25th Annual Spelmanstämma Gammelgården Museum Celebration! Gammelgården means Old Farm in Swedish Spelman = Fiddler / Stämma = Gathering is a long held Swedish tradition for fiddlers to gather on a lovely day, play tunes and teach each other new music. The music has never been written, it is always shared by playing only! Click on "For more information" http://www.gammelgardenmuseum.org/ unofficial video created by Edward "Mike" Wick SON Nor-sota 1-602 https://www.youtube.com/user/mikeminnesota Saturday August 15, 2015 Celebrating the Immigrant Fiddle! FESTIVAL SCHEDULE: 10:00 am Museum Buildings and Exhibits, Art Fair & Food Booth Open 10:30 am Children’s activities until program begins 12:30 pm Scandia Community Band 01:00 pm Musicians Parade & Program "Gammelgården" means Old Farm in Swedish. Visitors can step back in history and experience the lives of early Swedish immigrants in the only open air museum devoted to Swedish immigration in the United States. Visit the many buildings on Gammelgården Museum's 11 acres site. Your tour guide will give a lots of information about the Välkommen Hus, Präst Hus, Gammel Kyrkan, Ladugård, Immigrant Hus and Swedish Stuga. Visitors can get a glimpse of the daily lives of these immigrants and participate in events and classes to learn more about the culture and times of the immigrants. As evidenced by the town's name, Scandia has a rich Scandinavian heritage. Scandia was the site of what is believed to have been the first Swedish immigrant settlement in the State of Minnesota. In 1850, the first log cabin was built on the shores of Hay Lake. The first sanctuary of Elim Lutheran Church was built in 1856 on a site near Hay Lake. Gammelgarden Museum is owned by Elim Lutheran Church and since 1972 has preserved, presented, and promoted Swedish immigrant heritage and history, with events such as Spelmansstämma, "Midsommarafton", and "Dalapalooza". The latter is a reference to the Dalecarlian horses the city has erected to welcome visitors, in much the same way Saint Paul, Minnesota uses Peanuts characters. Visitor comments The Gammelgarden Museum has a main building with Swedish art, furniture, etc., which was free to browse. I think some of the displays change from time to time. There was a special display of Swedish copper works. Also, in the main building is a gift shop with lots of Swedish items and foods at reasonable prices. The main attraction is the collection of farm buildings, a church and a house for a preacher. You can walk around and look in the windows, but don't expect to see much. We went back the next day to get the tour and it was well worth the cost. The tour guide knew his stuff. He made it fun and interesting and was able to answer all of our questions. This was my favorite place to visit in the Chisago Lakes area. We love visiting the Gammelgarden on days when there are people dressed up and giving tours. It is a very fun and educational living history museum. Great for all ages.

• published: 19 Aug 2015
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