SONS OF NORWAY VALHALLA LODGE #4-341, Calgary, AB, Canada

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1 VOL NO. 4 SONS OF NORWAY VALHALLA LODGE #4-341, Calgary, AB, Canada FLYGEBLAD e- mail: valhalla4341@telus.net Ord fra Presidenten Hei alle: Alison and I are back from the District Convention in Helena. I want to address a few areas that could arise at July - August In this issue Ord fra Presidenten...1 Helena convention...2 Summer camps...3 Other summer activities...3 Scandinavian achievements...4 Sports weekend...5 Folkdance workshop...5 Good news...5 the upcoming International Convention in Tacoma in August. I will be a delegate to that convention. Delegates to International must be elected at the District convention and must have valid Sons of Norway insurance. Earlier this year we had some discussions about potential redistricting (changing the boundaries of districts). I asked for input from Zone 4 (Alberta and Saskatchewan) as to their thoughts. Most expressed a desire to stay as we are. At the Tacoma convention it is expected that redistricting will be discussed. A motion will be brought forward to allow any lodge in a district that wishes to move to another district to petition both districts for such a move. In other words, if any lodge wished to move to another district, there will be a way to do that. Another issue that will be brought forward is to review the dues we pay each year. At present, each lodge in Sons of Norway has a different fee. The proposed change would mean every lodge would have the same dues structure. The new structure would be $60 for each member or $90 for a couple. The breakdown is that $32 goes to International, $14 to the district and $14 to the local lodge. This would help out the District and the local lodge significantly and would mean that all members would pay the same dues. But it means a big jump to each member. There would be some changes to other categories as well, but I do not have that information at this time. For anyone in Zone 4 who is reading this and has questions or comments on any of these issues or any other items that could possibly be raised at the Tacoma convention, please contact me before August 17 so I can make sure your voices can be heard. Ha det bra, Russ NOTE: All dues are quoted in US $. Do you want to enter the International folk arts competition? Preregistration is due by August 5 th. To access the materials packet describing rules and procedures for entering your work, go to sofn.com, then to Home> International Convention> International Lodge Meeting> International Folk Art Competition. You are welcome to contact Alison at awiigs@telus.net or for assistance in transporting small items to the competition. Congratulations to Sonja Minchau and Sonja Rieder, who won first and third ribbons respectively for their Hardanger embroidery entries in the Helena competition. 1

2 Helena Convention Russ, Ron Reine, and I attended the District Convention in Helena June The Radisson Colonial hotel proved to be an excellent convention facility. We heard a lot of good music- - a unique tuba band played during lunch one day, three young siblings playing violin and guitar charmed the audience at the President s reception, and the Saturday evening band got people dancing. The tour train and Saturday banquet speaker provided opportunities to learn about Helena s history. Did you know that placer gold discoveries were the basis of Helena s development? The tour train took us past many of the mansions built in the late 1800s for the gold millionaires of the time. The Saturday afternoon sessions were first- rate. Weavers from Helena demonstrated two kinds of spinning and many types of weaving. Hands- on opportunities abounded. I watched people in the metalwork class make garden stands/hooks from rebar, using a makeshift forge in the hotel parking lot. The kolrosing class proved enjoyable. And many people chose the networking session, covering topics such as navigating the Head Office web pages. There being no resolutions to consider at this convention, the main business was reports on the last biennium, information about issues coming before the International Convention, and elections. Here are the members of the District IV Board for : President: Nordy Riley (Missoula) *Vice- President: Secretary: Ruth Olson (Bismarck) Treasurer: Marilyn Martinson (Fargo) Publicity: Flo Kallenbach (Maddock) International Director: Steve Halverson (Fargo) Directors (term ): Zone 1: Kathy Daeley (Maddock) *Zone 5: Zone 6: John Knudsen (Missoula) Continuing Directors (term ends 2018): Zone 2: Vonnie Anderson (Fargo) Zone 3: Erling Olson (Bismarck) Zone 4: Alison Wiigs (Calgary) *No candidates were presented for these positions, so Russ Wiigs continues as Vice- President and Becky Lewis as Zone 5 Director until the new Board selects their replacements. 2

