Lögberg-Heimskringla - 13.05.1994, Page 2

Lögberg-Heimskringla - 13.05.1994, Page 2
2 • Lögberg-Heimskringla • Föstudagur 13. maí 1994 Þorrablót in Wynyard by Joan Eyolfson Cadham “Icelanders were the first group other than the aboriginals and the Scottish fur traders to reach the Elfros; Wynyard, Foam Lake, Churchbridge areas,” said Mayor Sharon Armstrong, welcoming 250 revellers to the 13th annual Vatnabyggð Club Þorrablót held in Wynyard. “Icelanders didn’t go just anywhere — it had something to do with the lakes. But they came, and they settled, and they were a major factor in the development of Saskatchewan,” she said. Mayor Armstrong cited the contribu- tions of the Icelandic community, high- lighting music, poetiy, literaiy achieve- ment, farming, fishing, agriculture, cul- tural excellence and a past president of the University of Saskatchewan. Mayor Aimstrong greeted the crowd in Icelandic and English, and the bilin- gual flavour was continued by Marj Nainaar of Canwood who, as Past President of the Multicultural Council of Saskatchewan, presented a plaque of appreciation to Eric Stefanson, past Vice President of the Council. The Vatnabyggð Icelandic Club focuses on multiculturalism as one of its aims and ideals. Representatives of the Club represent the Icelandic community Above: Marj Nainaar with Eric Stefanson. Left: Vatnabyggö Þorrablót — on the floor. Right: Like mother, like daughter— Cindy and Michelle Goodman. at festivals across the province and Stella Stefanson, club secretary and . librarian in Elfros, presents multicultur- al and citizenship displays under the auspices of Vatnabyggð. Herman Slotsve, President of the Multicultural Council and Marj Nainaar both com- mended the local Icelanders on “respecting the Canadian flag while still retaining your own culture.” As in all parts of North America where Icelanders gather, Þorrablót in Wynyard was celebrated with an equal mix of good food, a cultural compo- nent, and countiy dancing. Food included rúllupylsa, brown bread, lifrarpylsa, cold meats, a cheese platter, salads, mysuostur, skyr, vínarterta, sweet soup, assorted squares, and lashings of coffee. The formal program was emceed for the thirteenth time by Raymond Stefanson of Saskatoon who is an English professor in his spare time when he is not corresponding with Einar and Siggi. Stefanson shared Einar’s most recent letter with the Þórrablót crowd, a long dissertation on Siggi’s ventures into the Lillehammar Olympics. Jón Jónsson, Consul of Iceland in .Saskatchewan, gave Iceland’s history, pointing out that this June 17, Iceland will celebrate 50 years of independence from Denmark. “From 1262 until 1382, Iceland was ruled by Norway, and from 1382 to 1944 by Denmark,” he said. “In their 1120 year histoiy, Icelanders have experienced 682 years of foreign rule and enjoyed 438 years of indepen- dence.” Iceland straddles the Arctic Circle at the top of the North Atlantic, has a pop- ulation one quarter the size of Saskatchewan, and is half the physical size of Saskatchewan with two per cent arable land. he reminded the crowd. Natural resources are limited to fish. hydro-electric and thermal power. However, Jónsson said, Iceland, with a population of 260,000, has a standard of living consistently among the top ten countries, shares the highest life expectancy with Japan, has the lowest infant mortality rate, no armed forces and 100 per cent literacy. The first democratically elected woman head of state came from Iceland he said, and, amid cheers, he þointed out that Iceland featured the first gener- al strike by women to shut down a countiy. On a per capita basis, Iceland holds the world record or ranks near the top in books published, number of book stores, cöffee drinking, phone conversa- tions, running up of Visa chaiges, num- ber of chess Grand Masters, and win- ners of Miss World and Miss Universe contests. “It is the perseverance, hard work and the ingenuity of its people in har- nessing their resources that have made Iceland a modem and progressive soci- ety and a well-respected member of the iqtemational commúnity.” Jónsson said “It is also a community that is proud of and determined to preserve its literary, artistic and cultural heritage.” Entertainment included the Ice- landic choir in English and Icelandic, the Cantabile Singers of Wynyard, many of whom are also members of the Icelandic choir, and the Vatnabyggð Dancers. In keeping with the multicultural theme, the lead singer for the evening’s band performed numbers in English, French and Chinese. Samgönguráðuneytið sendir bestu kveðjur til íslendinga, sem búsettir eru í Vesturheimi og afkomerida þeirra, með von um að sem flestir þeirra sjái sér fært að heim- sækja ísland á þessu afmælisári íslenska lýðveldisins og treysta þannig gömul og ný tengsl þessara landa. Samgönguráðuneytið. To Icelanders and their families residing in Canada and the USA, the Ministry of Communications sends its best wishes and welcomes them to Iceland, on the 50th Anniversary of the Republic where ðfamily ties can be strengthened and established anew. The Ministry of Communications in Iceland. presidenT: Neil Bardal VICEJ>residenT: Don Bjornson treasurer: Gordon Thorvaidson |secretary: Barbara Sigurdson editor: Tom Oleson icelandic editorS: Birgir Brynjolfsson & Gunnur Isfeldi assistant editor: Laurie Oleson advertising directoR: Fred Isford recording secretary: Rosemarie Isford office manager: Laurie Oleson board memberS: Robert Oleson, Linda Collette, Sigurlin Roed, Brian Petursson, Kirsten Wolf, Bea Sharpe, S. Norma Godavari, Hal Bjornson, Connie Schminowski ÍÍ; representative in icelanD: Þjóðræknisfélag Islendinga Umboðsmaður blaðsins á Islandi Hafnarstræti 20 101 Reykjavík, Sími 621062 Telefax 626278 | Graphic Design: Barbara GislaSOn • Typesetting: Keystone Graphics • Printing: Vopni Press Subscription • $39.90 per year (indudes GST & PST) in Manitoba, $37.45 per year (indudes GST) in Canada, $40.00 in lceland, U.S. + Others - PAYABLE IN ADVANCE -

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