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Kasey Jackson and Brock Moore arrive at the Pleasant Grove High School Homecoming football game last week via helicopter in full Viking regalia to get the crowd excited about the upcoming Viking Day. (Courtesy photo)

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Pleasant Grove resident Wendy Robinson will be one of the local artisans displaying and selling her wares at Viking Day on Oct. 9. Robinson carves bears from logs, using a chainsaw. (Courtesy photo)

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Bears carved into a log from local artisan Wendy Robinson will be at the Viking Day celebration on Oct. 9. (Courtesy photo)

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A new city event celebrating Pleasant Grove’s Viking heritage will be happening on Oct. 9 — and organizers hope this is the start of an annual tradition. The city’s first ever Viking Day will be held in the Downtown Park, at 200 S. Main, from 1-5 p.m.

“When I moved to Pleasant Grove, I said, ‘Do we have anything to celebrate Leif Erikson Day?’ You are the Vikings. One of the neighborhoods in the city was called Little Denmark because of the large Danish population that settled there,” said Kasey F. Jackson, the event’s organizer.

Erikson was an explorer from Iceland who is considered to be the first European to set foot on continental North America around the year 1000.

After Jackson heard that there was no current city celebration honoring the Vikings, he took action, including asking the city council to adopt a special day in honor of many residents’ ancestry.

“We wanted to celebrate Pleasant Grove’s Viking heritage since we had Scandinavian immigrants who settled here. We had to choose a date and October 9 made sense since it’s nationally recognized for Leif Erikson, one of the original Vikings,” said Cyd LeMone, a member of the city council. “I think the Viking Day event will bring our community together to celebrate and honor the Scandinavian immigrants who settled in Pleasant Grove and helped to build our city.”

According to Pleasant Grove history from the city’s website, Scandinavians formed one-third of the town’s population in the early 1900s. The Little Denmark neighborhood was full of artisans and farmers from the region.

Several hundred people got a preview to Viking Day when Jackson and Pleasant Grove High School wrestling coach Brock Moore were dropped off from a helicopter onto the school’s football field at last week’s homecoming game.

“We were in full Viking regalia,” Jackson said.

The festival will be filled with events that celebrate the history of the Vikings. A Viking Power Challenge will include strength competitions such as Husafell-style stone carries, stone to chest lifting, farmers carries, boulder throwing and stick pulling.

“People that compete in these strongman competitions do this all year round,” Jackson said. “If people want to come and try out that day, they can test their hand with the stones. Anyone can watch.”

Another scheduled event is the beard contest. “The most epic Viking beard will win,” Jackson said. Representatives from a local salon will be on hand to judge the contest.

There will also be food trucks, a costume contest, ax throwing and local craftsmen there to sell their wares.

Wood carving is a traditional art from the Viking age. One local artisan that will be on hand is Pleasant Grove resident Wendy Robinson. Robinson began carving bears from logs using a chainsaw about four months ago.

“I love being creative and working with wood. My favorite part is putting the eyes on. That’s when they come to life,” Robinson said. “It’s like they’re looking back at me and saying, ‘Oh, thank you for finding me. I was lost in that log.'”

Pleasant Grove’s firefighters will also be at the festival performing challenges and setting up firefighting tasks for willing participants. Pleasant Grove High School will hold additional activities and PG Cares will have sign-up opportunities for suicide prevention classes.

“I’m a Viking. I do strongman competitions. My family is from Denmark. I celebrate my history and honor my folk and my ancestors,” Jackson said. “This is a festival to honor the old ancestors and the old folk and some of their old traditions.”