s w e d i s h c u l t u r a l c e n t e r . o r g

February 2011 Swedish Cultural Center . Seattle . Washington

Swedish Center News

When it comes to food, pancakes are our middle name. Or so KCTS 9 Cooks thinks!

Our local public broadcasting station, KCTS, features a biannual cooking show with host George Ray. While gearing up for the new season (which starts in May), KCTS contacted the grandmother of all Swedish pancake breakfasts, the Swedish Cultural Center, for permission to tape some promos for upcoming shows. They wanted several pancake frying experts, preferably female, to be on hand to “teach” George how it’s done. Of course, Birgit

Continued on p. 4

Our MissionTo promote better understanding

between the United States and

the Nordic countries, with

emphasis on Sweden, and to

perpetuate Nordic culture

and traditions through the

teaching, observance, practice

and celebration of this culture

and its traditions.

Pancakes and Public TV

Top: Hungry yet? Row 2, left: Host George Ray shares a chuckle with Margaret Lidberg. Row 2, right: Birgit Amundson and Karl Larsson demonstrate proper griddling. Above: Operating cameras helps you work up an appetite!

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Swedish Cultural Center1920 Dexter Avenue North

Seattle, WA 98109

206-283-1090 Club Business206-283-1078 Rentals

206-283-2970 FAX

info@swedishculturalcenter.org rsvp@swedishculturalcenter.org

rentals@swedishculturalcenter.orgwww.swedishculturalcenter.org

Office HoursMonday–Friday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.

Board of Directors President Susan Ramstead Vice President Erik Pihl Treasurer Don Wahlquist Secretary Carl Westerdahl Past President Karl Larsson Directors Bob Blair Judy Nilsen Cooper Sara Lightle Bud Saxberg Erik Sundholm

Center Operations Cultural Director Kristine Leander Rentals Coord. Kris Reitan

Ladies Auxiliary Chair June Anderson Evanoff Vice Chair Jean Wirch Secretary Aina Oscarsson Treasurer Bonnie Orr Sewing Jean Wirch

Swedish Women’s Chorus Geri Damm geridamm@gmail.com

Swedish Center News Editor: Kristine Leander

Copy Editor: Martin Stillion

Swedish Center News (USPS 533-750) is published monthly as part of yearly membership dues at $5 per person, per year, by the Swed-ish Cultural Center, 1920 Dexter Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98109-2795. Telephone is 206-283-1090. Peri-odicals postage paid at Seattle, Washington. Postmaster: send address changes to Swedish Center News, 1920 Dexter Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98109-2795.Deadline for material for

the next issue is Feb. 15.

Bring articles into the office or fax to 206-283-2970. You may also

e-mail articles to kristine@swedishculturalcenter.org.

Those who saw the front-page Seattle

Times article about the club’s Lucia celebra-tion just before Christmas may have noticed that the participants were a group of Swedish au pairs living in Seattle. The article became a springboard for the club to find out more about the local au pair community and to form a connection with an international agency, Cultural Care Au Pair.

The parent company, EF Education First, began in 1965 when a Swede, Bertil Hult, took a group of Swedish high school students to England to learn English. EF now has offices and schools in over 50 countries and is a leader in offering language training, educational travel, academic degree, and cultural exchange programs to thousands of people around the world each year. The division offering cultural exchange is Cultural Care Au Pair.

Although it places au pairs from around the world, Cultural Care Au Pair has not forgotten its Swedish roots. In particular, Swedish au pairs are in high demand with families of Swedish descent. Mikael Kvart is a local Cultural Care host dad whose family is hosting its second Swedish au pair this year. “One of the goals is to raise our children, ages 3 and 4, to become truly bilingual,” Mikael explains. “Even though I speak only Swedish with them, this is a challenge, since our family language is English. Our au pair, Sara, not only helps them with the

Swedish language, she also provides an over-all Swedish presence in our home. Our children understand that being Swedish is not just about speaking Swedish—there is also Sweden as a country, which is a part of their identity.” In fact, Sara played the part of Lucia in the Center’s 2010 St. Lucia celebration.

Many families stay in touch with their au pairs long after they return home. Cultural Care host mom Brenda Berg’s family always has a place to stay when they travel back to Sweden. “We have really enjoyed the au pair experience,” Brenda says. “Each au pair feels like a part of our family and we make it a point to reunite with them as often as we can. Yes, we need the childcare, but this is so much more than childcare—it is a cultural experi-ence for our whole family.”

