Twenty-second Annual
Leiv Eriksson International Festival
September 26 - October 18, 2009

Leiv Eriksson International Festival is made possible by donations from friends and supporters. Please make your secure online donation directly to LEIF by using the donate button. Donations received by September 10th, 2009 will be included in the LEIF program booklet.

Explore

the modern Nordic world through art, film and culinary delights

Saturday, September 26 - 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.—
Sunday, September 27 - 10:00 – 11:00 a.m. and noon – 2:00 p.m.

Helge Skånlund Art Exhibit, in Kirkestue

Skånlund, Sarpsborg, Norway, is well known for his fascination with the mysteries of nature. It is not unusual for him to travel normally untrod paths. His work is nearly religious in its presentation of the beauty in all of nature, large or small. Following his exhibition at Mindekirken, his work will be on exhibit in Grand Forks, No.Dak.

Saturday, September 26 at Noon – Rømmegrøt Luncheon – $13 by reservation

Rømmegrøt is a Norwegian cream porridge served with a sprinkling of cinnamon and sugar. Open-faced sandwiches, cookies and coffee are included. Send a self-addressed, stamped envelope with a check made payable to Mindekirken by Wed., September. 16, to
Mindekirken, 924 E. 21^st. St., Minneapolis 55404. Seating is limited.

Saturday, October 3, 5:30 p.m.

Annual Icelandic Community Leifur Eriksson Cod Dinner

Sponsored by the Icelandic American Association of Minnesota at the Shrine Temple, 2540 Park Ave., Minneapolis, this dinner’s cod is flown in from Iceland. The chef says it is so fresh you can smell the ocean. The cost is $35 per person. For information, call 612-558-7216 or e-mail IcelandMN@gmail.com. Members and guests are all welcome

Friday, October 9, 7:30 p.m.

Film Evening, free admission Ordet (The Word), refreshments served

Ordet is the story of a religious family tied up in religious practices that separate them from some of their neighbors. The son goes off to divinity school to become a preacher but returns only a few months later quite mad. He evidently had driven himself mad by his own religious intensity and comes to believe, like many schizophrenics before and after him, that he is the resurrected Christ. His memory of Christ's sermons is excellent, and he sermonizes to everyone and no one. Daily, he goes down to the sea and delivers the Sermon on the Mount to the advancing waves. Despite and perhaps because of their beliefs, his family ignores him.

Saturday, October 10, 6:00 p.m.

Nordmann’s Forbundet, Minneapolis Chapter, 80^th Anniversary

The Minneapolis Chapter of Nordmanns Forbundet is celebrating its 80^th anniversary with a salmon and pork dinner at the Crown Plaza, 5401 Green Valley Dr., Bloomington, Minnesota. The featured speaker is Hallgrim Berg, president of Nordmanns Forbundet International. He’s originally from Ål in Halligdal. He is a writer (Letter to Lady Liberty), a prize-winning Seljefløyte (willow flute) and munnharpe (Jew’s harp) musician, and a former member of Parliament. The cost is $50 per person and reservations are required. For more information, contact Marit Kringstad at marit@nordic-home.com, or call 952.925.4500.

Friday, October 16, 7:00 p.m., Film Evening, free

Babette’s Feast, Danish æbleskiver served

In Babette's Feast, a woman flees the French civil war and lands in a small seacoast village in Denmark where she works for two spinsters, the devout daughters of a puritan minister. After many years, she unexpectedly wins a lottery and decides to create a real French dinner, which leads the sisters to fear for their souls. The village elders all resolve not to enjoy the meal, but can their moral fiber resist the sensual pleasure of Babette's cooking? Babette's Feast received the 1987 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

Discover

music of the far north with such artists as Kai Robert & Camilla, the Stavern Men's Choir, Krauka, Jim Reilly & Dr. Kristín Jónína Taylor, and the Saana Vocal Ensemble

Sunday, September 27, Norwegian Sunday

11:00 a.m. – Norwegian Family Worship and Festival Opening with Mindekirken’s Pastor Kristin Sundt preaching in English.

Well-known Norwegian entertainer Kai Robert Johansen, Sarpsborg, Norway, and his daughter, Camilla, a vocal artist in her own right, make their second appearance at Mindekirken during the service and at coffee hour.

A performer for nearly 35 years, several of his 46 records hit Norway’s top ten lists. Three honor the Norwegian Royal Family. He has toured European countries from Russia to Iceland, where his popular trumpet recordings achieved gold record status.

Sunday October 4 -1:30 p.m. – Stavern Mannskor Concert
$10 donation requested

The Festival is honored to welcome the Stavern Men’s Choir of Stavern, Norway. The choir was established in 1947 and has about 30 members ranging in age from 40 to 82. In recent years, the choir has toured Estonia, Germany, England, and Denmark. Now it will experience the USA with an 11-day Midwest tour.

Tuesday, October 6, Tuesday Open House - 11:00 a.m. – Lunch, $5

Noon – Concert by Krauka – Music of the New Vikings

Formed in 1999, Krauka with its combination of storytelling and music from the Viking Age takes you on a journey back in time. The band plays instruments constructed after archaeological findings, but it also includes elements creating an intense and often wild atmosphere inspired by the sagas and the Nordic forces of nature.

