The Icelandic Festival of Manitoba (also known as , Icelandic for 'Icelander's Day') is an annual festival of

Icelandic culture The culture of Iceland is largely characterized by its literary heritage that began during the 12th century but also traditional arts such as weaving, silversmithing, and wood carving. The Reykjavík area hosts several professional theaters, art ...

, held in

Gimli, Manitoba Gimli is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated community in the Rural Municipality of Gimli on the west side of Lake Winnipeg in Manitoba, Canada. It is located 80 km north of the provincial capital Winnipeg. The community's first European settle ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, and thought to be the oldest Icelandic festival in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

. It is held for three days during the first weekend of August, i.e., the Terry Fox Day long weekend. Having been celebrated since 1890, and held in Gimli since 1932, organizers of the festival believe it to be the second oldest continuous ethnic festival in North America. (Only an Irish festival held annually in

Montreal, Quebec Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, is a few years older.) The festival is now visited by several thousand tourists each year. The community of Gimli, part of the broader region of

New Iceland New Iceland ( ) is the name of a region on Lake Winnipeg in Manitoba founded by Icelandic settlers in 1875. The community of Gimli, which is home to the largest concentration of Icelanders outside of Iceland, is seen as the core of New Icela ...

, is home to the largest concentration of Icelanders outside of Iceland.Icelandic festival celebrates 130 years, from modest to major summer event
" ''CBC News''. 2019 August 2. Retrieved 2023-08-07.

History

19th century

The first Icelandic festival in North America was held in

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

, in 1874. The first Manitoba Icelandic Festival Parade was held on August 2, 1890, at 10:30am on Nena Street (now Sherbrooke Street) in Winnipeg, south of the First Lutheran Church. It was led by the Infantry School Band, followed by men, then teenagers and children. Most women, however, rode in rented carriages to avoid the muddy roads caused by a large rainstorm the day before. The parade would finish around 11:30, followed by games and sports events, with actual celebration beginning at 2:30pm. The first president of the festival was Wilhelm Paulson. Though the first parade was held on August 2, Manitoba's Icelandic community could not agree on an official date or name for the festival for future celebrations. July 16 was debated as a good date, as that was the day that Icelandic explorers in 1875 reached

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

.Matthiasson, John S. 2019 September 23.
Icelandic Canadians
" ''The Canadian Encyclopedia''. Historica Canada. Retrieved 2023-08-07. However, this date had no significance to Icelanders in Iceland, who the organizers did not want to alienate from the celebrations. During a meeting on May 28, 1898, at the Northwest Hall, the organizers chose August 2 to be the date for the festival due to its historical significance for both North America and Iceland. It was on this day, in 1874, that the first Icelandic celebration in

had taken place, and, in Iceland, a new

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

had been granted.

Early 20th century

In 1924, the tradition of selecting a woman to be the ('Maid of the Mountain') began, wherein the ''Fjallkona'' is Iceland, and her children are the Icelanders. A woman named Sigrun Lindal became the first Fjallkona of Islendingadagurinn. In 1932, in its 42nd year, the festival moved to

. Though originally just an experimental move, the community evidently became the permanent location of the festival. One of the main benefits to the relocation was that it brought the festival closer to the Icelandic communities of not only Gimli, which is home to the largest concentration of Icelanders outside of Iceland, but also Selkirk, Arborg, and Hnausa. Another benefit was that Gimli Park offered more outdoor space and shelter than

parks in Winnipeg A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are green spaces set aside for recreation inside towns and cities. N ...

. Initially, a major issue that arose with the relocation was arranging transportation to Gimli from Winnipeg. As such, the festival committee arranged with Winnipeg Electric Co. to supply 3 large buses for CA$125, and additional buses at $35 each, for transportation to the festival. The

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway () , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...

also agreed to offering return fares at a cost of $1.25 per person. Renovated Gimli Viking statue

Recent history

In the 1960s, a

fibreglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass ( Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass c ...

statue of a

Viking Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

was erected in Gimli for the

Canadian Centennial The Canadian Centennial was a yearlong celebration held in 1967 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation. Celebrations in Canada occurred throughout the year but culminated on Dominion Day, July 1. Commemorative coins were m ...

. The statue was unveiled in 1967 by then-President of Iceland

Ásgeir Ásgeirsson Ásgeir Ásgeirsson (; 13 May 1894 – 15 September 1972) was the second president of Iceland; he served from 1952 to 1968. He also served as the prime minister of Iceland from 3 June 1932 to 28 July 1934 for the Progressive Party. Ásgeir is ...

. Fifty years later, in recognition of the Icelandic Festival's 125th anniversary and in honour of Canada's 150th birthday, a new Viking Park around the statue was unveiled on 5 August 2017.

Past presidents

Festivities

Artworks from jewellery to paintings are displayed at the art museum as well along the pier wall that extends from downtown Gimli into the lake, and traditional Icelandic dishes are offered. A reenactment of a Norse

shield wall A shield wall ( or in Old English, in Old Norse) is a military formation that was common in ancient and medieval warfare. There were many slight variations of this formation, but the common factor was soldiers standing shoulder to shoulder ...

battle is also held each day, being accompanied by an interactive Norse village where the reenactors perform tasks such as

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

ing,

craft A craft or trade is a pastime or an occupation that requires particular skills and knowledge of skilled work. In a historical sense, particularly the Middle Ages and earlier, the term is usually applied to people occupied in small scale pr ...

ing, and

sewing Sewing is the craft of fastening pieces of textiles together using a sewing needle and thread. Sewing is one of the oldest of the textile arts, arising in the Paleolithic era. Before the invention of spinning yarn or weaving fabric, archaeo ...

. The festival has a tradition of selecting a woman to be the ('Maid of the Mountain'), wherein the ''Fjallkona'' is Iceland, and her children are the Icelanders. At the festival, the selected woman sits on her elevated throne, clad in a formal Icelandic costume of a white gown, green robe with ermine, golden belt, high-crowned headdress, and white veil falling over the shoulders to the waist. Two

maids of honour A maid of honour is a junior attendant of a queen in royal households. The position was and is junior to the lady-in-waiting. The equivalent title and office has historically been used in most European royal courts. Tudors and Stuarts Traditi ...

, formerly clad in plain Icelandic costume with tasseled skullcaps, are dressed in white. In former years, these maids of honour were known as Miss Canada and Miss America.

History

19th century

Early 20th century

Recent history

Past presidents

Festivities

See also

References

Further reading