try their hand at Dala horse croquet, play an ancient Viking game called kubb and visit a Saami sliddastallan, or community gathering. Other highlights include an authentic Viking Village, food booths with open face sandwiches, Viking dogs, lefse and aebleskivers, and a Nordic church service at 1:30 p.m. Sunday in Samuelson Chapel.
Performers include acclaimed storytellers Stina Fagertun of Norway and Robert Seutter, aka True Thomas, the musician and entertainer Ross Sutter, Swedish pianist and humorist Magnus Mårtensson, Norwegian folk singer Ann-Marita, singers Aleta and Sonya Buckelew, the ABBA Girlz Band from New York, and CLU student musicians in a strings concert.
SCHEDULE
Last year’s Scanfest was the most successful ever with a record 8,000 attendees at the two-day event. This year, visitors will watch 150 performers, weave 3,700 flowers and three miles of ribbon through 750 head wreaths, and sand 700 Swedish butter knives with help from 200 volunteers.
Children can travel through Scandinavia by earning passport stamps for each craft they make linked to the culture of the five different countries. The popular Children's Theater will feature a puppet show, acclaimed storytellers Stina Fagertun of Norway and Robert Seutter, aka True Thomas, and musician Ross Sutter.
Healthy Scandinavian food specialties will include open-face sandwiches, fish tacos and vegetarian Norwegian stew. Traditional favorites including Swedish meatballs, Viking dogs and Danish aebleskivers will also be available.
Festivalgoers can try their hand at Dala horse croquet, play an ancient Viking game called kubb, return to the days of the Vikings at an authentic village staged by the Ravens of Odin and visit a Saami camp.
The Scandinavian American Cultural and Historical Foundation is sponsoring the event. Cal Lutheran is located at the corner of Olsen Road and Mountclef Boulevard in Thousand Oaks.