Sunday October 11, 1:30 p.m. – Concert with Jim Reilly and Dr. Kristín Jónína Taylor
$10 donation

Dr. Kristín Jónína Taylor will perform with Jim Reilly. Dr. Taylor is an Icelandic-American pianist who has been enthusiastically received for her performances of Nordic piano works. She has performed throughout the U.S., as well as in Iceland, France, Belgium, Austria and the Czech Republic. She has studied in Iceland with Halldór Haraldsson, and also at the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music, and she received her Doctorate of Music Arts in Piano Performance at the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music. She presently co-chairs the music department at Waldorf College, Forest City, Iowa.

Jim Reilly has a long history with Mindekirken, including having served as music director. He performs as a tenor, pianist and organist. He founded the Nordvendt Concert Series and continues with its administration. The series has presented more than 30 local and visiting artists in Nordic repertoire. He has accompanied so many talented performers it is impossible to enumerate them. The duo of Taylor and Reilly will be inspirational.

A reception hosted by the Icelandic community immediately follows the concert.

Tuesday, October 13, Tuesday Open House - 11:00 a.m. – Lunch, $5

Noon – Music by Mikhala Wolsgaard-Iversen

Mikhala was born to Danish program leader and journalist Henrik Wolsgaard-Iversen and American singer Rosita Thomas, whose footsteps Mikhala follows. She is an accomplished vocalist throughout Europe and, now, the United States. One of her specialties is jazz, and she has agreed to share her talent with the Festival.

Sunday, October 18,
Finnish Sunday

11:00 a.m. – Worship – Pastor Melvin Johnson and the Saana Vocal Ensemble

Saana Vocal Ensemble, which will sing during the service and the coffee hour, is a quintet of Finnish women living in the Twin Cities. Its mission is to perform authentic Finnish music for audiences interested in ethnic music, and to entertain the Finnish-American community and Finnish ex-patriots in Minnesota and elsewhere.

Celebrate

with Nordic theologians, including Pastors Kristin Sundt (Norwegian), Bjarne Pedersen (Danish), Eygló Bjarnadottir (Icelandic) and Mel Johnson (Finnish)

Sunday, September 27, Norwegian Sunday

11:00 a.m. – Norwegian Family Worship and Festival Opening with Mindekirken’s Pastor Kristin Sundt preaching in English.

Sunday, October 4, Danish Sunday

11:00 a.m. – Worship – Pastor Bjarne Pedersen

Pastor Pedersen is the area director for Search Ministries, Bloomington, Minn., an organization that helps people connect with God, develop spiritually and live out their faith in business. Pedersen is a graduate of Bethel Seminary and the University of St. Thomas. After a career in sales and marketing, he entered full-time ministry in 1988. He has also served as both youth and senior pastor for a number of years in Denmark, his native home. During the service, the Stavern, Norway Men’s Choir will sing.

Noon – Coffee hour / Kirke kaffe, hosted by the Danish community

Sunday, October 11, Icelandic Sunday

11:00 a.m. – Worship – Rev. Eygló Bjarnadottir

Rev. Eygló Bjarnadottir is a native of Iceland. In 2002, she graduated from the University of Iceland with a divinity degree in theology and came to the United States with her family. She was ordained into ministry by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, St. Paul Synod, and currently works at the Hazelden Foundation as a spiritual care professional. She lives in Osceola, Wisc., with her husband and two sons. She has three older children and nine grandchildren living in Iceland and Austria. Dr. Kristín Jónína

Taylor, an Icelandic musician, will perform during the service.

The sermon will be delivered in Icelandic. English transcripts are available.

Sunday, October 18, Finnish Sunday

11:00 a.m. – Worship – Pastor Melvin Johnson and the Saana Vocal Ensemble

Pastor Johnson graduated from Suomi College and the University of Minnesota, Duluth. He received a Master of Divinity Degree from Northwestern Lutheran Theological Seminary, Minneapolis. He served as a bilingual pastor in Northeastern Minnesota. He was a pastor in Duluth and an associate and senior pastor at Gethsemane Lutheran in Virginia. In 1983, he accepted a national staff position with the Lutheran Church in America and, in 1988, with the formation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), he became associate director of its Foundation in Chicago. He retired in 1998 and now serves as vice president of the ELCA’s Suomi Conference. Johnson also has served as a seminary instructor at the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ingria, Keltto, Russia. He is married and lives in Woodbury, Minn.

And more...

American Swedish Institute

The American Swedish Institute has generously offered a 20 percent discount on museum admission during the Festival. Just mention the Leiv Eriksson International Festival and step into the heart of Swedish America at 2600 Park Ave., Minneapolis

History

To build a cultural bridge between the modern Nordic countries and the United States

In 1988 under the leadership of Pastor John Mauritzen, Mindekirken (The Norwegian Lutheran Memorial Church in Minneapolis), and members of the Danish, Finnish, Icelandic, Norwegian and Swedish communities established an annual festival to celebrate Nordic cultural roots in the United States. Over the years, the events have brought top-ranked Nordic talent to the Festival. This has helped us all explore the values and goals in today’s Nordic countries and share them with other Nordic-Americans. It also has given the Nordic community an opportunity to share its heritage with all citizens. We welcome you to join us Sept. 26 through Oct. 18. Unless otherwise indicated, events take place at Mindekirken, 924 East 21^st St., Minneapolis. Each of the worship services will include the Nordic language of the guest pastor, with English translations available; films are in Danish with English sub-titles. Mindekirken’s pastor, Kristin Sundt, and church organist Joseph Roenbeck will participate.

Print your own copy of the Leiv Eriksson International Festival program (pdf)

The Norwegian Lutheran Memorial Church · 924 E. 21st St, Minneapolis, MN 55404-2952 · (612)874-0716