Glad Midsommar Guru

Have a question about Skandia's Midsommarfest?  

Hey Guru,

What’s happening with Midsommarfest for next year?  Can it even happen now that the new Lodge at St. Edward has opened? Will there still be a Midsommarfest website?

Pondering the Future

Dear Pondering,

Given all the unexpected events of 2020 and 2021, your questions are certainly understandable.  At this point, the plan is to be back at St. Edward State Park with a live event in 2022.  The good news is that the staff at the new Lodge have expressed interest in finding ways to support it.  However, what remains unknown is how to best combine what makes the live event so special with what can be done virtually--definitely more new challenges ahead.  Perhaps you’d like to volunteer to help figure that out? If so, please email me guru@skandia-folkdance.org.

Dear Glad Midsommar Guru,

Oh wise one!  My question for you is, what is the meaning of life?  Looking forward to your enlightening answer.

Seeker of Guidance

Dear Seeker,

The Glad Midsommar Guru feels truly honored to be asked such a significant question. However, the Guru's expertise is truly in the area of Skandia Folkdance Society’s  annual Midsommarfest celebration.  To attempt to answer your question would therefore be most inappropriate. Instead, the Guru encourages you to seek your answer from other sources. Perhaps you could “Google it?”

Hey Guru,

I’ve only recently been here for Skandia’s Midsommarfest, so I'm wondering how long you've been helping out answering questions.  Is it true that these are “real” questions, not just made up for the newsletter?

Relative Newcomer

Dear Newcomer, 

Welcome!  Here’s hoping you had a chance to enjoy Midsommarfest at Saint Edward State Park before Covid-19 interfered.  If not, you’ll be in for a treat in 2022. In the meantime, you can enjoy the virtual event on a special website again this year--created just for this event and accessible ONLY from 6 p.m. on Friday, June 25th through 6 p.m. on Sunday, June 27th.

With regard to your second question, yes, these are real questions overheard at events or submitted directly to the Guru.  If more than one similar question is asked, they might be combined into one question for the newsletter. Without looking up the precise date, the Guru recalls that it was around 2005-2006 when there seemed to be a lot of questions or concerns about Midsommarfest overheard at various dances, classes, and other events.  To make sure all those got answered, your Guru volunteered to write them down and publish the answers in Skandia newsletters. Skandia members reported that those answers were helpful--even when someone else had asked the question.  Sooooo, here it is 2021 and the Guru is still hard at work answering questions--from others who report hearing them as well as directly from those who send theirs by email to guru@skandia-folkdance.org.  

Dear Glad Midsommar Guru,

Since the event is virtual, why not hold Midsommarfest on the actual Summer Solstice, June 20th, rather than the last weekend in June?

Inquiring Mind

Dear Inquiring Mind,

Good question--one for which there is more than one answer.  For Skandia, the primary reason is that assuming we’re able to do this in person again in the future, it’s important not to create confusion about when Skandia’s Midsommarfest is held.  Being clear, it’s easier for people to remember that it is on the last full weekend in June--the last Sunday, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.  

The decision about consistency of weekend was made some years ago to help avoid conflicts with other Midsommar celebrations around the Pacific Northwest.  That’s especially important for vendors and performers who can’t be in two places at once.  For example, when  Astoria’s Midsummer Festival ended up on the same weekend, most vendors had to choose between one or the other.

This is a public holiday in Sweden that is celebrated annually on the Saturday falling between June 20th-26th with festivities starting Friday evening.  There’s an interesting twist this year as the official dates are June 25th and June 26th.  

Hey Guru,

I spent a lot of my quarantine time going through boxes in the attic and found some old Midsommarfest stuff (pictures, fliers, newsletters…).  Now that I know where it is, I'm wondering if Skandia has any interest in it.

