A 17-year-old girl’s spirited retelling of thousand-year-old Norwegian myths will highlight the annual “Syttende Mai” celebration of the Norwegian Society of St. Louis on May 19 in Simpson Park in Kirkwood.
Syttende Mai—“May
17th” in Norwegian–is the informal name of Norway’s National Day celebration, held on the anniversary of the country’s 1814 constitution which marked its independence from Sweden.
Norway and its celebrations, history, and myths are recalled quarterly by St. Louisans with Norwegian heritage or interests, through the events of the Norwegian Society of St. Louis.
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The May 19 event will include a parade and a lunch including pølse, a sausage similar to a hot dog, which is sometimes characterized as the fast food of Norway.
The highlight of the event will be Norwegian storytelling by Bella Ingraham, a Lindbergh High
student, who has embraced her Norwegian heritage and become the club’s expert in Norse mythology. Her stories tell of the strange Norse mythological world inhabited by the wise Odin (known for his magical aids, including the spear Gungnir, and the two ravens Huginn and Muninn, who fly around Earth daily and report the happenings of the world to him nightly), the troublemaker Loki, and the beautiful and flamboyant Freia, the Norse goddess associated with love, beauty, fertility, gold, war, and death. Adults and children alike are enchanted by the stories and her spirited storytelling.
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The event will begin at 1 pm in Simpson County Park, at 1234 Marshall Road in Kirkwood. Anyone interested in Norway or Norwegian culture is welcome to attend the event.
The cost is $10 per adult and $5 per child, and the reservation deadline is May 10.
To make reservations, contact Reed Blackman at 314 727-8407. For more information, contact Rachel Wisdom at 314-838-3834 or Nancy Hill at 618-581-7236.