May 17 is Norway’s Constitution Day, and in “Alaska’s Little Norway,” it’s a big deal.
Every year around this time, Petersburg holds a week-long festival to celebrate its Norwegian heritage. Hundreds of people flock to the Southeast island town for the experience.
Festival celebrations date back to the late 1950s. Some traditions have grown and morphed over the decades, with new ones entering the mix as well.
But the Norwegian Dancers have always been a fixture.
Brandi Thynes is a volunteer on the festival’s committee and one of the adults in charge of the young Norwegian Dancers program.
“My grandma had actually started the Norwegian Dancers way back then. And so it’s just been a tradition that somebody’s carried on,” said Thynes. “We have a strong Norwegian heritage, and dancing and bunads are all part of what you would see if you were in Norway actually during their celebration of Syttende Mai … the 17th of May.”
Bunads are traditional Norwegian clothes — mostly blue and red trousers, vests, dresses and skirts embroidered with symbolic flowers. Many of the bunads worn in Petersburg are handmade and passed down for generations.
Describing the scene of kids in bunads, holding hands, skipping and running around in circles, Thynes said, “It’s chaos.”
The dancers agree.
“Chaotic, definitely,” said ninth-grader Emi Anderson. “For our last dance, it’s called the Seksmansril, people are instead of skipping, they’re running in a circle. And we’ve lost shoes before, and some people trip on their skirts … it’s really fun, and a lot is going on.”
She’s danced in the program since elementary school. Now, she’s a leader for the group of older kids, Petersburg’s Leikarring Dancers.
“It’s really fun,” said Anderson. “You meet a whole bunch of different people, and you get to experience such new things. And it’s just really fun to share the culture and tradition of our town.”
Seventh-grader Anya Curtiss said it’s a good opportunity to socialize with kids from all over the island.
“I love how different the people are here compared to, like, traditional dance,” said Curtiss. “There’s some homeschool kids, there’s some older kids, some younger kids. And I just like being included in a group of different people.”
Curtiss said her family has been in Petersburg for six generations, with her great-great-grandma originally from Norway. She said Norwegian dance connects to her heritage.
“It’s just part of my culture, so I really like doing it,” she said. “I enjoy, like, being around people that like the same interests as me, and dance is how I kind of express that.”
Kori Reid is in third grade. She’s part of the younger group of Norwegian Dancers.
“My favorite thing about Norwegian dance is seeing all the new people around me and getting to make all the friends that I wouldn’t have made otherwise,” said Reid. “I like the dances, and I like getting dressed up, and I like all the good things and fun that comes with Mayfest.”
Mayfest is the unofficial name for the Little Norway Festival. Reid said she enjoys all the food, shopping, and playing games with friends like the Sil Toss.
Sil is Norwegian for herring. The game is similar to an egg toss, at least that’s how Mayfest committee member Julie Anderson, from the Petersburg Borough Parks and Recreation Department, describes it.
“There’s fish guts always on the ground … and we make sure they’re nice and slimy. They are thawed out, slimy, nasty, gross. We make sure they’re heated to the right temperature so that they’re prime for getting all sloppy,” she said. “But yeah, it’s a fun time.”
There’s a whole bunch of other games on tap: Dragkamp or tug of war, the Jormungandr Strongman sled pull, grocery cart races. The fish holding contest returns this year, too. When it debuted last year, droves of folks attempted to hold up the large dead fish the longest for a cash prize.
But in the midst of flying fish or cornhole sacks, don’t forget to stop and take a look around.
“Be on the lookout for our festive Vikings and Valkyries,” said Chamber of Commerce Director Kelli Slaven. “Wearing all their furs and their horns, carrying their steins … they always add a magical touch to our festivities.”
Slaven, who is also in charge of Petersburg’s Leikarring Dancers, has been working with the committee of volunteers to organize this year’s festival.
“I love seeing all the people in town. I love seeing the tourists and the visitors coming in and just the excitement on everybody’s faces,” Slaven said. “It’s just fun to see everybody come together and make it an amazing event.”
Downtown Petersburg gets overtaken by back-to-back activities during the peak of Mayfest celebrations. Dozens of booths line Main Street, centering around a stage for live music by local talent. Alongside the fur-clad Vikings and Valkyries, locals don their wool Norwegian sweaters.
Festival events started Saturday, May 10, with the chance to explore nearby Kupreanof Island, free boat rides included. But the festival really gets going on Thursday, May 15, with the Little Norway Festival Pageant at 5:15 p.m. in the high school gym. That’s when the young dancers perform and the winner of the Norwegian American of the year is named. Afterward, a local DJ sets the vibe downtown. The many food vendors open their booths for business, and games for kids happen under the big tent.
And that’s just one evening. This year’s Little Norway Festival schedule is chock-full of festivities.
“So much to do, that’s for sure. Over eight pages of stuff to do,” Slaven said with a laugh.
You can learn to bake traditional Norwegian treats, or check out the Scandinavian Style Show. If you miss that, there’s also a dog fashion show. The local Mitkof Mummers Theatre group is performing through the weekend, too.
There’s a fishing derby for kids, a softball tournament, multiple arts shows, art classes and beer gardens. You can paw through a giant trough of shrimp at a free shrimp feed, hosted by the Vikings. They’ll also crew the Viking ship Valhalla and sail it through downtown during the parade.
Festivities end on Sunday with a seafood bake on Sandy Beach, wrapping up a week of celebrating Petersburg’s Norwegian heritage with its Alaskan community.
