Taste of Norway kicks off Norsk Museum opening

Saturday, June 4, is the opening day of the Norsk Museum in Norway, Ill. and the date of the annual Taste of Norway breakfast.

A home-cooked Norwegian breakfast is scheduled to be served 8 to 11 a.m. at the Norway Community building, just off Route 71 across from the Norway Store. The breakfast menu includes fried kumla, ham, scrambled eggs with chives, fruit cups and coffee. Advance adult tickets are $20 in advance or $25 at the door. Children tickets are $10 in advance or $15 at the door.

After breakfast, the Norsk Museum will be open to the public. The Skagerrak Viking Ship will be on display on the front lawn. Lynn Sove Maxson, Rosemaler of renown, will be demonstrating the art of Norwegian painting.

Also included in the day’s events are Inger Langsholt’s Norwegian Gifts, Hardanger embroidery by Linda Floyd, Sami bracelet making by Dawn Gunderson, Bunad exhibit by Amanda Beck, krumkake demonstrations by Myrtle Duvick and Friends of the Viking Ship. Jessica McCannwill will lead a children’s craft “how to be a Viking,”Teresa Thörngren is developing a film “Ancestral Echoes: The Quiet People” and will premiere her three-minute promo for this event, the Sloopers of America, along with many others will be onsite.

Last month WGN-TV filmed an episode of “Backstory with Larry Potash.” The story will cover notable Norwegian Gen. Holger Toftoy, World War II and the space race. The museum also has been featured in two magazine articles, newspapers and local radio stations these past months.

The main fundraising focus this season is to see Roald Berg’s dream of an authentic stabbur become a reality. Berg, a board member, died last February. The stabbur is a traditional Norwegian farm building, elevated from the ground, standing on stilts or pillars of wood or stone, to keep out rodents and while keeping grain and precious items safe. The basic log structure is estimated to cost $30,000 but then traditional wood carving is needed. The stabbur will compliment over historic church and well as provide much-needed storage.

Museum hours are from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday from June through September, but tours also are available during off-hours to groups upon request. The museum is operated by a non-profit, non-tax supported museum and support is procured through fundraising events and donations. The museum is staffed entirely by volunteers. The Norsk Museum is looking for items to display as well as more people interested in preserving Norwegian heritage.