scandinavian festival

In Jamestown, New York, there is a little-known Scandinavian Festival which has been going on for a few years.  The festival is mostly made up of local craftsmen and volunteers who celebrate their Nordic ancestors who settled in the western part of New York.  This year my sisters and I went as our mother's family is from Copenhagen, Denmark.  I have also studied Scandinavian culture and I was excited to learn more.

First on the agenda for the day was the May Pole ceremony where those participating carry in the May Pole and stand it up in its place.  Then those who wish to, gather around and dance traditional pieces.  I was standing too close and so I had the chance to participate. What I thought would be a quick, one dance turned into a thirty minute dance lesson.  It was quite crazy; nobody actually seemed to know what they were doing, but it was great fun and I learned some Swedish dances!

We walked around a bit before settling in to watch a Hans Christian Andersen impersonator who spoke with a "Danish" accent and recounted his stories for the children.  He also did paper cutouts while speaking - something that Hans Christian Andersen is said to have done.  The impersonator did a great job and was a hit with the kids (and the adults).

After wandering around a bit, we stopped and purchased some Danish salt and pepper shakers for our mom and then got some Swedish lunch.  We tried quite a few different things, including Swedish meatballs, kurv (like sausage), boiled potatoes, cucumber salad and rice pudding. We also got some rye bread and lingonberry preserves which were interesting. I preferred the lingonberry drink which we also got to sample.

From there we decided to check out the craft tents.  The main craft going on was ros mal painting of Dala horses which was pretty involved.  Nevertheless, my younger sisters and I did our best and had fun learning and painting small horses to take home.  It was definitely harder than it looked to get it perfect!  Our last activity for the day was the paper cut outs.  The HCA impersonator had some templates we could use so I made a butterfly and then added some more details to make it a little nicer.  It was quite a lot of fun!

My finished Dala horse.

 Fun finds at the Festival:

Dala shaped cake pans

There was a blacksmith who had a forge set up at the festival and some of his wares on display:

Swedish Barbie!

If you're in the area next year, please go have a look around! It's a fun time, especially with the kids, whether or not you're of Scandinavian ancestry!

ice cream

While in New York visiting family, we tested out several different ice cream stands.  Prior to this I had always considered ice cream to be pretty similar, only to find out I was quite wrong. Most of the ice cream stands in that area of New York were either Perry's or Hershey's - both delicious for different reasons.  My favorite in the end was Boxcar Barney's, which happened to be the first one we tried. It was just too tasty. 

The Winner: BROWNIE BATTER and COCONUT, ALMOND & CHOCOLATE. The flavors were amazing and the whole experience was just fantastic.

My second favorite was The Ice Cream Shack.  I got Death by Chocolate and Chocolate Chip Cookie dough. The flavors were great, the consistency was nice and smooth and the ice cream was nice and hard.

Bemus Point had great flavor choices but it seems like they had difficulty keeping their ice cream cold, which is kinda important.  I got white lightening (chocolate with thick ribbons of mint) and cannoli which was overpowered by the mint chocolate but very tasty.

Our last place ice cream stand is:

Big Tree was probably my least favorite, the flavor wasn't all that great. I got Eskimo Kisses which just didn't measure up to the other flavors I tried.  

If I ever get back to Jamestown, I know where I'll be headed back to!

risd museum

Sunday afternoon my little sister and I walked over to the Rhode Island School of Design museum, just down the street from my sister's house.  It was hot outside but luckily the short distance and air conditioning made it alright.  The museum has quite a variety of things, mostly typical of big museums along with a few unique items.  One thing that is short-term is the Dandy exhibit which follows the rise of the "dandy" as a persona and figure throughout history from its conception and base.  It was interesting and it was neat mostly to see the original clothes and feel swatches of the material used.  

Cameos feature in this mirror design (Pendleton House)

Another unique feature of the museum is Pendleton House which is a fully restored 20th Century home which has been preserved (and restored) to what it would have looked like in 1905.  It was beautiful and you can just imagine what it would have been like to live in such a home.  In the main part of the museum, there is also a "grand ballroom" which is covered wall to wall and ceiling to floor in large paintings.  Its purpose is to emulate the grand salons that occurred throughout Europe during the 19th century.  It is fun to sit and admire all the paintings and pick out your favorites.  Two other things I liked I've posted pictures of.  Hopefully you can pick out your favorite items the next time you visit Providence!

clamming

A few days ago my sisters and I went clamming in Narragansett on a little stretch of muddy land at low tide.  We had so much fun that we did it again the next day and even got some more tools to make it a little easier.  We steamed the clams and ate them dipped in butter each night and they were so tasty. If you ever go clamming, look for the harder packed sand - the softer sand doesn't usually have any clams.  Secondly, look for small holes in the sand.  The larger ones are usually duds, but the smaller ones are promising.  The areas including mounds of sand are also good indicators.

Some of our clams

After we went clamming our second time, we got clam cakes - pieces of fried dough with small pieces of clam inside.  They were delicious!

brimfield

Well, the last few weeks were pretty routine.  I did finish up my paperwork for my mission and they were officially submitted a few days ago! So hopefully I will have the when and where of my service in a few weeks.  A few days ago my family and I came up to Providence, Rhode Island to visit our sister and her family.  My parents went to England for my brother's Masters degree graduation and so we are vacationing with Rebecca.  

Yesterday we did the first of many fun excursions, up to Brimfield Massachusetts for the Brimfield Antique fair that is held three times a year.  The fair is about a mile long stretch along Route 20 with hundreds of vendors selling anything and everything you could possibly want.  I found some great items that I would have loved to purchase were I furnishing an apartment or home.  My sister walked away with quite a few items and I helped find some wooden type for another sister.  Other than the ridiculous heat, the fair was a fun time and I can't wait to go back!

I very nearly bought this

Lots of wooden and metal type

The first push chair sold to the public. Now going for $1500!

old rolling pins

I also wanted this sofa

See you next time, Brimfield!