Scandinavian Festival has ben canceled for 2020. 
It will be held the third weekend of July, 2021

Please check our performers section for more updates.

 Jamestown, NY

Each person attending the Festival will be given a wristband. Those without wristbands will be returned to the main gate for readmission.

• Friday
• TBA
• All Day
• July 17th

• Saturday
• TBA
• All Day
• July 19th

• Sunday
• TBA
• All Day
• July 18st

• Weekend Pass
• TBA
• 3 Days
• All Weekend!

The gate fee covers all events in the Festival except for food, drink and gifts purchased as well as some workshops that offer take home crafts.
*Free Admission to volunteers who help with three hours of assistance and children age 16 and younger.

2020 Highlights

COMING SOON

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Thank you for the Financial Support
This project is made possible with financial donations from many individuals and local organizations/businesses.  In particular we recognize the support of the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation and from the Decentralization Program, a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature and administered by the Tri-County Arts Council.

Festival Food Court

The Scandinavian Folk Festival is presenting an array of Scandinavian Foods in one location in the Scandinavian Food Court.

Scandinavian food will be served by  3Cs catering offering a variety of traditional dishes.  The Beer/Wine wagon, Norm's Korvburgers and the Kaffe Stuga will also return. This will be a great place to gather with family and friends.

3Cs Food Truck

3Cs catering service will provide the traditional food this year. 

The menu includes a variety plate, Swedish meatballs, rice pudding, rotomos, yellow pea soup, brown beans and some non Swedish favorites.

Beer & Wine Wagon

Enjoy Danish Carlsberg Beer or some local favorites or a selection of wines.

Kaffe Stuga

Ice Cream with strawberries is always good on a warm Summer day! Take a fika (coffee break) with a homemade "goodie."

Norm’s Korv Burgers

The American Scandinavian Heritage Foundation will be serving Norm's world famous korvburgers.  Norm Owen created the korvburger for the Scandinavian Folk Festival.  A korv meat patty is served on a rye bun with a choice of lingonberries or other condiments.

 
Other Food Vendors

2021 PERFORMERS

Invitation to the Dance

The Festival will be presenting folk dancers, musicians and singers from Sweden. Twenty-five Swedish folk dancers will perform in their colorful costumes every day. Dancers are from Stockholm, Örebro, Gavle, Karlstad, and Gothenburg.   Eight musicians on such instruments as the accordion, fiddle, nyckelharpa, durspel (small button accordion), guitar and ukuleles will perform as well as accompany the dancers. Singers will round out the program. The Jamestown Scandinavian Folk Festival is the destination for this group and their only performance in the United States.   Besides performing, the dancers will lead workshops. Some workshops will be for folk dancers. Other workshops will provide instruction in traditional public gammeldans music such as the schottis, polka, and waltz. The Swedish guests will lead the community in traditional dancing around the midsummer pole. The Swedes will join our local dance teams for a colorful presentation of sixty folk dances and at least 15 musicians. What a joyous traditional celebration of the Swedish culture.    

 

Svenska Spelmän

Our own local Swedish Band, Svenska Spelmän, has performed at all 18 Scandinavian Folk Festivals. All members are from Chautauqua and Warren Counties. Kathy Petersen plays the fiddle and nyckelharppa, Cheryl Ritch performs on the fiddle, Thomas Gestwicki on the guitar/banjo, Timm Reasbeck on the bass and Donald Sandy on the accordion.  They focus on the traditional music of Scandinavia such as the waltz, polka, schottis, ganglot, and hambo.  Their selections provide music both for enjoyable listening as well as dancing.  This band is also the music for the Thule Adult and Children's Folk Dance Teams.  They have performed in the Swedish embassy in Washington, DC and for the King and Queen of Sweden.

Viking Mixed Chorus

The Viking Mixed Chorus from our own Ingjald Lodge - Independent Order of Vikings will perform a concert on Friday evening.  Their selections include Swedish as well as English songs.  

 

Thule Lodge Adult and Children's Folk Dance Teams

The local Thule Lodge Vasa Order of America has two Swedish Folk Dance Teams - one with adults and one with children.  They have been part of our community for a number of generations.  The Adult Folk Dance Team toured Sweden in 2018 and worked with nine different folk dance teams to finesse their dancing skills.  The Children's Folk Dance Team danced with Sweden's Queen Sylvia when she last visited Jamestown.  The mission of both teams is to preserve the heritage of our Scandinavian Culture.

Both teams are always seeking new members so if interested let one of the dancers know.  The Children's Team is under the direction of Mary-AnnEva Ingrao and the instructor for the Adult team is Gerd Brigotta.  Both teams perform to the music of Svenska Spelmän.  

Lilian and Guron Samuelsson

From Orebro, Sweden will provide Swedish music.  They are relatives to Donna Johnson and her family.  We are pleased that they are visiting during the Scandinavian Folk Festival.

If you are interested in become a vendor with the Scandinavian Festival,
you can find the vendor application here.

Vendor Application

T.B.A.

WE NEED VOLUNTEERS FOR THE FESTIVAL !!

An event of this magnitude does not exist without a large number of volunteers (and three hours gets you into the Festival free for a day!). Before the event begins we need volunteers to help put up advertising signs, and distribute flyers. Other pre-festival volunteers are needed to transport our supplies, set up the site with chairs, tables, and signs. During the festivities we need volunteers to help with the admission gate, the info center, and Festival sales booths such as the Gift Shop, Loppis and Hemslöjdsbutik and to help with keeping the Festival neat and clean. We also need people on Sunday evening taking down the Festival.

If you would like to volunteer, please contact:

Mary-AnnEva Ingrao
Volunteer Coordinator
Phone: 716-489-1570
email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.