The 2014 Scandinavian Heritage Festival is set for Friday and Saturday, May 23-24, Memorial Weekend in Ephraim. The event expresses the warmth people will feel as they visit with local residents as many are descendants of the plucky Scandinavians who crossed ocean and plain to settle the gorgeous valley. That proud past is part of their everyday lives and they delight in sharing it with visitors.

About 650,000 Utahns trace their ancestry to Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Iceland and many are descended from 19th Century Scandinavian converts to the LDS Church.

The festival begins Friday at 9 a.m., in the Huntsman Library auditorium at Snow College with the Scandinavian Heritage Conference, a free educational event. The conference talks are scheduled for 9, 10, and 11 a.m.

From Friday noon through Saturday at dusk, the festival grounds on the north side of the Snow College campus and at Pioneer Park, 50 North 100 West, will buzz with costumes, dancing, storytelling, entertainment, historical tours, craft and food booths and more.

Come to the information booth at 150 East 100 North to get answers to questions and pick up a printed guide to the festival.

Quilt show

Quilt show features a Mormon pioneer handicraft kept alive by today’s aficionados. A patchwork of quilts is expected to show up at the Scandinavian Festival Quilt Show, hand-sewn, machine-sewn, appliqued, pieced, perhaps even antique.

The show held at the Ephraim Co-op, 96 North Main Street, will show off a pioneer handicraft that hobbyists and artists alike keep alive in the present day. Quilts will be shown Friday, May 23, and Saturday, May 24, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Local quilting groups, like the Mountain Valley Quilting Group, Gunnison, the Horseshoe Mountain and Stitchin’ Sisters groups, Ephraim, and Quilt Keepers, Wales, will all contribute quilts to the show, but others are encouraged to bring their works as well.

Antique quilts that may have been in the family for years are also welcome, as are quilts by young or first-time quilters, and quilted projects other than blankets. But tied or kit quilts are not encouraged. The show will not be judged, but visitors may vote for their favorites and prizes will be awarded.

For more information call Marcia Christensen, 435-283-2212.

Pioneer house tour

While the Scandinavian Heritage Festival celebrates the food and traditions of Scandinavia brought to the Sanpete Valley by pioneers, a unique exhibit at Ephraim’s Pioneer Park offers guests a glimpse inside the meager day-to-day lives of those early settlers.

On May 24, guided tours of Ephraim’s exquisitely restored pioneer homes and cabins will be offered after the parade ends until 4 p.m. On the grounds of the park, at about 75 West 100 North, stand two log cabins; one of Ephraim’s earliest houses, built in 1889; and a barn. Margaret Riding, who organizes the tours, said the interiors of the structures are fully furnished with period furniture and antiques. “It’s pretty fascinating,” Riding said.

Historic bus tour

Since the early 1980s, bus tours have been a part of the Scandinavian Festival, putting festival attendees as close to the history of the Sanpete Valley as can be without a time machine. This year, Mike Brenchley will be guiding the tours, which will leave at 11 a.m., 1 and 3 p.m. from the northeast corner of College Avenue and 100 East. There is a nominal cost for the tour, which covers approximately 25 sites.

Let’s Play Music

Crafts, games and activities May 24, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Let’s Play Music with a Scandinavian twist, bring kids for free fun with crafts, games and activities. See some early Scandinavian instruments and experience a classical puppet show by a great Scandinavian composer.

Pioneer heritage re-enactments

Pioneer Heritage Company will show festival-goers how the pioneers lived, worked and played. Come to the Snow College west lawn, west of the library for two days of reenactments that should give modern-day folks a glimpse into the pioneer way of life.

See how pioneers cooked historic Scandinavian recipes over an open fire. Then, stick around for demonstrations on beekeeping, period sewing, woodworking and listen to some good old-fashioned pioneer storytelling.

Kids should have fun participating in pioneer children’s games and activities. The re-enactments and demonstrations go from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Friday and Saturday, May 23 and 24.

Art show

Experience the artistry of the festival by visiting Granary Art Center, 86 North Main Street. In the art center’s main space, Robert Mellor exhibits his densely-layered abstract paintings.

Behind the art center in the Christensen cabin, the former residence and studio of Mormon pioneer artist C.C.A. Christensen, contemporary Icelandic artist Huginn Thor Arason is involving area quilters and Snow College students to create works inspired by traditional quilting patterns and street graffiti.

The art center will also show the sculptures of Jared Steffensen in the upstairs space, created from and inspired by skateboarding materials.

The gallery is open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m on Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday.

The art center will also host children’s art activity in its sculpture garden during and after Saturday’s parade.

Food

From 6 to 8 p.m., May 23, experience a Scandinavian dinner of epic proportions, literally a smorgasbord, a buffet-style meal that originated in Sweden. The Little Scandinavian Dinner at the Snow College Greenwood Student Center will feed a minimum of 300 hungry souls. No reservations are needed but be sure to be there early.

Dave Abbot, director of Sacco Dining Services, said chefs will follow authentic Scandinavian recipes, making a meal to remember. The starter for the feast is gravid lax, or “buried salmon.” This delicacy is a fish appetizer, originally cooked by Nordic fishermen in the middle ages.

Limpu bread offers a mysterious blend of seasonings and flours, while the hearts of romaine salad is built on the most tender, inner leaves of the lettuce. Swedish tsimmes combine the tenderness of roasted veggies with baked-in apricot flavor, a combination sure to leave taste buds satisfied.

As for the entrees, the chefs leave nothing to chance. Just wait and see what they throw into the Danish pork tenderloin. If that doesn’t satisfy, there is always that traditional staple, the Swedish meatball.

When diners have had their fill, they should take a piece of the Danish apple cake for the last empty corner of the stomach, if there’s one left. A feast like this may require a second stomach. While dining, enjoy live Scandinavian music provided by local musicians.