Pint-sized nationalists Christopher Lageraaen and his sister, Shannon Lageraaen, sat on a sidewalk on Fifth Avenue in Bay Ridge, each holding a flag of Norway — a red eye-pleaser with an indigo blue Scandinavian cross outlined in white — waiting for the action to begin.
Before long, the avenue was buzzing with the sound of folk music and people bustle, provided by, among others, Transit pipers and drummers dressed in Viking helmets and Norse kilts, clowns Cappy and Zucchina, and an assortment of thrill seekers — many in traditional Norwegian costumes.
Elsewhere parade stroller Hans A. Stronstad brandished a mock sword and grimaced from beneath his golden Viking braids, while a bevy of beauties from the Scandinavian East Coast Museum smiled and waved from aboard their sloop — the Norseman Philadelphia, PA — which cruised along the avenue, joining a sea of revelers at the Annual Norwegian Constitution Day Parade, May 16, stepping off the jaunt at 82nd Street and traveling to 67th Street for more festivities at Leif Ericson Park.
The parade may have been cut short by 15 blocks this year, but that didn’t faze mom, dad and the kids from steppin’ out, Scandinavian-style!
Miss Norway 2010 Helene Rell engaged rapt passers-by as she breezed along in a sedan convertible, sharing the spotlight with “Little Miss Norways” Celine Vignaud, 9, and Victoria Marit Paulina Aasland, 8, who waved from aboard a float.
-— Shavana Abruzzo