Little did Bertil Hult know that in his quest to help students learn English so many years ago, he would help people young and old appreciate his own Swedish heritage.

For information about hiring an au pair, and to learn about the $400 discount just for friends of the Swedish Cultural Center, call 1-800-333-6056 ext. 5430 or visit www.culturalcare.com/swedishculturalcenter.

Seattle Has Its Share of Swedish Au Pairs

Au pairs are young adults, ages 18–26, who arrive on a J-1 cultural exchange visa that allows them to live with a family for up to two years. They provide up to 45 hours per week of personalized childcare for an affordable cost of just $345 per week. Au pairs enrich their host families’ lives with games, songs, culinary treats and traditions from their home countries.

Swedish au pairs get into the swing of things at the Center’s monthly pancake breakfast.

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Cultural Director’s Notes

It’s the people who make this job fun and rewarding! If it weren’t for all our members and friends, working at the Swedish Cultural Center would be just another job. What do you do

that makes it worthwhile for staff and the board to stick around? Well, for one, you donate. Last month we printed a list of more than 200 members, friends, and businesses who had donated to the auction in the fall. Despite our best efforts, we discovered that we left some important donors off the list. We’re sorry, Julie Albright, Karla Anderson, Lori Ann Reinhall, and Deanna Zachrisson, that we failed to acknowledge your generosity. Perhaps there were others too who donated funds and items that we neglected to announce? If so, we apologize and we thank you.

And then, you just keep on donating! Nearly 8 percent of our members donated to the annual appeal this winter and many others sent in donations with their annual renewals. In the professional field of fundraising, this is a very healthy response rate. Thank you very heartily!

Another thing you do to make us appreciate you? You volunteer. One has only to witness an army of volunteers putting on our monthly pancake breakfast to see how dedicated they are. We also have volunteers in some new posts, for example, Allison Bishop, Alana Brandstrom, Karen Riston, and Jan Sullivan, who are joining our regular weekday volunteers, Birgit Amundson and Berit Lehner, to help us provide office-related services to members, guests, and rental clients Monday through Friday. Josh Witsoe is taking on the role of showing our third-Wednesday film, joining volunteers Katie and Dave Knien, who show films on Fridays. Jolene Aldridge and others handle our Friday Happy Hour sign-ins. Sandy Arildson, Laurie Arst, and Alan McCool keep the genealogy services and library running. Volunteers such as Lori Ann Reinhall, Julie Albright, Laurie Arst, and Alana Brandstrom manage our display cases. Volunteers from the English Country Dance group are always willing to pitch in with registrations, etc. Volunteer bakers bring delicious food to the monthly Kafferep. Volunteers manage our annual events, such as Sweden Day, Lucia fests, etc.

And so it goes. The risk of mentioning some is that we’ll leave others out. And still we need more volunteers in several vital roles at the Center:

A volunteer to call and e-mail the whole corps of pancake volunteers a week before each •pancake Sunday to ask for specific commitments. (Can be done from home!) A volunteer to manage our •social media sites such as Facebook.

Can you help us out? You’re invited to be part of the Swedish club volunteer community—we’ll have fun working together and the club’s better for it. Whether you’re new to volunteering or have done it for a long time, please know how much we appreciate all of you and how significant your contribution is to the overall success of the Swedish Cultural Center.

Kristine Leander Cultural Director, Swedish Cultural Center kristine@swedishculturalcenter.org

SCC AnnouncesNews about, or in the interest of our members...

The Swedish Cultural Center announces 990 member households.

New MembersLars & Anna AndersonSarin AndersonMichael BachtelTrina BallardRichard & Mary BensonAdam BystedtTeresa BzdekPaul & Beverly CarlsonDonald CrandallJennifer DeeLynn & Noelle DicusKadi & Bryan EngquistBob GoldsteinSandi HellerChuck & Debra Holland Christian HoltzDaniel, Cindy & Carly JohnsonSarah JohnsonRebecka JulasPaul & Pat KaaldSharon KallanderRachel Sowell KeilGeoffrey & Amy KingMargaret KleinKatie Kuciemba & Eric HalseBert Larsson Kerstin LavariasJason LewisAnita LindellKarin MagnussonBarbara MahoneyAnne MasonDenise MayGuy & Johnna MichaelsenDoug MinerDavid NisterChristine OlasonKate, Robert & Ava QuaakRobin ReddemanTimn, Stacy & Lula SmedbergMarilyn TakamaruChristopher & Laura Useche

Volunteer Hours Donated January 2011: 560.5

New Address?Send address changes or correc-tions to Swedish Cultural Center, Attn: Address Change, 1920 Dexter Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98109. Or you can e-mail to info@swedishculturalcenter.org. Let us know if we left out your information by mistake.

