Velkommen to Bay Ridge!
People of Scandinavian descent will gather to celebrate all things Nordic at the Viking Fest in Owl’s Head Park, the 14th edition of a festival that links the old with the new.
“We talk about the history and the connections between groups and how to connect it to modern times,” said the Ridge’s most famous Norse ambassador Victoria Hofmo, a volunteer and organizer for the Scandinavian East Coast Museum.
The festival will feature replicas of Viking ships, exhibits on Nordic pastimes including embroidery and spinning, and, of course, plenty of folks in Viking garb.
It will also include several storytellers who will regale the crowd with tales of Viking revelry and life in old-world Scandinavia, and remind residents of Bay Ridge’s and Sunset Park’s once-vibrant Scandinavian community.
“There is a lot of focus on the Scandinavian population in the Midwest, but we have such a significant history here in New York,” said Hofmo. “We want to make sure people know about that.”
Members of the Society for Creative Anachronism and Historic Arms will be on hand dressed in traditional Viking garb including tunics, cloaks, and helmets.
“There is so much of history that has been forgotten. People do not need it anymore so they stop passing it on,” said John Estep, a member of the Society for Creative Anachronism. “We are trying to make it so that history does not pass into obscurity.”
Viking Fest at Owl’s Head Park (68th Street and Narrows Avenue in Bay Ridge, www.scandinavian-museum.org/events.html). May 17 at 10 am. Free.
