Working Waterfront Festival features Norwegian culture
Author Astrid Tollefsen will present a talk about her book Following the Waters: Voices from the Final Norwegian Emigration.
Annual event explores the cultural diversity of New England’s working ports
Slated for September 25 & 26, the 2010 Working Waterfront Festival will present an expanded look at the ethnic diversity of the region’s working waterfront communities with a program entitled All in One Boat: the Cultural Mosaic of New England’s Working Ports. Immigrants from around the globe have settled in New England’s port cities and helped shape these working waterfront communities which today include a rich mosaic of cultures.
The music, food, crafts and fishing traditions of Norway and Norwegian-Americans will be among those featured at the event as many New England fishing families trace their roots to Norway, particularly in the Port of New Bedford/Fairhaven where Norwegians established and continue to dominate the thriving scallop industry. Festival programming will include performances of traditional Norwegian music by SAMspill, a Boston-based trio featuring Arne Just Holm, Luana Marie Jøsvold and Earl Sven Gingras. Aleksander Hauge, who is traveling from Karmoy to perform at the event, chronicles the Norwegian emigrant experience in story, song and poetry. Author Astrid Tollefsen will present a talk about her book Following the Waters: Voices from the Final Norwegian Emigration. Eldrid Arntzen, the 2005 recipient of a National Heritage Award will demonstrate the art of rosemaling. Traditional Norwegian seafood recipes will be demonstrated in the Festival’s Foodways Area and Norwegian-American fishermen will showcase their industry skills in various demonstrations and contests.
Partial funding to support Norwegian programming at the 2010 Festival has been provided through a General Heritage and Culture Grant from the Sons of Norway Foundation www.sofn.org
The Working Waterfront Festival is a project of the Community Economic Development Center of Southeastern MA, a non-profit organization. The FREE festival, a family friendly, educational celebration of New England’s commercial fishing industry, features live maritime and ethnic music, fishermen’s contests, fresh seafood, vessel tours, author readings, cooking demonstrations, kid’s activities and more. It all takes place on working piers and waterfront parks in New Bedford, MA, America’s #1 fishing port, on fourth full weekend in September. Navigate to us at www.workingwaterfrontfestival.org.
Source: Working Waterfront Festival