Cultural Director Kristine Leander is here with Seattle native Doug Miner, winner of the Norwegian reality TV show “Alt for Norge.” Kristine’s daughter Jana Davis is Doug’s co-worker, and thanks to the two years she spent in Norway with her mother and sisters, she was able to help Doug with some of his Norwegian translations after he returned to Seattle. The club began showing “Alt for Norge” in January and will continue the series at 7 p.m. every Friday until Mar. 18. Although some of the narration is in Norwegian, the participants speak English and the action is easy to understand. (And hilarious!) All are welcome.

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PANCAKES Continued from p. 1Amundson and Margaret Lidberg were more than happy to be on hand, and Karl Larsson came in to make sure the griddles were the right temperature.

And how many people does it take to tape a short promo on pancakes? Seven, including three camera operators, a still photographer, an executive producer, a producer, and a host. Everyone enjoyed the session—particularly the camera crew, who got to eat the product!

The promotion is for a show that will air May 14: “KCTS 9 Cooks: 15 Delicious Years.” It’s a favorite recipes–themed show, and the cookbook is a fundraiser for the station. KCTS members can submit recipes to cooks@kcts9.org. The deadline is around April 20. For those who have wondered: A family-size version of our pancake recipe will appear at kcts9.org/kcts-9-cooks.

Honor Bestowed on SCC’s Genealogist

We are proud to announce that the Center’s librarian and genealogist, Alan McCool, Ph.D., has

become president of the Puget Sound Chapter of the Association of Professional Genealogists (PS-APG) for the 2011 calendar year.

In 2009, after returning from many years of teaching university-level psychology courses abroad, Alan married a Swede in Seattle and soon found himself a member of the club and a volunteer. He offered to make his genealogy services available to members on a drop-in basis every Friday afternoon from 1:30 to 3:30 in our lobby floor library. Nearly every Friday, several clients are sitting around Alan’s computer, finding long-lost relatives and historical tidbits about their families. You can make an appointment for his Friday hours by calling him at 206-909-7594, or you can just drop by.

Alan has a Genealogy and Family History Certificate from the University of Washington. You can find out more about his services at www.geneagraphy.com and more about PS-APG at www.psapg.org.

Another club volunteer, Diana Erickson, also offers free genealogy services to interested clients. She’s supported by the Swedish-Finn Historical Society, and meets clients in the Society’s office on our lobby floor every pancake Sunday afternoon from 1 to 3 p.m. When finding your roots is this easy, you don’t have an excuse to put off your genealogy projects any longer!

We’re in the Book!

The Cultural Tourism Program of Seattle’s Convention and Visitors Bureau has been creating guides to Seattle’s various

ethnic communities for several years. With funding from 4Culture and the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, the guides feature Native American, Asian-American, and African-American communities and now the Nordic-American community as well.

Our Lucia pageant this past December, with UW student Emilia Sternberg playing the part of Lucia, was photographed by 4Culture’s Jack Storms and featured on the cover of a new 11-by-17-inch brochure. A para-graph inside describes the Swedish Cultural Center. Cultural Director Kristine Leander was one of the many commu-nity leaders who shep-herded the guide through photo-taking and fact-checking processes. Any organization wishing to distribute guides may request them from Tracey at twickersham@ visitseattle.org or 206-461-5812. Membership in the Convention and Visitors Bureau is not required (but certainly encour-aged!). A downloadable guide is also posted at www.visitseattle.org/heritage. Some supple-mental information will be posted on the Bureau’s Web site in addition to the printable guide. Thank you, Seattle’s Convention and Visitors Bureau!

Not only does he rock the bow tie, but SCC’s Alan McCool is now the local chapter president for the Association of Professional Genealogists.

This new brochure from Seattle’s Cultural Tourism Program features the Swedish Cultural Center prominently.

Swedish Car Cruise-In

If you want to see some old classic Volvos and Saabs, you’re invited to

attend the fifth annual “Swedish Car Cruise-In” meet, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 20, President’s Day weekend. It’s held at the XXX Root Beer Drive-In, 98 NE Gilman Blvd., Issaquah, 98027 (www.triplexrootbeer.com). It’s open to all Swedish Volvo and Saab cars, and you’re welcome to just show up with your ride. For more informa-tion, visit www.psvsa.org or contact Gary Ramstad, PSVSA Swedish meet coordinator, at 206-365-6913 or ramslfp@hotmail.com.

