Celebrations for the Little Norway Festival in Petersburg have been happening all week. But things really get going Thursday evening, May 15.
The Little Norway Festival Pageant happens at 5:15 p.m. inside the Petersburg High School gym. That’s a different location than years past on Main Street.
The Pageant will feature anthems and a Viking prayer. The $500 raffle winner and this year’s Norwegian American awardee will be announced. And the traditional Norwegian dancers will perform at the pageant kick-off as well.
Julie Anderson from the Petersburg Borough Parks and Recreation Department is part of the festival planning committee. She said she’s excited to see the annual pageant return to the gymnasium this year.
“In years past, we’ve loved it downtown. It’s been exciting to be in the fresh air and have great weather. But you know, there’s people that don’t always get to see their kids dance,” she said.
Anderson’s five kids have all been dancers in the Little Norway Festival. She said holding the pageant in the gym will help with visibility and make the event more accessible.
“It was a little restrictive downtown, and we may revisit it again in the future, because it is a great venue to be downtown,” she said. “Having it up at the gym … you’ll be warm and dry, and then you’ll be ready to come back downtown for the sled pull and the kids games activities that’ll be under the tent down there.”
Chamber of Commerce Director Kelli Slaven has been working with the committee of volunteers to organize this year’s festival. She is also in charge of Petersburg’s Leikering Dancers, and noted that performing indoors is better for the young dancers on rainy days, such as Thursday.
Slaven said she’s also excited for the festivities that follow the pageant on Thursday night.
“After we have our pageant up at the high school gym, downtown under the covered tent in the hammer and weekend parking lot we’re going to offer kid games. And those games are sponsored by the Mitkof Monsters daycare and the Petersburg First Baptist Church,” Slaven said. “We’ll have a bunch of different little games, and then there’s gonna be a photo booth opportunity, face painting, cotton candy and some crafts. Just something different this year that we wanted to throw in and help bring the community back downtown, just to kind of help kick-off the fun activities for the evening.”
The Strongman Style sled pull happens on Main Street right after the pageant at 6:15, and goes for an hour. Local DJ Alvin sets the vibe for the street dance, and dozens of food vendors open their booths for business.
And that’s just Thursday night. This year’s Little Norway Festival schedule is chock-full of festivities. You can find the full schedule of events by clicking here.
