Over 400 people from as far afield as California, Arizona, Minnesota, Ontario and the North West Territories converged on Lea Park’s Jubilee Regional Park this Heritage Day weekend for the Norway Valley Homecoming. Motor homes, holiday trailers, truck campers and tents soon filled a large area of the park as visitors arrived Friday night for registration, with visiting with former friends and neighbors and seldom seen relatives going on until the wee hours.
Saturday featured activities for the whole family, from races and games for the youngsters to baseball, horseshoes and a tug-of-war. Following an outdoor banquet, the guests were greeted by Member of Parliament Deborah Grey, MLA John Dro- bot and County of St. Paul Councillor Bob Smith and then enjoyed a program which included Norwegian singers. Tours of the Norway Valley area also were part of Saturday’s program.
Sunday started off with a pancake breakfast, and offered more time for visiting, and to see the tentful of displays of old-time photographs, Norwegian clothing and crafts, and household items brought from the homeland by settlers.
Planning for the homecoming started last January, with the combined efforts of six families put toward the organization of the event. Their work was all worthwhile, however, as Joyce Nychyporuk, one of the organizers, said, ‘Everything was just perfect.’