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Members & Friends Dinner: Going Platinum

In 1926, Walter Smith, a Yup’ik Eskimo prospector, was searching for gold in a remote stretch of hills along the Bering Sea coast in far western Alaska. Instead of gold he

uncovered one of North America’s largest platinum deposits. Out of this discovery emerged one of Alaska’s most unique and successful mining ventures, the Goodnews Bay Mining Company. At the Members & Friends Dinner on Mar. 2, we’ll learn how Andrew Olson, a young man who emigrated from Sweden at the age of 18 with only $27 in his pocket and no formal education beyond grade school, became one of the mine owners. Andrew and his brother Edward invented and introduced machinery that helped transform mining methods from manual labor to mechanization. Based in Western Washington after they immigrated, both brothers were eventually inducted into Alaska’s Mining Hall of Fame for their contributions to the mining industry. Their nephew, Allan Osberg, president of Osberg Construction, will describe his visits to the mine and the mining operation and camp life. We’ll watch a film produced by a TV station in Bethel, Alaska. You can also buy a copy of the book The Platinum King: Andrew Olson’s Story or the latest issue of the Nordic Heritage Museum’s Historical Journal, with an article of the same title.

Below, left: Andrew Olson with his dragline “Rock Bucket,” a portable sluicebox, at Happy Creek, Flat, Alaska. Below, right: The Olson brothers strove to improve the mining process to make work easier for their employees and to make extracting and process-ing gold and platinum more efficient. The “Lazy Swede” was an automated hydraulic giant using water flow to move the nozzle. Photo 1959.

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Fifty Is Nifty

Our building will celebrate its 50th anniversary on Mar. 11, 2011. Exactly 50 years ago to the day, the culmination of the plans to

move to a brand new building at 1920 Dexter Avenue was celebrated with a fabulous grand opening reception. The choruses sang, the ambassador spoke, and the keys to the building were formally presented to General Manager Josef Oscarson. Closed-circuit television allowed the guests seated upstairs to see the program. Do you have memorabilia or photos of the building or the reception? If yes, we’d like to borrow them for the party. Please contact Cultural Director Kristine Leander to tell her what you have available: kristine@swedishculturalcenter.org or 206-283-1090. And please mark the date on your calendar for a delicious dinner with keynote speaker architect and historian Susan Boyle, a song by the sons of Dr. Edward Palmason (who sang at the original reception) and greetings from other distinguished guests.

If They Asked Me, I Could Write a Book

How many people do you know—upon realizing that there’s no textbook for the

course they’re teaching—sit right down and write one? So far, only our very own Swedish language teacher, Laura A. Wideburg, Ph.D., has the knowledge plus the gumption to undertake such a project. Most Swedish language texts are written for the foreigner living in Sweden or for intensive college courses, not the adult student in America. But Swedish: The Basics is specifically for the once-a-week language learner. American adults often undertake to learn Swedish because their ancestors came from Sweden, or because they’re planning to visit Sweden, or for the

most romantic of reasons: because they’ve fallen in love with a Swede! Laura concentrated the first chapters on basic family language, moving from there to tourist and business language. Each chapter is geared toward a two-hour class but also appropriate for self-study. Swedish: The Basics is currently in a pre-publication stage, but later in the year it’ll be commer-

cially published and widely available. Congratulations, Laura! By the way, more congratulations are in order for our language classes. Our two language teachers, Laura and Berit Lehner, are teaching 50 students this winter quarter.

Notice of Board Elections

The Nominating Committee of Brandon Benson, Karl Larsson, and Berit Lehner are seeking candidates to run

for the Board of Directors of the Swedish Cultural Center. Contact a member of the Nominating Committee if you would like to run for the Board or have suggestions for candi-dates who will support the goals of the Swedish Cultural Center, which are to “promote a better understanding between the United States and the Nordic countries, with an emphasis on

Sweden, and to perpetuate Swedish culture and traditions through the teaching, observ-ing, practicing and celebrating of this culture and traditions.” The election will be held at the Members & Friends Dinner on April 6.

We Get Letters!

