Color, Costumes, Cultures

The 28th annual Scandinavian Festival, which celebrates both Nordic and Baltic cultures, will unfold this weekend at Cal Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks with a variety of activities. More than 10,000 folks are expected at the event, which has been held for nearly three-quarters of the school’s 40-plus years.

“This event actually reflects the roots of the university,” publicist Carol Keochekian said. “The land the university was built on was donated by a Conejo Valley pioneer, Richard Pederson. If you were to come on campus and look around, you would notice that several of the buildings bear Scandinavian names because the early founders and supporters of the university have a Scandinavian background.”

The festival will kick off with the colorful opening ceremony at 10:30 a.m. Saturday--a parade featuring the flags of the countries participating, carried by people in costume. Consuls general of all the participating countries--Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark, Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia--also are expected, along with local elected officials, to greet the public.

The festival has expanded every year since it began.

“It’s gotten much larger,” Keochekian said. “It started out with maybe two little booths and some dancers, and now we have ongoing entertainment for two days. There will be music representing every culture, with not only bands, but dancers from pretty much all of the countries. During the opening ceremony, the national anthem of each country will be sung, and the audience will be handed lyric sheets so they can sing along.”

The honorary chairwoman of the festival will be Anne-Charlotte Harvey, professor of theater at San Diego State University. Born and educated in Sweden, Harvey has been performing and documenting Scandinavian immigrant music for nearly three decades. Her talk, “From Vikings to Yon Yonson: Scandinavian Types in American Theatre,” is scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday.

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Also on the agenda is Andreas Ekman, the consul general of Sweden, who will discuss his country, which currently holds the presidency of the European Union. His talk, “The Swedish Presidency: Enlargement, Employment, Environment,” is slated for 1 p.m. Saturday.

Also appearing will be Scandinavian playwright Phil Olson, who along with Group Repertory Theatre will perform scenes from Olson’s play “Crappie Talk” at 3 p.m. Saturday in Overton Hall. The play, a comedy about a Scandinavian community in Minnesota, won Olson the National Playwright Award.

The miniature villages constructed by Anita Mason are another new attraction this year. Her creations depict Norwegian life from the Stone Age through the 20th century and will be on display both days.

There’s a children’s area called Tivoli Gardens, a re-creation of one of Copenhagen’s major tourist attractions. The young folks will be entertained by Gabrielle the Clown, magician David Cooper and juggler David Cousin, along with a petting zoo, children’s crafts and games.

And of course there will be all sorts of Scandinavian food for sale, including Swedish meatballs, pancakes, pastries, aebleskivers, krumkake, lefse and rosettes. An authentic smorgasbord is set for Saturday from 3 to 5 p.m.

There will also be Vikings, under control in their Midgaard encampment. In their heyday, the Vikings were the poster boys for pillaging and burning, terrorizing coastal settlements all over Europe for hundreds of years. These modern Vikings will host battle reenactments and give instructions in spinning, blacksmithing, leather working and writing in runes.

“We’re also going to have the Royal Court of Sweden in the 16th century,” Keochekian said. “It’s all very colorful. And if people come in an authentic Scandinavian costume, they get in free.”

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Most of the activity will take place in Kingsmen Park, but stuff is happening all over the campus throughout the weekend.

All in all, Keochekian said, the fest aims to be both fun and educational.

“We added the Baltic countries a few years ago--Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania,” she said. “It’s just a great chance to get a sense of the history and culture of these nations. We also want people to have a good time--dance and sing and do whatever.”

DETAILS

CLU Scandinavian Festival 2001, 60 W. Olsen Road, Thousand Oaks, Saturday (10 a.m. to 5 p.m.) and Sunday (noon to 5 p.m.). COST: $6 adults or $1 for children 6-12; 493-3151.

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Bill Locey can be reached by e-mail at blocey@pacbell.net.