Norwegian Festival in New York
The 15th Annual Norwegian Festival, Grete’s Great Gallop and the Norway Run attracted more than 7,000 runners, children, and volunteers in Central Park in New York Saturday October 3, 2009.
This year, around 7,000 runners took part in the 1.7M Norway Run and the 13.7M half marathon Grete’s Great Gallop, while thousands more enjoyed Norwegian music, food and entertainment in the festival area from 8 am to 12 noon on a bright and humid Saturday in Central Park.
The annual Norwegian Festival has become a great celebration of Norwegian heritage and traditions engaging both kids and families in the festival area in Central Park, New York. Children aged 2-12 can participate in the Troll Stroll Run, and everyone can enjoy free Isbre water from Norwegian sub-glaciers, delicious waffles (Vafler) from the Norwegian Seamen’s Church and Norwegian salmon tastings while listening to Norway’s indigenous people talking, dancing and telling stories about living in the far north. National Geographic Adventure could offer an exclusive photo opportunity to see yourself together with a polar bear on their front cover. Children and adults alike were welcome to try Sons of Norway Lillehammer Lodge’s Arctic quiz and learn more about Norwegian-American explorers and pioneers, and to meet the internationally acclaimed Norwegian fashion designers of Moods of Norway together with a team from Britt Hove Ross and to try her newly launched men’s perfume “Kristiansand” at the Norwegian Design Stand.
The Norwegian Festival, Grete’s Great Gallop and Norway Run are also great ways to qualify for the New York Marathon and experience Central Park while enjoying the best of Norwegian music, food and culture. The representatives of the Norwegian Parliament visiting the Permanent Mission of Norway to the United Nations in New York, Ine Marie Eriksen Søreide, Borghild Tenden, Gunvor Eldegard, Steinar Gullvåg, and Erling Sande participated at the festival, and they will continue to be sources of inspiration for next year’s festival events as they all were runners of this year’s Grete’s Great Gallop and Norway Run.
The winners of Grete’s Great Gallop and Norway Run won a trip to Norway with SAS Scandinavian Airlines presented by the Norwegian Consul General Sissel Breie, the Norwegian nine-time winner of the New York Marathon, Grete Waitz, and the co-founder of Moods of Norway, Stefan Dahlkvist. The winners of the raffle won a trip to Norway in courtesy of Kon-Tiki Travel, a dinner at one of the Smorgaschef restaurants in NYC, and gift packs from Appaman street cred kids clothing and Moods of Norway.