3 Summer Camps Summer Bible Day Camp 2016 for children ages 4-12 years. July 18th - 22nd - 8:30 to 4:30 p.m. daily at the Danish Lutheran Church th Avenue, NE Cost: $25 for first child in a family, $15 for each additional child in the family. For single day or drop in: $10 per day and $5 for each additional child in the family. Bible stories, science experiments, music, games, crafts. Possible outing to Heritage Park. Bring your own lunch. Two snacks provided daily. To register: Church Office: or danishlutheranchurch@gmail.com Pastor Charlotte: or charlotteberg1@gmail.com Registration deadline is June 30. Three different culture camps are offered in western Canada. Trollhaugen Family Camp Theme: Christmas in Norway, August 7-13, Alix AB. Info and registration forms at Still room available, but please sign up right away. Brubyen Lodge Culture Camp, July Contact: Diane Berg edberg@sasktel.net District 7 Heritage Family Camp, Hatzic BC, August 3-7. Info and registration at Other Summer Activities Scan Centre Pancake Breakfast Saturday July 9, 8-11 a.m., with the Hi- Land Square Dancers Aspelund Sons of Norway Campout at Westling Hall, Clive. July 15, 16, 17 July 15 beef on a bun (lodge), salads/desserts etc. potluck Pancake breakfast Sat and Sun (Lodge). Donation only. Everyone welcome. Fjord horse event and Western BBQ, Sunday July 24, 11 a.m. 4 p.m. For more information and to buy tickets online go to: horses.eventbrite.ca Or buy tickets in person at the Scan Centre Office (limited summer hours, phone ) Friday, August 5 at 6:30 p.m., hear Laura Ellestad on Hardanger fiddle and Magnus Wiik on guitar, at the Laft Hus in Red Deer. If you heard them play in Calgary in December, you won t want to miss this opportunity. And if you didn t hear them then, this is a second chance! Trochu Arboretum and lunch outing, August 20. Watch for further announcements. 3

4 Scandinavian Achievements Films: Director Aslaug Holm's Brothers took the top jury prize at the 2016 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Film Festival. Holm's film seemingly a documentary version of Richard Linklater's Boyhood, about two brothers, Lukas and Markus, whose growth over eight years from toddlers to teenagers is captured by their filmmaker mother earned the fest's best international feature documentary prize and $10,000. And the best mid- length documentary prize was awarded to another Norwegian film, The Button, a doc by Paul S. Refsdal about two al- Qaeda suicide bombers in Syria. (Source: KarNorway) Available on Netflix in Canada: Series - The Heavy Water War, Lilyhammer, Occupied Films Dead Snow: Red vs. Dead, Ragnarok, Supervention, The Monitor, Kon- Tiki (Editor s note: There may be more let me know!) Sports: In Iceland, soccer strength found in modest numbers reykjavik- european- championships/ / 2016 Adventure: The Viking ship named Draken Harald Hårfagre, set sail from Norway with 32 crew members in late April and made stops in Iceland, Greenland and Newfoundland, Canada, before making its way through the Saint Lawrence Seaway to Toronto for the Tall Ships Challenge Great Lakes 2016 festival this weekend. The ship is actually not a replica, rather a real- life Viking ship built based on ancient Norwegian boat building techniques dug up from the history books and archaeological findings. Construction was completed in 2014 and it is now heralded as the world s largest Viking ship ever built in modern times. (gcaptain on Facebook) 2017 Adventure: I am a professor at the University Nord, Bodø and senior researcher at the Institute of Marine Research Bergen, Norway. I'm enthusiastic, have courage and love challenges. May 1, 2017 I will sail alone from Bergen through the Northwest Passage. I shall follow the Vikings' course towards the west and visit Norse settlements on the way. From Bergen the course will go to Shetland, Orkney, Faroe Islands, Iceland, Greenland and on to L'Anse aux Meadows. Then up the Labrador coast and follow the path of Amundsen's voyage with Gjøa. Following this over to Alaska and then sail on to Vancouver. I hope for cooperation with Scandinavian communities in USA and Canada. If you could share and like our webpage and facebook page (Nordvest Passasjen), that would help me in discussion with my sponsors. Best regards Ole Torrissen, PhD 4

5 Sports Weekend 2016 Another fun Sports Weekend took place June 10-12, hosted by Edmonton s Solglyt lodge. Young dancers kicked off the event. After a barbecue supper (yummy lefse dogs too) we enjoyed stand- up Scandinavian comedy by Bernell Odegard, whose day job is owner of the Lefse House in Camrose. And in spite of cold, wind, and rain, the Gilded Swans Viking reenactors set up camp outside the Dutch Canadian Club where we were meeting. Saturday morning rain meant most of the walkers chose an indoor tour of the Alberta Legislature. On the right the guide describes the original mace, constructed in a hurry from scrap materials, then used for 50 years. After lunch the weather improved, so touring the farmers market and trying Viking games were viable options while others continued their whist games. Red Deer hosts next year, April 28-30, Save the dates! Folkdance Workshop Some more dates to mark on your calendar: the Nordic Folkdancers fall workshop is at the Scan Centre, September 16-17, Mikkel Thompson is the lead teacher. Registration is $100 and includes three meals. The registration form and more information will be posted at Guests are welcome at the Sept. 17 banquet and concert, $25/person. Reservations may be made using the registration form. Part of the workshop will be spent learning some Icelandic dances, in advance of the visit to Calgary by a troupe of 30 Icelandic dancers early in October. Kitchen help needed during the workshop. E- mail Marlene (emflynn@telus.net) to sign up Good News Norwegian- Canadian veteran Petter Johan Blindheim got his wish and moved in to the Camp Hill Memorial Veterans hospital in Halifax Nova Scotia for longterm care recently. This is the same place where he earlier was denied entry because the Canadian Veterans Affairs did not consider him an Allied Veteran. Darren Fisher, Liberal MP for Dartmouth- Cole Harbour, said in a news release that "compassion and good sense has prevailed over red tape," not only in Blindheim's case, but for other veterans as well. 5