

Helene Blum and Harald Haugaard Band (2022)
Featured Entertainers from Denmark
Helene Blum has taken Danish folk music to a whole new level. Her inventive, contemporary interpretation of traditional songs reveals their timeless beauty. This musical proficiency coupled with her expressive voice have brought her high acclaim in her native country and also enabled her to captivate enthusiastic audiences elsewhere in Europe, the USA, Canada and Japan. Harald Haugaard is one of Denmark's best musicians. He has won the Danish Music Prize twelve times and is very well-known abroad, particularly in Germany.
After years of touring in Europe and North America with their band and performing hundreds of concerts together, Harald, Helene and the band members have forged a close relationship, both musical and personal, where all are involved in shaping and arranging the music.
The Helene Blum / Harald Haugaard Band is returning to Astoria, one of their favorite places, to entertain 2022 festival goers with contemporary folk music from Scandinavia. Band members include Kirstine Elise Pedersen on cello, Mikkel Grue on guitar, and Sune Rahbek on percussion.
Kardemimmit (2023)
Featured Entertainers from Finland
Ancient Instruments and Angelic Voices
Kardemimmit takes you to a journey into the Finnish Midsummer’s magical night where the sun doesn’t set at all. The air is filled with the ancient mystery of time standing still and the nature is heartbreakingly beautiful at the peak of its bloom. Kardemimmit is the sound of the Finnish forest
Kardemimmit is a band of four awesome women playing the Finnish national instrument, kantele. The band members are Maija Pokela, Jutta Rahmel, Anna Wegelius and Leeni Wegelius. Kardemimmit are in charge of their own music – they compose, as well as arrange, write lyrics and produce. Alongside 15 and 38 stringed kanteles, singing has a big part in Kardemimmit’s musical universe where original pieces with a modern approach still have a strong foundation in Finnish, Eastern European and Scandinavian traditions. The Finnish reki-singing style, 19th century dancing music, Perhonjokilaakso kantele playing style, Eastern Finnish archaic improvisation and ancient runo singing are all present in Kardemimmit’s music.
Sturla Eide and Øystein Sandbukt
Featured Entertainers from Norway
Sturla Eide is one of Norway’s most accomplished traditional fiddlers and Øystein Sandbukt plays acoustic guitar with an emphasis on Norwegian folk tunes. Sturla Eide has been fiddling since 1982 and is also a composer. His tune «Dimmisjonspols» («Discharge Pols») has become a household staple of the Scandinavian repertoire, performed in most folk music gatherings. Øystein Sandbukt started out as a rock guitarist but then got curious about Norwegian traditional music. He retuned his guitar like a fiddle with two bass strings, experimented, and found that he can play old fiddle tunes like fiddlers do. Together Eide and Sandbukt offer a fascinating journey through the vast range of Norwegian traditional fiddle and guitar tunes. Most of the main melodies fall to Sturla as he plays the violin and a wonderful Norwegian nine-stringed Hardangerfiddle. This music is interesting stuff. The basic tone will be familiar to any experienced listener of traditional Celtic music, but it’s not Celtic music, it’s Norwegian. Every melody in Norwegian traditional music is saturated by rhythm because the tunes had to be danceable by themselves a long time ago. The melody is in the rhythm and the rhythm is in the melody. Enjoy the energetic, edgy and powerful tunes presented on violin and guitar as Sturla and Øystein improvise over traditional tunes that could still be used for dancing. Everything is undoubtably pure Norwegian!
Amy Hakanson and Collin Stackhouse
Astoria Nordic Heritage Park Update
Astoria Nordic Heritage Park will honor the immigrant tradition that brought thousands of Scandinavians to Oregon’s North Coast in the late 1800s and early 1900s. It will be a public space to make locals and visitors alike aware of the ethnic heritage that contributed immensely to the fabric of our community. It will honor families that said their last good-byes in Scandinavia and moved to Astoria to become Americans. Astoria Nordic Park Committee Chair and Astoria Scandinavian Heritage Association Vice-President Judi Lampi can describe the fantastic design for the park created by the West Studio of Seattle Washington and detail the timeline and progress of the effort to raise one million dollars to pay for its construction.
Visit with committee members at their booth in the arena to learn more about park progress.
Astor Street Opry - Shanghaied in Astoria
Brownsmead Flats

Dance Lessons with Patrick McMonagle
Patrick McMonagle has been folk dancing since high school in Seattle in the 1960s. He’s taught folkdance to University of Washington students and teaches at the Northwest Folklife Festival and the Junction City Scandinavian Festival. One of his regular teachers included Gordon Tracie whose Skandia LP he rereleased on CD in 1997. Currently Pat leads folkdances at the Swedish Club in Seattle. Pat’s favorite joke:
“Why don’t dogs dance?”
“Because they have two left feet!”
Left feet aside, Pat will teach five short dance lessons at the 2020 festival and call mixers at the Friday and Saturday night open dances. No prior experience or partner is necessary.

Icelandic Horses - Larry & Jackie Taylor
Leikarringen of Portland Dancers
“Leikarringen” means circle or round dance. The priority of this Portland group is the preservation of Nordic culture. The group’s ages range from 4 to young adult and they love to perform around the Pacific Northwest. They rehearse on Tuesdays in SE Portland and welcome new members. Check them out on Facebook too. Christie Stilson is director of the group and Ethan Hardy leads the Stor Leikarringen.
Note: Leikarringen likes to perform outdoors if the weather is nice. Look for them in front of the main entrance on Saturday.

Polka Dots

Reader's Theater: From the Suomi Hall Attic
Scandinavian Country
The Squeezer and the Geezer

Tulehoidjad Estonian Folk Dancers
From Portland
Returning to the 2020 Midsummer Festival after a long absence is Tulehoidjad, an Estonian folkdance group from Portland, Oregon. Tulehoidjad means Torch Bearers and was formed in 1950. They have taught Estonian folk dances to three generations of Estonian immigrants and many American friends. Keeping Estonian traditions alive and teaching Americans about Estonian folk dance are its primary aims.

Vasa Swedish Folk Dance Group
The Empire of Chivalry and Steel
Viking Encampment
The Empire of Chivalry and Steel specializes in the recreation of the culture of the Middle Ages, including the art forms, events (feasts, tournaments, ceremonies and wars), and combat arts from that period. The purpose of this nonprofit educational corporation is to study (and teach the general public) ideals and history from 800 AD to 1650 AD within the geographical boundaries of Europe and to provide an organized effort in the collection, interpretations and distribution of historical data through publication and demonstration. Empire of Chivalry and Steel participants will open their Viking Encampment to the public on Saturday and Sunday and provide demonstrations of Viking sword fighting and armour making on both Saturday and Sunday afternoon. NEW this year is Fireside Storytelling on Saturday evening. Join the reenactors for Norse myths and legends.
Astoria Viking Nordic Dancers
Astoria’s own dance group includes dancers from second grade to adults. The Viking Nordic Dancers are the youngest group and several members are performing at their first midsummer festival. Experienced teen-age dancers make up the Viking Dancers who are frequently joined by the adults from the Scandia Dancers. The Nordic Viking Scandia Dancers are led by Kevin Ladd and Bev Hoofnagle.