Scandinavian Heritage Foundation

24th Annual

– SCANFAIR —
Celebrate the sight, sounds, tastes and traditions of a Scandinavian Christmas

Saturday, December 6, 2008 ~ 10 am to 5 pm

ScanFair Dance, December 6 ~ 7:00 pm to 11 pm

Sunday, December 7 ~ 11 am to 4 pm

Portland State University

Smith Memorial Center Ballroom, 3rd Floor

1825 SW Broadway

Portland, Oregon

Scandinavians love to celebrate Christmas. It brings joy to the short and dark days of a Scandinavian winter. Those traditions run deep in the hearts and lives of the people of Scandinavian heritage and come alive every year in Portland at ScanFair.

This is the 24th year that the Scandinavian Heritage Foundation (SHF) and the Scandinavian community will gather to celebrate the fun, the food and the traditions of a Scandinavian Christmas with ScanFair, a holiday festival and market.

$6 adults, $5 seniors and students, children under 12 are free

·         Dancers and musicians from Oregon & Washington.

·         Annual pickled herring eating contest, noon Saturday.

·         ScanFair Dance: sponsored by SHF and The Nordly's dance group. The dance begins at 7:00 with lessons for beginning dancers and ends at 11 p.m. Admission is free with proof of admission to ScanFair, or by donation.

·         Catch a preview of the Portland Christmas Revels' show celebrating the traditions, music and folklore of a Scandinvian Christmas.

·         Delicious Scandinavian foods.

·         Handcrafted and imported items.

·         Film room with videos on Scandinavia.

·         How-to demonstrations of rosemaling, spinning, carving and more.

·         A children's craft room.

·         Beautiful Scandinavian folk costumes.

·         53rd crowning of Oregon's Lucia Queen of Light.



For more information, contact:

Mike O'Bryant (503) 977-0275

Ann Grangaard (503) 292-3053

●          Celebrate the 54th year in Portland of the crowning of Lucia, Queen of Light, on stage Sunday at 1:00 pm. This tradition brings a beautiful story of charity and love in Lucia who wears the crown of candles and brings light at the darkest time of year.

SCANDINAVIAN ARTS & CRAFTS

ScanFair is the only event in Portland where all the beautiful Scandinavian traditional and modern arts and crafts come together in one place for a two-day festival and marketplace.

Rosemaling -- delicate Norwegian designs painted on furniture, furnishings, plates and bowls Photographs

Hardanger -- Norwegian cut-work embroidery

Porcelain dolls in traditional Scandinavian costumes

....and much more.

Especially for children -- THE PIPPI LONGSTOCKING ROOM

Children have a special room where they can make traditional Scandinavian Christmas crafts, including Danish Hjerte or woven hearts and Swedish Julgranskaramel (poppers) to decorate the Christmas tree.

SCANDINAVIAN FILM

One of the popular features of ScanFair is the video room. Sit for a few minutes or an afternoon and enjoy a Danish, Finnish, Icelandic, Swedish or Norwegian film.

SCANDINAVIAN DELICACIES

Eat food on the spot or take baked goods home. Enjoy Danish aebleskiver (apple pancake balls), Norwegian lefse & krum kake, Swedish meatballs with lingonberries, pickled herring and flat bread, rice pudding and fruit soup, Vorm Korv (hot dogs) and lots of coffee.

CULTURAL EXPLORATIONS

Purchase books, meet authors, research your family's roots with the Scandinavian Genealogical Society, check out Scandinavian language schools.

ScanFair is sponsored by the Scandinavian Heritage Foundation, with a mission to "Preserve, communicate and celebrate Scandinavian heritage and culture." People of Scandinavian descent make up about one-quarter of the population in Oregon and Southwest Washington. The festival began 24 years ago as a way to support Scandinavian language courses at PSU. Today proceeds from ScanFair continue to support PSU Nordic language classes and they also help support the ongoing operations of SHF, which will soon begin to build a new Scandinavian American Cultural & Community Center near Washington Square.

Mission Statement
Preserve, Communicate and Celebrate Scandinavian
Heritage and Culture

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