Above Petersburg’s main street, on Monday, Borough employees hoisted up two large flags: one American, and one Norwegian.
The flags are one of many preparations the town is making ahead of Petersburg’s 68th Little Norway Festival, also known as Mayfest. The days of festivities celebrate Norway’s Constitution Day, Syttende Mai, which takes place on May 17. It’s a big event in a town with deep Norwegian ties, and brings in many visitors each year.
The lineup of events is packed, ramping up Wednesday at 11 a.m. with an 80th birthday celebration for the wooden seiner, F/V Symphony.
Julie Anderson has been helping to plan the festival and said many Mayfest staples are returning to this year’s lineup. Thursday will be the annual Little Norway Festival pageant inside the high school gym at 5:15 p.m.
“You get a lot of the background in the Norwegian history,” she said. “You’ve got third through eighth graders dancing in traditional wear.”
The Norwegian American of the Year will also be named at the pageant.
On Friday, the annual parade will take place at 5 p.m. on Petersburg’s main street. Those interested in joining can line up fifteen minutes before the parade starts.
Anderson said there’s only one classic event that won’t be in this year’s lineup: the dragkamp, or tug of war.
“We’re hoping to have it back again next year, but this year, just scheduling and everything, that’ll be the only thing that I know of off the schedule,” she said.
Even without the tug of war, there will be a lot to do and see; like fur-clad Vikings and Valkyries, the herring toss, the weighted sled pull competition, the fish holding contest and more.
Petersburg Chamber of Commerce Director Kelli Slaven said to keep an eye out for multiple make-it-and-take-it rosemaling classes, lots of local musicians, and the Mitkof Mummers’ showings of the comedy play, “Anchors Aweigh.”
“You can’t have a Mayfest without a Mummers play,” Slaven said. “They work really hard to give us some quality entertainment for our town.”
Plus, she said there will be some new food vendors to snack on this year. She recommends trying it all.
“I mean, who doesn’t love festival food?” she said. “Nobody pays attention when you go down there, you can hit every booth!”
There are also lots of fundraisers and local vendors to check out. Both Slaven and Anderson said the festivities are a big opportunity to support locals in the small town.
“It’s definitely enriching the community in many ways, not just culturally, but financially,” Anderson said. “You get the opportunity to work out, ‘is this a small business that I could make happen in Petersburg?’”
There are many more events to look forward to this week. You can find the full schedule of events here.
