Strange Ducks #3 - The Norseman

A tale of festivals and ignoramuses.

My girlfriend (now wife) Deb and I moved from the New York City area to Portland, Oregon around the end of October in 2008.

As part of our move, we spent the next year getting to know our new home by attending various cultural festivals.

We got a chance to see what kind of ethnicities made up this town from these events.

Polish Fest, Greek fest, Scottish Fest all proved to be great fun. We enjoyed the food, tried the specialty drinks and desserts, and watched all the cultural performances.

When we read about the Syttende Mai Celebration at the Norse Hall in Portland, we were excited to see a Nordic ethnic celebration. Such a thing we never encountered back in New York City.

Which explains why, although some of Deb’s ancestors came from Denmark, she really didn’t know much about the traditions or culture.

However she wouldn’t learn much at the Syttende Mai Celebration since it’s actually a celebration of Norway’s Constitution Day.

But we still decided to go and figured it was close enough to some kind of Danish heritage.

Just never say that to anyone who’s Danish or Norwegian if you know what’s good for you!