Brooklyn’s Viking heritage will be in the forefront as Scandinavians turn out en masse in mid−May to celebrate Norwegian Constitution Day.
A parade on Sunday, May 17, on Fifth Avenue in Bay Ridge will mark the 195th anniversary of that country’s constitution.
Organized by the Norwegian−American 17th of May Committee, the parade’s theme, this year, is “Salute to Norse Mythology.”
The parade will kick off at 1:30 p.m., rain or shine, proceeding from 89th Street and Fifth Avenue, to 67th Street, then along 67th Street to the grandstand, which will be situated in Leif Ericson Park, on the south side, between Sixth and Seventh Avenues.
Upwards of 10,000 people are expected to march in the parade, according to information released by the committee, which estimates that approximately 100,000 people will line the parade route, to enjoy the festivities, including music performed by a Norwegian band, the Stavanger Musikkorps.
Numerous Sons of Norway groups will be in the parade. There will also be NYPD and FDNY contingents, as well as the Transit Pride Pipe & Drums, the Fort Hamilton H.S. Marching Regiment, the Staten Island Pipes & Drums, O.L.P.H. Ridgemen Drum & Bugle Corps, the Clan Eire Ann Pipe Band, the Kvinesdal Musikkorps, the Legionnaries Senior Marching Band, the Richmond County Pipes & Drums, and the Gerritsen Beach Community Marching Band. Local civic organizations and religious institutions will also be represented in the parade.
At 3:30 p.m., ceremonies will begin at the reviewing stand. At that time, the guest speaker for the afternoon, Sissell Breier, consul general of Norway, will crown the winner of the Miss Norway Contest.
The day before, Saturday, May 16, the Scandinavian East Coast Museum, in conjunction with the Norwegian Consulate in New York, and Bay Ridge businessman Greg Ahl, will hold its annual Viking Fest in Owls Head Park, 68th Street and Colonial Road, from noon to 5 p.m.
The free event will feature a panoply of crowd−pleasers, including re−enactments, entertainment, and a half−size replica of a Viking ship, The Norseman. Among the groups that will perform, during the afternoon, are a Norwegian band, Celtic pipers, step dancers, Swedish folk dancers, Turkish drummers and Young Dancers in Repertory. There will also be rides, and Scandinavian foods and crafts for sale.
