Tag: News

The Vita Quarter playing at the Norwegian Church in Cardiff Bay

Summer news from your society

by Kevin Burden, posted in News

Hei alle sammen! Helô bawb! Hello everyone!

We hope you’re enjoying the summer and, if you’re not already on holiday, have had, or are about to get, a pleasant break.

In our summer newsletter we’ve got news of our 30th birthday celebrations on Sunday 21 September between 2 and 5 pm. There’ll be a free concert of Norwegian music played by the church’s resident string quartet, coffee and cake, and a chance to see a brand-new exhibition telling the story of the Norwegians who found themselves in Cardiff and south Wales during World War Two. We’ll also hold our Annual General Meeting.

We’d love to hear from you if you’ve memories or memorabilia to share. 

Other events planned for the coming months include a specially-written family theatre piece for Christmas performed by the innovative Welsh theatre group Theatr na n’Og. 

You can read the newsletter online, or download and print it here: https://tinyurl.com/wnsnews

If you’d prefer to have a printed copy, please send your postal address to contact@welshnorwegian.org, and we’ll print and send you one. (Not making paper copies the default any more saves us costs and many hours of labour – but we will always do it if that is what you want or need.) 

Fortsatt god sommer – keep having a lovely summer!

Your WNS Committee

17th May celebrations confirmed for Cardiff

by Kevin Burden, posted in News

The Welsh Norwegian Society and the Norwegian Church Cardiff Bay have confirmed plans to again mark Norway’s Constitution Day in Cardiff on Friday, 17th May.

The celebrations in Cardiff will begin at 4:45pm with a colourful flag-waving procession from the Wales Millennium Centre to the iconic Norwegian church.

There, the Norwegian flag will be raised and the national anthem sung. Everyone will then be invited inside the church to enjoy music and speeches from representatives from Norway and Wales. 

Norway’s constitution was a declaration of independence signed in 1814 after four centuries of rule by Denmark. At first it was unsuccessful, and Norway fell under Swedish rule. Norway finally won its freedom as a nation in 1905, but in 1940 was invaded and occupied by the Nazis, who banned all displays of national pride, including the 17th May celebrations. Understandably, Norwegians today are fiercely proud of their hard-won independence.

“The 17th May is a day of celebration in Norway with the festivities usually starting with champagne breakfasts and lasting until late into the evening,” explains Bethan Winter of the Welsh Norwegian Society. “The streets are lined with crowds eagerly waving flags and proudly dressed in their colourful and unique national costume, the ‘bunad’. The event is a highlight of the Welsh-Norwegian society’s calendar and we want to bring a flavour of the celebratory mood to Cardiff Bay.” 

Norwegian-style refreshments including waffles and traditional cakes will be on sale at the arts centre café which will be open until the evening.

This year there will also be a small programme of free events at the church on Saturday, 18th May.

  • At 1pm the church historian, Thomas Alexander Husøy-Ciaccia, will give a talk on the history of the Norwegian seamen who travelled to south Wales and the church mission which was set up to support them, resulting in the building of churches in Cardiff, Barry and Swansea.
  • Between 2.30 and 4pm there will be Norwegian-themed arts and crafts activities available for children.
  • Upstairs in the gallery there will also be an exhibition on Vestland county, Cardiff’s twin region in west Norway, curated by Norwegian high school students. 

The Norwegian community in Wales extends a warm velkommen to all.   

Calendar of events for 2024

by Kevin Burden, posted in News

Your committee met and agreed the following dates for 2024. Note that some events take place on a Saturday, and others on a Sunday, to ensure meetings are available to people who have regular commitments on one or other day. Dates and times are always subject to change, so please check in here or on our Facebook page for the latest information about each event.

Sunday 24 March

We welcome former society chair Tyra Oseng-Rees who will tell us about her business making art and architectural pieces from recycled glass. Tyra made the memorial plaque to Karen Allen that now hangs in the gallery.

Saturday 20 April

It’s been suggested that we meet at the Norwegian-run Emmeline’s tea room in Abergavenny: emmelinestearoom.com

If there is sufficient interest we will book a room, if not we can takes our chances in the café. Let us know if you’d like to reserve a place!

Norwegian flag is raised at the Norwegian Church in Cardiff

Friday 17 May – Norwegian National Day, of course.

We will hold the usual procession from the Millennium Centre to the Church, with music, a service and speeches inside.

Saturday 8 June

Once again, we’ve kindly been offered the use of a family garden in south-west Gower for a summer barbeque and party. This was well attended and much enjoyed last year, despite an extended dry spell putting paid to our plans for a bonfire.

We are very keen to gauge interest of members in attending an event this year, as there are both costs and effort involved in putting it on, which the committee will gladly do if there is sufficient demand for it. We make a small charge per head to cover the cost of firewood, light refreshments and insurance. It is possible to camp onsite or, of course, in many other locations nearby. Please let us know at contact@welshnorwegian.org, on Facebook or via any member of the committee if you’d like to attend or perhaps even help with the organising.

July, August – no planned events.

Sunday 22 September

Our Annual General Meeting.

Saturday 19 October – a ‘show and tell’ of the bunad, the Norwegian national dress which varies according to the locality. All who have their own dress are invited to drag them out of the wardrobe and come dressed up and show off!

Saturday 23 November – decorating the Christmas tree in the church hall.

Sunday 1 December

Come and celebrate Christmas at our annual Festival of Light and Friendship.

We look forward to meeting you at one or all of our socials. If you have any requests, suggestions or comments, please share them with us. We are always looking for new ideas and new excuses to celebrate!