CELEBRATING SWEDISH AND OJIBWE MUSIC AND CULTURE IN 2023

Gammelgården Museum and Scandia Heritage Alliance join forces to offer a free family-friendly event featuring folk music; Swedish and Ojibwe children’s history and art activities; arts & crafts fair; artist demonstrations; and historic building tours.

MUSIC PERFORMANCES

Spelmansstämman is a long-standing Swedish folk music tradition based on outdoor gatherings (stämma) of Swedish fiddlers (spelman) to share music, friendship, and playing. At a traditional stämma, a small group of musicians stand in a circle and share tunes they have written. Gammelgården’s 33rd annual Spelmansstämman will feature multiple musicians performing throughout the day. If you are a fiddler, bring your own instrument and join the traditional sharing of tunes during the interlude!

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

Come for the full day – or part of the day. Following is the general schedule of events:

Family Activities 10:00 – 12:00

Historic Building Tours – Open with docents

Children’s Activities: Learn to milk a cow, wash clothes with a washboard, make a hay bale, and weave – Outside Historic Buildings

Color and Decorate an Ojibwe-Designed Bandolier Bag – Welcome House

Outdoor Games – Museum Grounds

Ojibwe Historic Display – Welcome House

Food For Sale – Swedish Meatballs – Pulled Pork on a Bun – Coffee – Cold Beverages – Ice Cream Treats – Gazebo – Open All Day

Artists and Crafters Vendors – Museum Grounds

Paint a Dala Horse Activity for All Ages – Museum Grounds

Do Scavenger Hunt & Get a Prize – Historic Buildings/Museum Grounds

10:30

Swedish Folk Painting – Tradition and Innovation: Take a docent-led tour of Gammelgården’s current art exhibit, and see and hear about the work of 16 artists from 5 states. – Welcome House – Second Floor

11:00

Allt för Sverige with Lukas Walls – Hear about this Emmy award-winning Swedish TV show (available on YouTube) that brings Swedish-Americans to Sweden to learn about their ancestry. Lukas worked on the show’s crew for seven seasons, including when his wife Melissa Walls was a contestant. In the program, viewers learn about Swedish history, customs, and culture through the eyes of contestants, who are introduced to their personal Swedish history. Presentation sponsored by Scandia Heritage Alliance.  https://scandiaheritage.eventbrite.com – Immigrant House Grove

11:30

 Music-on-a-String: Ross Sutter play Swedish songs, tunes, and hymns on the psalmodikon. Try the instrument yourself after the presentation! – Old Church

Fiddle Performances 12:00 – 1:00

12:00 – Allspell Music Parade – Through Museum Grounds

12:15 – Renee Vaughan and friends – Immigrant House Grove

12:45 – Ross Sutter – Immigrant House Grove

Interlude 1:00 – 2:30

Discovering Swedish Roots: Stories from Melissa Walls. Melissa grew up in International Falls with close ties to her Ojibwe (Anishanaabe) culture from her mother – with less understanding of her father’s Swedish-American roots. At the suggestion of her Swedish aunt, she applied – and was selected – to participate in the Swedish TV show Allt för Sverige. On the program, Melissa learned of her Swedish ancestors’ difficult decision to emigrate after two years of famine led to the loss of their youngest daughter.

Hear about Melissa’s emotionally moving experience of discovering her Swedish ancestry – and the surprising parallels between Ojibwe and Swedish culture. Melissa has struggled with reconciling the “colonized and colonizer” identities that she represents and will talk about the healing that came from understanding her Swedish story.

“I’m Ojibwe, and I think about how much European settlers hurt our culture, but that wasn’t at all what was on [my great-great grandfather’s] mind. He just loved his family and wanted them to survive, and you can’t fault people for that. And if he never left, I wouldn’t be here,” said Melissa on the TV program.

Anishinaabe Drum Songs: Julian Kitto – of the Red Lake Band of Ojibwe – will perform traditional Anishinaabe drum songs following Melissa’s presentation. “Our traditional music is like hearing the heartbeat of mother earth and of the people -combined with the sounds of knowledge and healing. It is our way of showing gratitude and honoring the ancestors,” says Julian.

Presentation sponsored by Scandia Heritage Alliance. https://scandiaheritage.eventbrite.com – Immigrant House Grove

Learn to Play the One-String Dulcimer with Ross Sutter – Old Church

Buskspel – Informal time with musicians up close and personal – Outside Immigrant House and Backyard

Historic Building Tours – Open with docents

Children’s Activities – Outside Historic Buildings

Color and Decorate an Ojibwe-Designed Bandolier Bag – Welcome House

  Outdoor Games – Museum Grounds

Ojibwe Historic Display – Welcome House

Food For Sale – Swedish Meatballs – Pulled Pork on a Bun – Coffee – Cold Beverages – Ice Cream Treats – Gazebo – Open All Day

Artists and Crafters Vendors – Museum  Grounds

Paint a Dala Horse Activity for All Ages – Museum Grounds

Do Scavenger Hunt & Get a Prize – Historic Buildings/Museum Grounds

Fiddle Performances 2:30 – 3:30

2:30 – ASI Lilla Spelmanslaget – Outside Immigrant House

2:45 – ASI Spelmanns Lag – Outside Immigrant House

3:15 – Closing Allspel – Outside Immigrant House

Proceeds from the event support both Gammelgården Museum and Scandia Heritage Alliance.

If you have questions, call Gammelgården Museum at 651-433-5053 or Sue at Scandia Heritage Alliance at 651-233-0267.