It’s always a treat to watch the Lindsborg Swedish Folk Dancers perform, and this year’s Midsummer’s proved to be no exception! They infuse their dancing with a spirit and vigor that is refreshing and joyful to watch. As usual, click any of the images to see the full set of Lindsborg Swedish Folk Dancers at Flickr:
At the 2006 Midsummer’s Festival in Lindsborg we were fortunate to have not one, but two visiting dance groups. I’ve already posted images of the Mora Folkdanslag, from Mora Sweden, and here’s a set of images of the Leikarring, a Scandinavian dance group representing the Norwegian Society of Texas. As usual, click any of the image to see the full set of Leikarring dancers at Flickr:
I’m making great progress and have almost finished processing the 930 photos I took at last weekend’s Midsummer’s celebration. I’ve cut the number of keepers down to a little under 300. That’s still high, but when one considers there were 4 different dance groups, plus other activities such as the raising of the Maypole, there are not too many photos in any one category.
Below is a small sample of the images I just uploaded to Flickr. These images are of the Mora Folkdanslag, a Swedish folk-dance group who traveled all the way from Mora, Sweden to perform at this year’s Midsummer’s Festival in Lindsborg, Kansas. As usual, click any of the image to see the full set of Mora dancers at Flickr:
One of the highlights of the weekend’s Midsummer’s celebration was the Swedish Fashion Review. A nice variety of costumes were modeled, including both modern costumes as well as vintage designs that included pieces of costumes brought over from Sweden by the early settlers of the Smoky Valley. One of the highlights of honoring our Swedish heritage at times like Midsummer’s and Hyllningsfest is seeing so many folks dressed in their Swedish costumes, and this weekend was no exception.
Of the 900 some odd pictures I took Saturday, around 100 of them were taken at the fashion show. The setting presented a bit of a challenge, as I wasn’t able to use a flash, but overall I got a number of reasonably nice images. There’s a bit of blur in a couple of them; handholding in such low light is a minor challenge. The color balance was also off, and though it’s not perfect now, I’m pretty pleased with what I was able to do via white balance adjustments using Adobe Camera Raw.
I’ve posted the complete set of 42 images of Swedish costumes at Flickr, and to encourage you to view the whole set, I’ve posted a few below (click on any image to see the entire set at Flickr):
These outfits are modeled by one of the families representing the Mora, Sweden dancers.
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Mrs. Karstadt taught generations of Lindsborg youth the joys of Swedish dancing.
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Emily models a traditional costume including the peaked hat and special shoes.
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One week ago Lindsborg celebrated the annual Swedish holiday known as Midsummer’s. For the second year in a row, I provided publicity for the event, and once again it was a wonderful, challenging and rewarding experience. You can read more about the details of Midsummer’s at Little Sweden, USA.
For now, I’ve posted a couple of Midsummer’s images on my photoblog, luminosity.
I’ll close this post with a photo of the Swedish folk dance group from Mora, Sweden: the Mora Folkdanslagen, dancing under the Maypole on a beautiful Midsummer’s Eve in Lindsborg, Kansas:
Hello everyone,
It’s a Swedish tradition celebrated around the world, especially in Little Sweden, USA! It’s the Midsummer’s Day Festival, this Saturday during the day at Lindsborg’s Swensson Park and in the evening at Heritage Park near the Old Mill.
Enjoy
Swedish folk dancers from Mora Sweden,
Scandinavian folk dancers from Texas,
the Lindsborg youth and adult Swedish dancers,
and children’s activities throughout the day.
At the adjoining Bethany Church there will be
a Swedish costume review, featuring a wide variety of costumes from throughout the ages,
and a performance by the Bloomington Minnesota Covenant Church Adult Choir.
Back in Swensson Park, enjoy a preview of this year’s Broadway RFD production of South Pacific, followed by more Swedish Dancing as well as children’s activities.
At 5pm there’s the smorgasbord dinner at the Pihlblad Union on the Bethany campus; tickets are available at the Swedish Dancer’s Dala Van at Swensson Park during the day. They are $17.50 for adults and $10 for kids.
In the evening the celebration continues in Heritage Park near the Old Mill. The raising of the Maypole is certainly one of the highlights of every Midsummer’s celebration! More Swedish and Scandinavian folk dancing will follow the raising of the Maypole.
finish the day with the midnight swim, from 10pm to midnight at the Lindsborg municipal pool.
On Sunday, there is a Vesper’s service followed by a potluck dinner, starting at 4:30 at the Bethany Lutheran Church. There will be Swedish Dancing following the dinner.
Midsummer’s Day is full of fun and delicious food for the whole family, so don’t miss it, Saturday in Lindsborg. Tickets are just 3 dollars for adults, 2 dollars for children.
Plus, visit downtown Lindsborg merchants for a chance to win with Midsummer’s Madness. After visiting 4 participating merchants, drop off your entry form for a chance to win a fine piece of artwork by local artist Carla J Wilson. The drawing will be held Saturday evening, and you need not be present to win.
Till next week, this is Mike Rodriquez with the Lindsborg update.
Downtown Lindsborg Merchants are hosting their Midsummer’s Madness event the day of Midsummer’s. On Saturday, June 17th, Midsummer’s attendees are encouraged to take the short walk from the park to downtown where they can both experience more of what Lindsborg has to offer as well as enter into a drawing for a fine piece of artwork made by a local artist.
The Midsummer’s Program has an entry coupon that needs to be marked by 4 participating merchants and then deposited at the Swedish Country Inn, downtown Lindsborg. The lucky winner of the drawing will receive a fine piece of Swedish Folk Art: a hand painted tray of Kurbit design by Carla J Wilson (www.flipartlindsborg.com).
Carla’s art may be purchased at both the Swedish Country Inn and the Old Grind, both in downtown Lindsborg, or from her website. An image of the piece being awarded as the prize this year is available: www.littleswedenusa.com/images/kurbit_design_tray.jpg
Here’s a smaller version for your enjoyment:
