Throughout the year we provide our members with many cultural events and activities.
Put these dates in your calendar!
- Sunday, February 22: Attention All Bakers – There are openings for a total of 10 New Sweden members to come to a private home to prepare dough and bake pastries for Tuesday’s Nordic Coffee Hour. We will share baking tips and our favorite recipes for Swedish treats.
- Tuesday, February 24: Nordic Coffee Hour – New Sweden will host the Nordic Coffee Hour at Nordia House. Enjoy a fika with traditional Swedish baked goods. The free coffee hours are a delightful opportunity to meet others who share your interest in Nordic heritage. 8800 SW Oleson Road, Portland, Oregon 97223 from 10am-11:30am.
- Saturday, February 28: Orienteering – It’s that time of year again when New Sweden is heading out with the Columbia River Orienteering Club to explore and have fun in the PNW. We’re starting in Multnomah Village for the annual Multnomah Village Night-O on Saturday, February 28th, from 4:30 pm to 8:00 pm. Come and hang out with other New Sweden members and enjoy wandering through the neighborhoods around Multnomah Village. If you are interested please contact Tanaka Axberg at tanakaaxberg@gmail.com
- Sunday, March 29: New Sweden Annual Membership Meeting – All New Sweden members are encouraged to gather for the annual membership meeting. A short program on Floorball follows the meal. David Slater of the Portland Floorball Club will be joining us to talk about this exceptionally popular sport in Sweden and one of the fastest growing sports in the US behind Pickleball. Sweden was the birthplace of the sport. West Hills Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 8470 SW Oleson Road, from 2 – 4 pm.
- Sunday, April 12: Historic 1937 Steiner Church Presentation and Tour – This is a no-cost event for New Sweden members and a fee of only $10 for accompanying friends. The event will include a presentation on the Henry Steiner family, a brief history of Swedish cabins in America and Fogelbo. A tour will be led by church owner, Mike Grudge. The Steiner Church is located at 68835 East Barlow Trail Road, Welches, OR 97067. Event from 1-3pm. Non-members may sign up and pay at this link: Special Events | New Sweden Cultural Heritage Society
- Thursday, April 30: Celebrate Valborg – New Sweden will be hosting a festive Valborg Celebration on the evening of April 30. The event takes place at West Hills Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 8470 SW Oleson Road, 5:30 – 8:30 pm. Come to share hot dogs, songs and a bonfire – a Swedish Valborg tradition for many that marks the arrival of spring and is a joyful community celebration.
- Friday, May 15: Ross Fogelquist’s Birthday and 40th Anniversary of Knighthood Celebration – A celebration of Ross Fogelquist 88th Birthday and the 40th Anniversary of his Investiture as a Knight of the Royal Order of the Polar Star First Class. Save the date as further details will be forthcoming.
- Saturday, June 13: 99th Annual League of Swedish Societies Midsummer Festival. Midsummer is one of the most important Swedish festivities, a celebration of the summer solstice. Families and friends get together to raise the Maypole (majstång or midsommarstång) and dance around it, sing, enjoy food and other treats, and celebrate summer at its height. Oaks Park, Portland. 11am-4pm.
- Sunday, August 16: Kraftskiva Party – This year we’ll hold on the grounds of Fogelbo. Kräftskiva is an annual seafood fest with lots of side dishes, drinks and joyous songs – a summertime celebration dear to Swedes of all ages. Here is a great video about the party: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Kd0co4fOaA. This event is for New Sweden Members & their guests.
- Saturday, November 28: Scandinavian Christmas Goat Market – We proudly host the 5th Annual Scandinavian Christmas Goat Market at the historic Norse Hall in Portland, Oregon. Guests will experience holiday spirit by wandering through Nordic themed booths, tasting Nordic foods, creating Jule goat crafts, listening to live entertainment, and exploring a huge LEGO Christmas display. 9am-4pm.
- Saturday, December 5: Lucia Fest – We will host the Lucia Fest at Moreland Presbyterian Church, 1814 SE Bybee Blvd, Portland, from 3pm-5pm. Participants enjoy a beautiful traditional pageant and music of the season by local Swedish chorus’, soloists, and dancers. Following the program there will be the customary singing and dancing around the Christmas tree, a visit by Tomten, glögg, coffee and traditional baked goods.
- Saturday/Sunday, December 12-13: Scan Fair – We will again attend ScanFair at the Oregon Convention Center with a New Sweden Cultural Heritage Society information booth. We will share New Sweden programs and events with the many ScanFair attendees.
Past Events
January 11: We held our annual Julgransplundring Party. In Sweden, January 13th (the 20th day of Christmas, called Tjugondedag Knut in Swedish) is considered the end of the Christmas holidays and with great fanfare a time to “throw out the Christmas tree”. The Julgransplundring party was held at Augustana Lutheran Church, 2710 NE 14th, Portland. We had snacks, games, and sang as we “danced away Christmas”.
Thank you for your support of our 2025 functions!
December 25: Julotta was held from 7am-10am at the First Immanuel Lutheran Church, 1816 NW Irving Street, Portland. Julotta is a traditional Swedish church service held at dawn on Christmas Day, celebrating the birth of Jesus. It is one of Sweden’s oldest Christmas traditions, deeply rooted in both religious practice and folk custom. The Official Oregon Lucia Court joined us.
December 13 & 14: We were at ScanFair this year at the Oregon Convention Center with a New Sweden Cultural Heritage Society information booth. We shared New Sweden programs and events with many ScanFair attendees. https://www.nordicnorthwest.org/scanfair
December 7: We kicked off our holiday season by attending The Portland Nordic Chorus Christmas Concert on Sunday, December 7, from 4 – 6:30 pm. The event was held in the Great Hall at Nordic Northwest.
December 6: We hosted the Lucia Fest at Moreland Presbyterian Church, 1814 SE Bybee Blvd, Portland, Saturday, on December 6th, 3pm-5pm. Participants enjoyed a beautiful traditional pageant and music of the season by local Swedish chorus’, soloists, and dancers. Following the program there was the customary singing and dancing around the Christmas tree, a visit by Tomten, glögg, coffee and traditional baked goods.
November 29: We proudly hosted the 4th Annual Scandinavian Christmas Goat Market at the historic Norse Hall in Portland, Oregon. Guests got their holiday spirit by wandering through Nordic themed booths, tasting Nordic foods, creating Jule goat crafts, listening to live entertainment, and exploring a huge LEGO Christmas display.
September 27: Orienteering – Champoeg State Park, 10:30am-3:30pm. This event closed out the 2025 orienteering season. New Sweden members navigated the beautiful Champoeg State Park along the Willamette River on Saturday, September 27th, from 10:30 am to 3:00 pm. Please out to Tanaka Axberg at tanakaaxberg@gmail.com or (714) 656-7837 if you would like to sign up for next year’s events.
August 9: Kräftskiva’ (crayfish) Party: Kräftskiva is an annual seafood fest with lots of side dishes, drinks and joyous songs – a summertime celebration dear to Swedes of all ages. Here is a great video about the party: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Kd0co4fOaA. This event was for New Sweden Members & their guests.
June 14: League of Swedish Societies 98th Portland Midsummer Festival: Oaks Amusement Park. Midsummer is one of the most important Swedish festivities, a celebration of the summer solstice. Families and friends got together to raise the Maypole (majstång or midsommarstång) and dance around it, sing, enjoy food and other treats, and celebrate summer at its height.
April 30: Valborg Celebration: Over 40 people came out to enjoy a lovely evening with a bonfire, singing, live music, and Swedish-style hot dogs. We happily celebrated Valborg on the actual day of the event, even if it was a Wednesday, and look forward to arrival of warmer weather (as officially ushered in by the event).
March 30: Annual Membership Meeting: We held our annual meeting at the West Hills Unitarian Universalist Fellowship. After a short business meeting, we held a simple celebration in anticipation of Swedish Easter, which falls on Sunday, April 20. The celebration was followed by a wonderful reading of Secrets, Lies, and Sneaky Spies by author Rayna Flye. You may read about Rayna at Rayna Flye | Cozy Spy Mystery Writer. The meeting was a wonderful, relaxed opportunity which allowed us to meet other members.
Thank you for your support of our 2024 functions!
December 14: We enjoyed a beautiful Scandinavian traditional pageant and the joyous music of the season by celebrating Lucia Fest at Moreland Presbyterian Church. There was music and performances by the children of The Swedish School of Portland, the Portland Scandinavian Choir, Vocal soloists, and Oregon’s 2024 Lucia Court. Following the program there was the customary singing and dancing around the Christmas tree “Ringlekar Runt Julgranen”, a visit from Tomten, glögg, coffee, and traditional baked goods.
November 30: We proudly hosted the 3rd Annual Scandinavian Christmas Goat Market at the historic Norse Hall in Portland, Oregon. Guests got their holiday spirit by wandering through over 30 Nordic themed booths, tasting Nordic foods, creating Jule goat crafts, listening to live entertainment, and exploring a huge LEGO Christmas display.
October 27: We offered a cookie baking class for the holidays. We made two very different kinds of cookies- the Drömmar (Swedish Dream Cookies) that melt in your mouth, and the more complicated, special occasion Sara Bernhardt cookies. Our instructor Richard Freimark came from a family of bakers. His grandfather was a chocolatier in Austria, and his father started the largest retail bakery in upstate New York.
August 17: We celebrated Kraftskiva, a cherished Swedish tradition. Our celebration included crayfish and good company. We had a delightful spread of fresh crayfish, tasty sides, and refreshing drinks.
June 15: We had an event with the League of Swedish Societies. The 97th Annual Portland Midsummer Festival at Oak’s Park! This was one of the oldest official Oregon Heritage Traditions! There was music and of course the Majstång.
May 25: We had a special celebration for the 25th anniversary of Swedish Roots in Oregon. There was an informative program and refreshments provided. Thank you to the West Hills Unitarian Fellowship Hall.
May 17 – We had a birthday party for the one and only Ross Fogelquist! This celebration had cake and drinks. It was also Norwegian Constitution Day! Thank you to the Oslo Lounge at Norse Hall!
May 5 – Valborg was a fun success! We partnered with the local Finnish groups, where guests enjoyed music and korv! Well, the Finns call it “Makkara” 😉
March 24 – We held our Annual Member’s Meeting in Lake Oswego and celebrated a Swedish Easter with brunch and good company. Our President gave a speech recapping 2023 and looking forward to 2024. Ross gave a speech about our 35th anniversary. Wow, 35 years of sharing Swedish culture. Then Jimmy showed a video of the 15 Best Places to Visit in Sweden. Thank you to everyone who attended, and to the Lundin family for hosting.
