Lögberg-Heimskringla - 31.08.1990, Page 7

Lögberg - Heimskringla • Föstudagur 31. ágúst 1990 • 7
Festival of Nations
The lcelandic Pavilion which was part
of the third annual Festival of Nations
held at Notre Dame Des Lourdes on the
weekend of July 14th and 15th, can be
calíed a qualified success.
The pavilion was one of seven fea-
tured there. The others were the
Salteaux, the Dutch, the British, the
French, the Belgian and the Ukranian,
each presenting various aspects of their
culture. About 5000 visitors attended
the festivities.
From the general comments it ap-
pears that the Icelandic Pavilion was
wellreceived, andthatthevisitorsfound
it not only entertaining and edifying,
butunique as well. There they were able
to partake of a wide variety of genuine
Icelandic food ranging from the well-
known vínarterta to the more rare
rúllupylsa and kleinur. The food was
catered by Alice Gudmundson and her
daughter, Eileen, and their presence
added a great deal to the pavilion.
For entertainment there were nu-
merous slide presentations, featuring
chiefly the landscape, the Icelandic po-
nies and discussions on the ancient Ice-
landic commonwealth. On the Saturday
TristinTergesen, accompanied by Helga
Anderson, gave a two part program of
songs. The first, four songs written by an
lcelandic Canadian, and the second, four
Icelandic songs: Ó, Blessuð Vertu Sumar
Sól, Sofðu Unga Ástin Mín, Stóð ég út
í Tunglsljósi, and the fourth, a ditty
about a flirtatious young girl with two
swains. On the Sunday afternoon
Sara (Sigurdson) Driedger also sang a
short program of lcelandic songs in
translation. They were, Ó Blessuð Vertu
Sumar Sól - Oh blessed sumraer sun;
Draumalandið - Dreamland; Sofðu
Unga Ástin Mín - Sleep my little love;
Þú Vor Gyðja Svífur - The Goddess of
springiscoming; Ófögur erVor Fóstuijörð
- How fair is our native land; and
Sólskríkjan - The finch. Both soloists
were warmly received.
Overall the Festival was a great suc-
cess, two balmy days of sunny Manitoba
weather made it especially enj oyable for
the relaxed holidayers. They could be
seen wandering about in a leisurely
manner drinking in the fresh country
air as they passed from pavilion to pavil-
ion.
The caterers, regrettably, did notget
the kind of response they had antici-
pated. Their food was of excellent qual-
ity, and tastefully displayed, but sales
were slow. Alice Gudmundsonfelt there
were several reasons for the low tumo-
ver. Firstly, she felt the program should
have been more varied and more con-
tinuous to keep attracting visitors; sec-
ondly, she admitted she wouldhave fared
better had she been able to serve alcohol
beverages as other pavilions were doing;
thirdly, she felt the location of the pavil-
ion was difficult to ftnd; and finally she
feltthe quarters were rather small. Paul
Sigurdson who organized and directed
the event agreed with her fully.
Sigurdson algo declares that he will
not organize it alone again. He wants to
persuade the Icelandic National League
or some other organization to take the
reins. He maintains that to compete on
an evenfield with the other ethnic groups
the pavilion must be improved. Some
ideas he has on this are: an elaborate
display of Icelandic artifacts, clothing,
ceramics etc.; a licence to sell liquor;
greater variety in entertainment; and a
strong committee to bring, this all about.
“I believe in this festival,” he says. “It
is a good way to break down barriers
between people of different colors and
nationalities. I hope some aggressive
Icelanders take up the challenge, recog-
nizingits positive aspects. At this stage
in our nation, we need an abundance of
Manitoba Progressive Conservatives
^iiihl /mih i'/ llinuii
Filmon

jogether, we can continue to meet the
challenges of making Manitoba strong, soyou and
yourfamily can enjoy thefull measure ofManitoba ’s
promise. Yoursupport is important on September 11.
Thankyou.
Moking Manitoba Strong.
goodwill and understanding, lest our
pathetic leaders in Ottawa steer us all to
ruin. All of us, as citizens, have a vital
role to play. We are supposed to be a
civilized people. It is time we projected
our vision beyond our primitive tribal
beliefs and advanced out of our adoles-
cence. This festival can help us move in
the right direction.
Pioneer lcelandic
Pastor
by T. Kenneth Thorlakson, MD
This biography, written by George
T. HouserandeditedbyPaulSigurdson,
recounts the short but turbulent life of
Paul (Páll) Thorlaksson.
The story begins in the north of
Iceland where disasterous climatic and
environmental conditions left a large
portion of the population virtually des-
titute. Many people had little option
other than to join the mass migration
from Europe to America which took
place at the end of the 19th century.
Attention is focused on one family, a
husband and wife and their nine chil-
dren who were caught up in this move-
ment and, one or two at a time, left for
the “new world”. The second oldest son
was Paul, and it is on his life and his
activities in the early days of Icelandic
settlement in America that the book
centers.
Paul’s mother was half Norwegian
and his second language Norwegian.
His early contacts in America were
Norwegians who had become estab-
lished. The Norwegian Synod sponsored
his theological studies. This liaison was
to have a major bearing on his activities
among fellow Icelanders.
Paul featured prominently in the
affairs of New Iceland. He was erudite,
articulate and single minded. In reli-
gion he was doctrinaire and unyielding
in his beliefs. As a leader he had a sense
of mission, and was unstinting of him-
self, eventually to the detriment of his
health. Whatever else can be said, he
made an impact which can still be felt
to this day.
This is a story of courage and tenac-
ity and endurance? of the hardships
encountered by the early settlers and
the obstacles which they had to over-
come. Researched from material writ-
ten in Icelandic over 100 years ago, the
account is often personal and intimate
and not without its tragedies.
Dr. Houser has done us a significant
service by translating from Icelandic
into English historical data which up to
now could only be studied in the origi-
nal language. I am given to understand
that these translations are scholarly
and accurate and even capture some of
the richness of expression so character-
istic of the Icelandic language.
In the preface of the book Dr. Houser
states, “the final, authoritative work
on most subjects has yet to be written,
and such is no doubt the case with the
life and career of Paul Thorlaksson.” “It
is hoped, however, that the present
work will cast light on aspects of Paul
Thorlaksson’s career that up to now
have not been accorded the attention
they merit. In this way, perhaps, one
can best honour the memory of a re-
markable man.”
And to this I might add my own
“preface”: Of everyone’s life there is a
story to tell - of challenges met - of
struggles overcome - of goals achieved
which is worth recording, and which in
its own way contributes a unique chap-
ter in the story of a family and of a
country.