God Midtsommer—Happy Midsummer!

Summer is coming, and we are ready!

Photo: Ints Vikmanis / Colourbox
Midtsommer is coming, and The Norwegian American is getting ready to celebrate summer with you!

Dear readers and friends,

It’s been a busy time of the year in our community with 17th of May celebrations around the world. Many thanks to you who sent in your photos. We try to publish as many as possible, so please do not think that we don’t value you if yours didn’t make it into the issue. You may also see them on our social media, so stay tuned—there is always something interesting to see there.

We would also like to thank everyone for supporting our online action, both donors and bidders. Again, your generosity is very appreciated. We hope the winners will enjoy their newly acquired treasures. And if anyone would still like to support The Norwegian American, there is no better way to do so than by gifting a subscription to someone special or by donating directly online at norwegianamerican.com/contribute-2. Once again, tusen takk!

Now, with Midtsommer approaching, we have a very special issue for you. First of all, we head to the north of Norway to the land of the midnight sun, to Bodø, a 2024 European Cultural Capital. There, we were fortunate to have Norway correspondent Tove Andersson on the ground to report back to us. It’s exciting to learn about a city that many of us may have never visited, and if not, I am sure many of you will be adding it to your Norwegian bucket list.

For me, one of the most exciting events of the past few weeks was the dedication of the Joan and Walter Mondale Galleri at Norway House, where our Democracy Center exhibit is currently featured. For those of you who did not have time to read the May issue, this is an ongoing project for us to reach out to the community—especially young children—to teach them about the history of the constitutions of Norway and the United States and what they mean for our entire way of life. I have enjoyed going out into the schools here in Seattle with Wendy Jensen, my friend and colleague from Scandinavian Hearts. We have been both amazed and inspired by the kids we have worked with, and all of them were speaking Norwegian by the time we left their classrooms—we heard the resounding roar of DEMOKRATI with great enthusiasm!

Best of all, the Democracy Center Kids’ Corner activities are available online at democracy.norwegianamerican.com for you, your family, and your Norwegian-American groups to enjoy anywhere.

And our outreach efforts here at The Norwegian American do not stop with the little ones. In addition to trying to bring you the very best newspaper we can every month, we have been out in the community talking about the importance of the free press and cultural exchange. I was extremely honored to be a guest speaker at Syttende Mai Minnesota at Norway House this year, and The Norwegian American has  had a number of speaking engagements around the country, both in person and online. Topics have included the  importance of the free press, the history of Eidsvoll and the story of 200 years of Norwegian immigration.

Remember, if you are looking for a speaker for your organization, we would love to interact with you. Please email me at loriann@norwegianamerican.com for more information or to book an engagement.

We hope you will also check out the new Crossings website at crossings.norwegianamerican.com, where you can find information about the bicentennial commemoration of 200 years of Norwegian immigration in 2025. It is not too early to start planning—and don’t forget to submit your events. We are so honored to be hosting the Crossings website, which serves as North America’s communications hub for this exciting and important year of events that celebrates our connection and friendship with Norway.

As always, I want to thank everyone who has made this issue possible: our staff, our contributors, our subscribers and supporters. Without you, none of this is possible.

God Midtsommer—Happy Midsummer!

Lori Ann Reinhall
Editor-in-chief
The Norwegian American

This article originally appeared in the June 2024 issue of The Norwegian American.