Information provided by Seattle-Bergen Sister City Association

For anyone in Seattle looking for a way to experience a little bit of Norway here at home, they needn’t look beyond Ballard these days and the Seattle-Bergen Sister City Association. Sponsored by the city government both here and abroad, the 49-year-old organization is quickly emerging again as the “go-to” group for forging contacts between the two cities, be it within the realm of cultural programming, business or education. Last month local residents were delighted by the musical offerings at Ballard’s Bergen Place to mark Norwegian Constitution Day on May 17th, including a special “Tribute to Edvard Grieg” performed by the Northwest Accordionaires. With the 2017 golden jubilee of the group rapidly approaching, a flurry of summer activities is planned in prelude of what’s to come, including the traditional “Seven Hills Walk” on Saturday, June 4, and the annual “Grieg Gala” on Sunday, June 12, marking the culmination of a very active year.

“Looking back on 2016, the Flora Metamorphicae exhibit of ceramic flowers at the Nordic Heritage Museum in January was a pivotal moment for the association,” remarks president Lori Ann Reinhall. “We were pleased when the museum asks us to help support the event, but we somehow had no idea of the impact the exhibit would have on us, both in terms of its overwhelming beauty and the value of the personal contact we made with the artists. It brought home the meaning of the ‘people-to-people’ aspect of our work.” So impressed was Reinhall that she traveled to Bergen the next month together with Martha Levenson, director of the Seattle Lilla Spelmanslag, a group of young folk fiddlers. Levenson wanted to learn more about Norwegian folk music and exchange activities, and Reinhall was there to help facilitate the conversations. There were visits to City Hall, museums, schools, meetings with local artists, along with some intense exploratory sightseeing. “The contacts made during this trip were invaluable,” the SBSCA president relates, “and I found myself in state of perpetual enchantment. Bergen is amazingly beautiful, and the common interests between the two sister cities are almost uncanny: there is so much to share.” The highlight of the trip was the gifting of one-hundred flowers from the Flora Metamorphicae exhibit to the City of Seattle. “The flowers symbolize a relationship that is alive and flourishing,” Reinhall adds, “a symbol of a beautiful friendship.”

Kicking off the SBSCA’s summer activities is the “Seven Hills Walk” this Saturday, June 4, at 9:00 a.m., starting at Kerry Park on Queen Anne Hill. Led by long-time association member Dan Kaylor, the urban trek follows along a path past key landmarks of the Scandinavian American community. Based on an event in Bergen, the “Sjufjellsturen” or the “Seven-Mountain Walk,” only logical since Seattle is built on seven hills, while Bergen is surrounded by seven mountains. “We take it a bit easier here in Seattle,” explains Kaylor, who has guided the walk for thirteen years now. The tour is open to anyone who likes to walk and it is free. The pace is deliberately slow, with numerous stops for coffee and cookies, with lunch scheduled at Swedish Hospital Medical Center. At the end of the route on Beacon Hill, walkers return to Queen Anne by bus after a day of exercise, fresh air and bit of Seattle history.

Already the following week on Sunday, June 12th, at Ballard First Lutheran Church, 2:00-4:00 p.m., the third annual Grieg Gala, will mark the 173rd birthday of Edvard Grieg, Bergen’s and Norway’s most famous composer. It is the association’s largest event, and this year’s program promises to be the most exciting and varied to date. An impressive line-up of performers includes no less than two sopranos, two pianists, a violinist and a festival string orchestra. Opening the program is highly acclaimed soprano Mimmi Fulmer, professor of music at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. Accompanied by local favorite Aaron Otheim on the piano, Fulmer will delight her audience with Norwegian selections from her recently published anthology of Scandinavian songs, Midnight Sun. Lori Ann Reinhall first met Fulmer when she visited Seattle research her project. Fulmer also soon came into contact with local soprano, Laura Loge, who will be performing Six Songs, Op. 48, backed by string orchestra in the second half of the program. “The three of us are all colleagues and friends”, says Reinhall, who will emcee the program, “and we all couldn’t be more delighted to be working together for this very special Grieg celebration.”

And this year’s celebration should prove to be very special indeed. An expanded ensemble of Seattle Philharmonic Strings is back for a second year under the direction of Allion Salvador. Last year the orchestra received a standing ovation for their performance of the Holberg Suite, and nothing less is expected for this year’s program, which includes Grieg’s Waltz Caprice No. 1 and Two Elegiac Melodies for Strings, culminating with the Six Songs with Loge in Salvador’s own arrangement. “The power in her voice just gorgeous,” notes cellist Noreen Jacky. Earlier in the program, Salvador will also take up his violin to perform Grieg’s Violin Sonata No. 3 with colleague Steven Damouni on the keyboard. “There is a lot of excitement in what Allion is doing with his musicians,” adds Reinhall. “There’s a joy and enthusiasm in his music seldom experienced: it’s magic.”

The concert will be followed by a reception, where the Flora Metamorphicae flowers will be on display, along with a lavish spread of Norwegian delicacies. The event is free to the public, with an opportunity to make a donation in support of the Seattle-Bergen Sister City Association. Parking will be available at Ballard First Lutheran Church, 2006 NW 65th St. and at the nearby Ballard Baptist Church at 2004 NW 63rd St. With an expected large crowd, early arrival is recommended.

For more information about both events, email seattlebergensistercities@gmail.com or visit www.facebook.com/seattlebergensistercities.