Quarantine Cleaner

Dear Quarantine Cleaner,

Going through boxes in the attic.  What fun!  Yes, Skandia has an interest.  Please email skandiamidsommar@gmail.com or call the Skandia phone line 425-954-5262 to let us know what you have and the best way to get in touch--phone and/or email.  Your treasures may become part of the History section on the Virtual Midsommarfest website, part of an ongoing Midsommarfest Memories website (still under construction), and/or part of the Skandia History Committee’s efforts to make sure Skandia’s past is not lost.  Thanks for asking!

Hey Guru,

I know Skandia has a website, but what about doing more with social media?  Is it okay for individuals to post information about the event on sites like Next Door, Twitter, Facebook?

Social Media Advocate

Dear Advocate,

Thanks for asking!  When individuals share the event with friends and neighbors, it carries a lot more credibility than just seeing a public advertisement.  Please feel free to share your enthusiasm and post a link about Midsommarfest https://sites.google.com/view/skandiamidsommar to your social media contacts.  In fact, it may even be worth posting a few times, e.g., a “Save the Weekend” comment now to make sure your friends and family have it on the calendar and then again in early June when more specific details about the event will be posted on the website.

Dear Guru,

The March 2018 newsletter had an article titled “ Skandia’s 60th Skandia Midsommarfest.”  That doesn’t seem right to me. If the first one was in 1959, shouldn’t the 60th celebration be in 2019?

Questioning

Dear Questioning,

This one caused the Guru to do a bit of head scratching because we usually think in terms of birthdays or anniversaries rather than events.  In this case, the first event was in 1959, so the tenth event was in 1968 and the 60th event will be in June of this year. On the other hand, if Skandia wanted to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the first event, that would happen in 2019.

Dear Glad Midsommar Guru,

Where have you been?  I heard that you weren’t doing the column because no one was asking questions.  How can that be?  Don’t you just make them up anyway?

Inquisitive reader

Dear Reader,

The whole purpose for starting this column was because there were lots of questions being asked that needed answers.  Sometimes two or three similar questions might have been combined into one, but they always came from hearing the questions being asked.   

These days, questions don’t seem to come up so often.  However, there may be some newer Skandia members who just haven’t thought about what Midsommarfest questions they might have.  It might even be that those are questions that have been asked and answered in previous years.  Given that possibility,  the Guru arranged to have this special tab added to the Skandia Midsommarfest website with current and previous (yet still relevant) questions and answers.

Hey Guru! 

When and where was the first Midsommarfest? How did it get started?

History buff

Dear Buffy,

Celebrations of the summer solstice actually date back to a pre-Christian era--evolving over time in different regions of Europe.  Skandia’s presentation of Midsommarfest comes from traditions practiced in Sweden for centuries.  The first Skandia Midsommarfest was held in June 1959 at the Scandia Gaard farmstead in Gig Harbor on Puget Sound.  Gordon Ekvall Tracie, Skandia’s founder and director, sought to re-create a traditional Swedish celebration of the summer solstice in as authentic a manner as possible--complete with the ancient pole-raising ceremony and outdoor dancing.  Even though our presentation has also evolved over time, moving from Gig Harbor to Poulsbo and then to Saint Edward in 2001, it has always maintained the key elements of the pole-raising ceremony, dancing, music and food.

Dear Glad Midsommar Guru,

This is my first year of hearing about and planning to attend Skandia’s Midsommarfest.  What is the significance of the pole raising?   I think it's referred to as a majstång.  Why is that? 

First timer

Dear First timer, 

The short answer, with regard to Skandia’s event, is that Skandia  founder  and  director  Gordon  Ekvall  Tracie,  aimed  to  re-create  a  traditional  Scandinavian  celebration  of  the  summer  solstice in as authentic a manner as possible, complete  with  the  ancient  pole-raising  ceremony  and  outdoor  dancing, as practiced in Sweden for centuries.   The pole is referred to as a majstång because it is decorated with greenery and flowers.  Now that you’ve asked the question, perhaps other long-time Skandia members will offer additional insights that can be included in the next newsletter.