Justin Carlson, right, and Randy Saager act out the Viking spirit as part of the Independence Viking float during a past Swede Day parade.
Organizers of Rochester’s annual Swede Day Festival — or Arlig svenskdag, if you’re Swedish — attribute the event’s longstanding success to the local community’s dedication each year.
Rochester will celebrate the 35th annual Swede Day Midsommer Festival Saturday at the community’s Swede Hall.
“It takes a lot of dedicated volunteers. We are always looking to involve local community members looking to provide the town with the event,” Donna Weaver, of the Grand Mound Rochester Citizen’s Group, said.
The festival, headed by the Grand Mound Rochester Citizen’s Group along with other local support, will feature a full day of events from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.
New to the festival this year will be the Ya Sure You Betcha Band, led by siblings Sylvia Jourgensen and Paul Johnson. The duo will perform Swedish songs in the Swede Hall after the parade, which will go down U.S. Highway 12 through Rochester beginning at 11 a.m.
The grand marshals for the parade this year are Bill and Donna Zimmerman.
All the performances after the parade will be at Swede Hall, including the traditional Midsommar Pole Dance, Allman Dans and a Taekwondo karate demonstration.
“Everybody can come down to the hall and grab lunch and come in and watch performances,” Weaver said.
The annual festival recognizes the Swedish heritage of many settlers in the Rochester area during the late 1880s and early 1900s.
A larger population of Swedish immigrants lived in the Independence Valley, where the Swede Hall was originally built, Weaver said. The original hall was eventually torn down and rebuilt larger in Rochester.
Weaver said the Swede Hall is built the same as halls in Sweden.
“We have had visitors come from Sweden and say it’s the same hall,” Weaver said. “The hall is a great place for the community to gather.”
Since the Swede Day festival began more than three decades ago, it has grown into a staple event for the community.
“It’s a good family event. It’s a good way to spend the day and gather with your neighbors and visit with the community,” Weaver said.