We received the following letter this winter:

“Congratulations on the wonderful roster of events you arrange each month for the SCC. I was on the Board during the transition to a nonprofit organization and am thrilled that our vision came to pass, thanks to you and your colleagues. Best wishes for the future. Wish I still lived in Seattle to experience your events. But I still support your mission from afar.”

—GaiL despain, Phoenix, Arizona

The Swedish Club in 1961: A classic right from the beginning.

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HemlandsnyttNews from the homelandA column of current Swedish news topics, taken from Swedish news media.

CompiLed by Gunnar WaLLin

Terrorist bombing: On Dec. 13, two bombs went off in central Stockholm, killing one person. A Web site linked to Al-Qaeda claimed one of its militants had carried out the attack. The explo-sions—a suspected suicide attack and a separate blast—targeted Christmas shoppers in a busy pedestrian quarter of the Swedish capital. A terrorist was killed and two people were injured. About 10 minutes before the blasts, a news agency and the Swedish safety police organization SÄPO received an e-mail including audio files in both Swedish and Arabic, in which the attacker addressed Sweden and the Swedish people. The reason for the attack was stated as a punishment for Sweden’s military participation in Afghanistan.Jobs: Employment Services forecasts that more jobs will be available within the private sector. The unemployment is steadily falling and more and more businesses are looking for personnel. “We expect that 100,000 more jobs will be filled within two years,” says Employment Services Chief Analyst Clas Olsson.Don’t cry: During last year’s royal wedding to Crown Princess Victoria, Prince Daniel had to fight back tears at the ceremony. “When the church doors opened and I saw the most beautiful bride in the world, I had to concentrate not to cry too much,” said the prince.British praise: The image of Sweden is changing. From the melancholy and high-tax society, the picture has emerged of a country that has fared

better in getting out of the economic crisis than its European neighbors. “There is a new curiosity about Sweden,” says Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, who recently was in Britain to tell how Sweden survived. During two days the prime ministers from the Nordic countries and the Baltic states met with British economic experts, headed by British Prime Minister David Cameron. The British politicians, both left and right, have taken great interest in Sweden’s economic reforms, which have succeeded where those in other countries have not.More praise: In January, there is a large annual sports gala in Sweden. Ingemar Stenmark, who ruled the ski slopes years ago, was celebrated at this year’s gala. The organizers surprised the legend by having two of his greatest rivals, the brothers Phil and Steve Mahre, show up on the stage to present Ingemar with the honorary prize. He was very moved to receive the prize from the brothers. Phil said that Ingemar is the greatest of all time, and Steve said that everybody chased Ingemar and even the Olympic Committee tried to find someone who could beat him. Ingemar Stenmark must be regarded as the greatest skier ever.Proposed punishment: A politician from Uppsala, Stefan Hanna (Center party), has apolo-gized for “less appropriate texts” on his blog, where he wrote that “fatty” Swedes ought to pay extra tax. “They incur risks for the common system for creating a larger strain than those who eat and drink normally and exercise regularly,” he wrote on the blog while vacationing and watching overweight Swedish tourists. He received stormy criticism, and in his next blog entry he wrote that he was absolutely not hostile to overweight people. Huh?Opinions expressed are not those of the Swedish Cultural Center.

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Members & Friends Dinner

WEDNESDAY, Mar. 2, 2011

Social 5:30 p.m. Dinner 6:30 p.m.

Program 7:30 p.m.Cost $18

RSVP by noon Mar. 1. Late RSVPs and walk-ins: $22.

First courseLimpa med smör

Limpa bread and butter

Sill och osttallrikStarter plate with pickled herring and dill Havarti

cheese

Second courseKåldolmar med lingonsylt

Stuffed cabbage with lingonberry jam

Rostad zucchini och gul squash

Roasted zucchini and yellow squash

DessertMandelkaka med vaniljsås

Almond cake with vanilla sauce

Program: Allan Osberg on the Olson brothers and the Goodnews Platinum Mine in Alaska,

Apr. 6 menuLimpa bread and butter

Beet saladRoasted pork

Mashed rutabagasGreen beans with almonds

Lingonberry cake with whipped cream

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Every Friday. Swedish Kafé & Happy Hour!Smörgås sandwiches, Swedish meatballs, and homemade pastries. Kafé starts 12 noon. Evening food by Chef Ann-Margret and Malin starts at 6 p.m. Check the menu: www.swedishculturalcenter.org.

Every Friday. Library & Genealogy.Our Friday librarian and genealogist will guide your research or help you find a book. 1:30–3:30 p.m.

