Lögberg-Heimskringla - 30.04.1999, Blaðsíða 8

8 * Lögberg-Heimskringla • Friday 30 April 1999
Mountain, North
Dakota Celebration
Leslie Geir
Mountian, ND
This year marks the lOOth
anniversary of the Icelandic
August 2nd celebration held in
Mountain, North Dakota. Plans are well
underway for a huge celebration involv-
ing the President of Iceland as well as
several other dignitaries from Iceland.
Canada, and the US. All activities are
scheduled for Friday to Monday, July
30-August 2. Committees have been
working for more than a year to organ-
ize events which will reflect the
Icelandic heritage and culture so impor-
tant to the people who settled in this
area of northeastern North Dakota. At
this time we would like to extend an
invitaiton for you to join us at this cele-
bration.
Most of the activities will take place
in Mountain, home of the oldest
Icelandic Lutheran Church in America.
The President of Iceland, Ólafur
Grímsson, has confirmed his attendance
at the festivities and the former bishop
of Iceland, Rev. Ólafur Skúlason, who
at one time ministered in this area, and
his wife Ebba will be in attendance at
the celebration as representatives of the
church of Iceland. Representing the
state of North Dakota, Lieutenant
Govemor Rosemarie Myrdal, of nearby
Gardar, will also be attending this yar’s
celebration.
Also taking part in the activities
from Iceland will be a forty-member
male choir, a string quartet, a puppeteer,
a tour group, as well as several individ-
uals who will be making the trip.
The committees have focused on
culture and heritage as they plan for
Icelandic food items, crafts, and music
to be featured throughout the weekend.
Other activities planned include dances
both Friday and Saturday night, a large
fireworks display, parade on Saturday, a
play depicting the early life of the first
immigrants from Iceland, worship serv-
ice, games, a camival of events, bands,
shows, and the rededication of a memo-
rial to K.N. Júlíus—a renowned poet
from Iceland who spent most of his life
in this area. The entire celebration has
something for every age group to enjoy.
If you would like to leam more
about the celebration and its history,
please check out the websidte for fur-
ther details and a complete schedule of
events, www.august2nd.com. Our mail-
ing address is: August 2nd Celebration,
PO Box 063, Mountain, ND, USA,
58262, Tel: (701) 993-8268, Fax: (701)
993-8261, e-mail is August
2@Polarcomm.com. We have confirma-
tion of visitors and old friends from all
over the country who are planning to
attend and welcome anyone who might
like to join us.
Children ’s
Corner
The Black Beard and the White Hair Svarta skeggið og hvíta hárið
One day when the king of England
was in Edinburgh, he saw in the street
a man with a black beard and white
hair.
The king looked at him for a little
time, and as he wanted to know why
he was black and white, he went up to
the man and asked him, “How can it
be that you have such a black beard,
while your hair looks quite white?”
“Well,” answered the man, "noth-
ing is more natural. It is because my
hair is twenty years older than my
beard.”
Dag nokkurn þegar Englands-
konungur var í Edinborg, sá hann
mann á götunni með svart skegg og
hvítt hár.
Kóngurinn horfði á hann stutta
stund, og þar sem hann langaði að
vita hversvegna hárið var hvítt en
skeggið svart, fór hann til mannsins og
spurði hann, “Hvernig stendur á því að
þú ert með svona svart skegg en um
leið með hvítt hár?”
“Ja,” svaraði maðurinn, “það er
ekkert eðlilegra. Það er vegna þess að
hárið er tuttugu árum eldra en skeg-
gið.”
beard
hair
Vocabulary
skegg white
hár natural
hvítur
eðlilegt
Iceland: easy access to infor-
mation on the internet
Brian Gudmundson
Samkoma functions as “The
Meeting Place” website on the
Intemet for visitors interested in
Icelandic and Westem-Icelandic infor-
mation. Now, Samkoma has more than
800 Internet links. Previously hard-to-
find information is now made available
in this easy-to-navigate website, made
in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
The URL is http://www.samko-
ma.com
There are many reasons for
Samkoma to exist. Icelanders are one of
the highest per capita “netizens”
(Intemet citizens) of the world. Vikings
discovered North America. Icelanders
are a curious and assertive breed. Web
weavers Stóri Lundi & Lundason
thought that the descendants of
Icelandic emigrants are curious enough
about their heritage to value a site ded-
icated to meeting and understanding
others with similar interests.
