God Jul!!

A couple of weekends ago, Dave and I decided to take a chance on the Norwegian Christmas Festival being held way over on the other side of the city. We were taking a chance because it was a long drive and a big time commitment, and we really didn't know what to expect, but we thought it was worth a go. And how right we were...


It was held in the Norwegian Seamen's Church, in Pasadena. Built in 1928, the church building is charming, and it's clear that it's home to all manner of other cultural gatherings, as they have a swimming pool, and a soccer field, and a fabulous play-ship built of logs, as well as other amenities... all the buildings were given over to the festival (you can see the front of the church in the photo above), as well as some extra space in a marquee out the back.


They had all manner of Christmas decorations for sale,


as well as a selection of cloths by Ekelund Weavers, and things like jewellery and ceramics.



There were also demonstrations of spinning, embroidery,


wood carving,


waffle making (yes, of course you could buy the waffles!),


and how to make krumkakes.


In fact, there was a whole room set aside as a bakery; the bread in the pigeonholes on the back wall was just to die for (we bought a loaf and had eaten every scrap by a couple of days later; American bread is a sorry lot, on the whole, and it was so nice to have something with a bit of guts to it!),


and while a lot of the goods on display there were Christmas specialities,


there were enough everyday goodies, along with tasting plates, to tempt us (we bought both snails and those croissant-like things; both were heavenly).


After seeing everything we could, we bought some salmon open-sandwiches, on rye bread and served with lettuce and egg; just delightful, and took them outside to eat in the fresh air. The atmosphere was just beautiful; golden-haired children running about everywhere, or playing politely in the sandpit, happy groups of people enjoying Norwegian delicacies, and it was actually pleasant to be outdoors! which has been a rare enough experience since my move to Houston.

We went home most gratified with the outcome of our adventuring, as can be imagined.


And now we just have to find a place for our Ekelund weaving...