The Icelandic Canadian - 01.03.1994, Síða 39

SPRING, 1994
THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
149
tomorrow they can live in a peaceful
land and remain loyal and faithful to
their neighbour and their country to
the end of the Age. ”
The three days at Gimli were
indeed very exciting. Just being a part
of all the activities, the receptions, the
concerts, dinner, luncheon, and
meeting so many people was
fantastic. I owe a debt of gratitude to
the Icelandic Festival Committee
president, Art Kilgour; to my escort
during the festival, Ernest Stefanson;
and to all the Committee members for
their gracious hospitality. I also
appreciated the genuine kindness of
the Prime Minister of Iceland, David
Oddsson and his wife, who had come
from Iceland for the 1993 celebration.
There were to be three more events
following the Icelandic Festival of
Manitoba for which I was granted the
privilege of wearing the Fjallkona
costume. During the second week of
Winnipeg’s Folklorama, “Festival of
Nations,” in August 1993, at the
Scandinavian Pavilion, I wore the
Fjallkona costume for two days. With
four shows each evening, (eight
performances) I was pleased to
explain just what the Fjallkona
represents.
The next event took me out to the
Brandon, Manitoba “Heritage Festi-
val” at the Keystone Centre, October
1-2, 1993. There I spoke at the open-
ing ceremonies, once again appearing
in the Fjallkona costume, and spent
some time at the Icelandic display
area. Again, the Icelandic club of
Brandon, Falkinn Chapter of the
Icelandic National League, was the
only Scandinavian ethnic group
represented at this annual 3-day
festival.
Last, but not least, we were invited
to the Norsk ‘Hostfest’ in Minot, North
Dakota, October 16-18. Our hostess
while in Minot was Hilda Almquist, an
Icelandic woman eighty-seven years
young.
The opening ceremony of each per-
formance of the Hostfest’s main-stage
show consisted of a parade of flags,
during which the United States,
Canada and all five Scandinavian
countries were represented by
standard bearers. Four times I
proudly carried the Icelandic flag, as
“O Gud Vors Lands ” was being sung,
during the elaborate ceremony. Our
group from Manitoba again
participated in two ‘Bunad/ Costume’
shows at the unbelievably gigantic 3-
day annual Norsk Hostfest, (estimated
attendance 70,000-80,000 people).
It has been a year of new exper-
iences for me. I was most grateful to
have the support of my husband
throughout all these memorable
events, and to my family who were
there for me at Gimli for Islend-
ingadagurinn. Also, I am indebted to
the women who accompanied me to
the out-of-town festivals and wore
their Icelandic costumes. They were
all great ambassadors for our ethnic
group.
It was with some nostalgia that I
returned the Fjallkona costume to the
Icelandic Festival Committee. To them
I say, “Thanks a million!” I will
cherish the memories always.
Congratulations and warm wishes
to the Fjallkona of 1994, Dilla Nar-
fason. To you I hand over the crown
and veil to begin yet another chapter
in the annals of Islendingadagurinn.