Vikings Invade Lutheran Church in the Foothills

This story was posted by Craig Clough. It was written by Natalie Rivera.

The Midsummer Viking Fest celebrated Norwegian heritage and culture at the Lutheran Church in the Foothills in La Cañada Flintridge on Saturday.  

This was the first ever Viking Fest, which showcased vendors, Viking reenactments, Norwegian folk songs, food and raffles. According to Jo Ness, president of the Sons of Norway Edvard Grieg Lodge, the festival took several months of planning.

“We are trying to appeal to anybody who has an interest in Scandinavian history,” Ness said. “I think [the festival is] doing well because our members have been doing all the work and they have a lot of contacts with vendors and reenactment groups.” 

The lodge, which organized the free event and meets at the church, believed it would be a great opportunity to encourage the community to learn about Viking culture and history, Ness said. The Sons of Norway is an organization that celebrates Norwegian culture and has over 69,000 members worldwide, according to its website. 

Judith Gabriel Vinje is one of the members of a Viking reenactment group and was dressed as a Viking for the festival. Her wardrobe consisted of Thor’s hammer, a sowing needle and Ravens of Odin. 

“We try to educate, I can tell you women were so powerful in the Viking age, they can get a divorce and are more popular than women in the world,” Vinje said. “They can carry the key to the family treasury.”

According to Vinje, there has been a popular demand for Viking culture in La Cañada Flintridge.

“There are kids that go to summer camp to learn this stuff and there is a huge popularity of the History Channel’s TV show, The Vikings,” Vinje said. “We have so many skilled crafts people that have brought back the crafts to the community.”

Many people of the community came to the event, including people from the Sons of Norway that are not from the Crescenta Valley area, like Troann Loy, who comes from the lodge in Long Beach.

“I’m here trying to reach all of the lodges,” Loy said. “Its wonderful they have a lot of variety.”