The Samkoma website has been
designed as a connection between
Icelandic/Canadian/US website links
and information. It serves the growing
Icelandic cyberspace community. As
visitors enter this large electronic
Icelandic library, they are provided with
the daily currency exchange and cuirent
weather conditions in Reykjavik,
Iceland as well as Gimli, Manitoba.
The following sections within
Samkoma give the visitor many choic-
es:
The Links Index of
Icelandic Categories:
Leading to more than 800 sites, 29
categories include: Accommodation,
Animals, Auto Rental, Chat,
Commercial, Canada/USA Culture &
Clubs, Culture [in Iceland], Education,
Family Lineage, Fishing, Geography,
Government Services, Icelandic
History, Learning Icelandic, Literature,
Manitoba Travel, Music, News [live
TV and Radio], Norse History, People,
Politics, Photos & Postcards, Places in
Iceland, Restaurants & Foods, Sagas,
Software for Icelandic, Things To Do in
Iceland, Travel Tips for Iceland, and
Weather.
The Samkoma Search Engine:
Looking for something but not sure
where to begin in the Links Index? Try
the Samkoma keyword search engine,
now supporting multiple keywords. It
searches 100% of the text of all
Samkoma’s links, not just keywords.
The Samkoma Chat Room has
been created for real-time conversation.
A visitor just needs to pick a nickname
and enter. Samkoma Chat exists for
intemational chatting pleasure: English,
Icelandic, and a mixture of the two are
used. Everybody is welcome as long as
you treat the others with respect.
The Photo Galiery:
Stóri Lundi has provided a photo
gallery from his June 1998 trip to
Iceland. Click on any of the small pho-
tos for a much larger image. Stóri
Lundi’s (a.k.a. “The Big Puffin”) trip
plans became a reality in June 1998.
Iceland’s weather cooperated with 95%
sunshine! After one week in Reykjavík,
Lundi drove the Ring Road around
Iceland, adding many extra small side
trips, too. He stopped to visit the home-
steads of his all great-grandparents
(who left Northem Iceland circa 1880).
Other adventures included finding
“new” relatives, seeking the elusive
puffins, driving many mountain passes,
and soaking in several hot tubs.
Making new friendships, tasting the
foods and seeing Iceland’s rugged
beauty were a few of the delights.
Ahhh, Iceland was at its best!
The Bulletin Board:
Recent messages posted include:
• Individuals looking for travel infor-
mation ...
• People seeking a travel companion ...
• Asking for Icelandic-speaking child
care person to work in Gimli ...
• Notice of Icelandic classes offered in
Winnipeg...
The Music Library:
While browsing information sites
on Samkoma, just click- on the rnusic
note at the top of the Samkoma page.
Over 30 MIDI songs await the user.
An E-mail Invitation:
The Samkoma Website continues to
grow. It welcomes contributions from
the cyber community. The potential
growth is unlimited. All are invited to
come and look, gather infonnation, chat
in cyberspace, or share new website
topics.
Creamery celebrates anniversaries
Markerville will host a special
celebration and homecoming of
former residents. The events will mark
the hundred years since the Creamery
Co-op started as Tindastóll Butter and
Cheese Manufacturing Association. As
well, it is the twenty-fifth anniversary
of the Stefan G. Stephansson Icelandic
Society. There will be a full weekend of
events for all to enjoy. For further infor-
mation, contact the society at: Box 837,
Markerville, AB, TOM 1M0, Tel: (403)
728-3006, Fax: 728-3225, or e-mail:
creamery@touralberta.com