Even though it rained for most of Saturday, familiar faces brightened the day for those of us out there (Jens, Hannah, Magna, Minda, and Lena, as well as some 2009 credit villagers).  Former Skogfjorden staff members, former villagers, barnehage families and staff (our Norwegian pre-K program), and a lot of other hard core supporters of Norwegian culture and language programs came out to play with us, knit with us, sing with us, etc.

Carol Sersland (of Fjell og Fjord  and Det Norske Folkedanslaget) came out for a few hours to teach folkdancing to some enthusiastic beginners. “The Pretzel Dance” was particularly popular! After much giggling and hopping in the slush, we headed over to the Reclamation Dance Shanty and danced to another Skogfjorden favorite: “Utadæsjælåplevelse” by Ravi and DJ Løv.

Folkdancing video on YouTube.

Utadæsjælåplevelse video at the Reclamation Dance Shanty on YouTube

By Sunday, the rain had puddled quite a bit, melting the snow. A river grew (some of us were humming, “Nidelven Stille og Vakker du er“), and then a lake (“Får jeg ikke mat, så hopper jeg i Mjøsa“). Even though attendance was down, participation was certainly up. About 430 visitors came to choose Norwegian names and identities for themselves. Click here to learn a bit about them! We learned the value of rubber boots (stakkars Asle!) and that we know a lot of people who we can “stole på mmmmm på en regnværsdag, en regnværsdag.”

Click here to see more photos from the Norwegian weekend at the Art Shanty!

Nordic Immersion Village Art Shanty featured on FOX 9 News

A recent story on Fox 9 News in the Twin Cities features video of the Nordic Immersion Village Art Shanty and interviews with Skogfjorden staff members. Be sure to check it out!

Skovsøen to Host This Weekend at the Art Shanty

Our friends from Skovsøen (the Danish Language Village) will be hosting this weekend (January 30-31) at the Art Shanty. As usual, the shanty will be open from 10AM to 5PM and there will be lots of activities for you and your family to enjoy.  Invite your friends on the Facebook event page and help us spread the word! 

If you need directions to the Art Shanty Projects on Medicine Lake in Plymouth, MN, you can click here. See you out on the ice!

The first weekend on the ice for the Nordic Immersion Village Art Shanty was a great success! Hosted by our Swedish friends from Sjölunden, the shanty received more than 500 visitors on Saturday alone! That’s a lot of navneskilt, nametags, namnbrickor, and nimilappu! You can read about it and check out some of the photos here. 

We are hoping for even more visitors this weekend, which will be hosted by the Norwegians! Help us spread the word by inviting your family and friends to the Art Shanty on the Facebook event page and head on out to the lake on Saturday and Sunday (January 23-24) between 10AM and 5PM to experience Scandinavia on Ice! It’s a perfect opportunity to see old friends and to make new ones, as well as to introduce the Nordic Language Villages to someone you know!  

Norwegian Schedule*

10:00 Flaggheising og Allsang (flag-ceremony and singing)
11:00 Krets (hands-on learning)
12:00 Matpakke/NorgeRundt (how-to-make-a-food-package/around Norway)
13:00 Strenggruppe (language group)
14:00 Kosetime (directed activity)
15:00 Fritid/NorgeRundt (free time/around Norway)
16:00 Kveldsprogram (evening program)
17:00 Lev Vel (live well – closing song)

You may even get to hear the epic story of Geitost Julebukken (the Nordic Immersion Village Art Shanty mascot) and play some kubb in the snow…    

*All start times are approximate and subject to change.

Directions

Need directions to the Art Shanty Project on Medicine Lake in Plymouth, MN?  Click here.

The Art Shanty in the Media

There’s an excellent article in the Twin Cities Daily Planet about the history of the Nordic Immersion Village Art Shanty which features photos from nearly every stage of the process. Check it out!

We’ve also gotten some great media attention from ABC News, WCCO, the Pioneer Press, the City Pages, 3-Minute Egg, and others, so be sure to check out the Press page on the Nordic Immersion Village Art Shanty website.

January 16 – February 7, 2010

The Art Shanty Projects is a free, family friendly event at the themed ice shanties on Medicine Lake, in Plymouth, MN (map). The Nordic Language Villages are proud to be hosting one of the twenty shanties at this event and we invite you to come out and join us!

The Nordic Immersion Village Art Shanty brings Scandinavia on Ice to life! We believe that being playful helps us to step out of self-consciousness and into new roles and new languages, so we go to great lengths to make that happen; we dress up like Vikings, herd imaginary reindeer, and choreograph our own dances to Eurovision songs. Visitors will be invited to celebrate ‘the Art of Nordic Languages’ with us by picking a name from one of the Nordic countries, learning culturally authentic songs and crafts, and participating in hands-on language classes.

The event will take place weekends January 16^th through February 7^th, 2010, and is open to the public 10AM to 5PM.

Schedule

January 16/17 Swedish
January 23/24: Norwegian
January 30/31: Danish
February 6/7: Finnish

To receive updates on the Nordic Immersion Village Art Shanty (or to learn how you can help out at one of the weekends), sign up here or visit the project website at http://nordicimmersion.weebly.com.  You can also visit the Facebook event page!