Sweden

Midsummer Celebrations Around the U.S.

In case you didn’t make it to IKEA for its annual Midsummer Smörgåsbord dinner or to any big Midsummer events in the U.S. (like in Minneapolis, Lindsborg, Chicago or Geneva, Ill.) earlier this month, we’ve got you covered. Here are a handful of Midsummer events this weekend that caught our attention.

• The Midsummer event supported by the Official Consulate General of Sweden, Swedish Midsummer Festival, takes place in Battery Park in the lower tip of Manhattan. The celebrations start on Friday, June 23 and will include traditional music, maypole dancing and food from some of NYC’s best Scandinavian dining locales like FIKA, Red Rooster Harlem and Sockerbit.
• The American Scandinavian Association in Washington, D.C., will be co-hosting a “Midsommar Celebration” with the Drott Lodge, Vasa Order of America and the Swedish Women’s Educational Association. Festivities begin at 3 p.m. on June 25 and include dancing and a potluck dinner. Guests are encouraged to bring greens and flowers to help decorate the maypole – which gets raised at 3:50 p.m.
• The American Swedish Historical Museum in Philadelphia will be hosting its Midsommarfest on June 24, when they’ll have homemade Swedish desserts and plenty of activities for the family. Tickets are sold at the door.
• House of Sweden is hosting a Midsummer’s celebration in Balboa Park in San Diego on June 25. In years past, there has been a $5 meatball plate to help fuel guests through maypole decoration, dancing and other activities.
• Vasa Park in Agoura Hills, Calif., will hold a gathering on June 25, where they will crown a Midsummer Queen. The event is sponsored by the Swedish American Central Association of Southern California.
• The Scandinavian Midsummer Festival is a two-day event in Estes Park, Colo. The festival has been a highlight of the community’s roughly 300,000 Scandinavians for over 25 years. The two-day event kicks off on Saturday, June 24 at 10 a.m. with the raising of the maypole. For more details, visit the festival website.
• On Sunday, June 25, check out Svenskarnas Dag, one of the biggest Swedish festivals in the United States. Head over to Minnehaha Park in Minneapolis, MN for a morning church service, the raising of the Midsommar pole, singing, dancing and the crowning of the Midsommar Queen.

This post has been updated since its original posting to include even more Midsummer celebrations near you.