Every Friday. Viking Series.Our Viking DVD series with Professor Harl from Tulane University. 5:30 p.m. in the library. Start anywhere in the series. Free.

Every Friday. Matinee.Scandinavian films with English subtitles. $5 donation. 2 p.m. Come early for a sandwich in our Friday Kafé.

Feb. 11. Swedish film: • The Girl Who Played with Fire.Feb. 18. Swedish film: • The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest.Feb. 25. Finnish film: • Hellsinki.

Fridays through Mar. 18. “Alt for Norge.”Until Mar. 18, we’ll watch the reality show “Alt for Norge.” Norwegian-Americans went to the home-land and competed with one another. This was the number-one show on Norwegian television and now we get to see it! Free. 7 p.m.

Friday, Feb. 11.Swedish Women’s Chorus at Happy Hour.

Our chorus takes over the entertainment this evening. Expect spontaneous singing and visitors from other Scandinavian choruses around town!

Wednesday, Feb. 16. Kafferep.Our monthly coffee party is always special, thanks to Seattle’s best Swedish bakers! We often have live music and guests from Sweden too. All are invited. Bring some baked goods for the table. Free. 2 p.m.

Wednesday, Feb. 16. Swedish Film.The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest. Third in Stieg Larsson’s Millennium series! 7:30 p.m. $5 donation.

Wednesday, Feb. 23. Finnish Film.Hellsinki. English subtitles. 7:30 p.m. $5 donation.

Friday, Feb. 25. Waltz Lesson & Dance.Our 8 p.m. dance begins at 7:30 with a free lesson on how to waltz. Live music by Skandia Spelmanslag. $10 for the public, $8 for members.

Tuesday, Mar. 1. Ladies Auxiliary.Do you want to support the club and enjoy the company of others who do too? Join us at 10 a.m. in the library every first Tuesday of the month.

Wednesday, Mar. 2. Book Club.Katrina by Sally Salminen. Read in Swedish or English, and join us to discuss this famous novel, which depicts the life of an Ostrobothnian woman who moves to Åland following her marriage. 5:30 p.m.

Wednesday, Mar. 2. Members & Friends Dinner.

Allan Osberg will present a program about the Goodnews Platinum Mine in Alaska, owned in part by the Olson brothers, who emigrated from Sweden. Three-course meal by Chef Pidor, featuring stuffed cabbage, for $18. RSVP by Tuesday, Mar. 1. Late RSVPs and walk-ins $22. RSVP to 206-283-1090 or rsvp@swedishculturalcenter.org. Social hour 5:30, dinner 6:30, program 7:30.

Sunday, Mar. 6. Swedish Pancakes.Live music and dancing make it the best food and entertainment in town. Authentic Swedish pancakes, ham, lingonberries, and all the fixin’s. $9 guests, $6 SCC members, $5 children 5–12. 8 a.m.–1:30 p.m.

Friday, Mar. 11. 50th Anniversary Celebration.Plan to come to the dinner dance party. We’ll sneak back in time to the early ’60s, when our building was the newest thing on the hill!

Sunday, Mar. 20. Dance Class for Children.Learn more than the Chicken Dance! Children of all ages. Taught by Barneleikarringen leaders. Information: BarneLeikarRingen@gmail.com or 425-954-5257. 1:30–2:30 with snacks afterward.

Friday, Mar. 25. ABBA Night.Don’t miss this fabulous Happy Hour! Come in your duds from the ’70s to hear the best music ever! Feather boas welcome.

Friday, Mar. 25. Family Folkdance.Lilla Spelmanslag kids play live music starting at 7. At 8:30, Skolkis will play waltzes, hambos, and other favorite Swedish dances. $10 public, $8 members.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS! Saturday, Sept. 24. Annual Auction.

Mark your calendar and plan now to be part of the fun!

Coming Events at the Swedish Cultural Center

Volunteers? We need volunteer help

cashiering at various special events, including Friday Happy Hours.

We always need help with pancake break-fasts, including a volunteer to call and e-mail the whole corps of pancake volunteers a week before each breakfast to ask for specific commitments.

We need a volunteer to manage our social media sites, such as Facebook.

To lend a hand on any of these projects, e-mail info@ swedishculturalcenter.org or call 206-283-1090.

Rentals available at Swedish Cultural Center. 1920 Dexter Ave N., Seattle. Call 206-283-1078 or visit www.swedishculturalcenter.org/Venues/venues.htm. If you’ve been a member for at least a year, you get a 20 percent discount.