Think Norwegians are reserved? Just head for one of the country’s summer festivals and you’ll change your mind. When the weather turns warm and the sun beats down on those clear blue fjords, the beat goes on and on. From the capital of Oslo to the Arctic Circle, and clear through August, there are at least a dozen major music, dance, theater, food and folklore festivals.
In June, the Norwegian Wood Festival, Oslo’s rock extravaganza, draws stellar acts like Alanis Morissette, Rod Stewart and the Foo Fighters. That same month to the far north, the Arts Festival of Northern Norway showcases Arctic music, dance and art. Brush off your horned helmet, sharpen your battle ax and hie to the four-day, family-friendly Viking Festival with archery workshops, battle simulations, arts and crafts, and hunks of raw meat sizzling on the grill.
July brings the Førde International Folk Music Festival, Scandinavia’s top festival for folk and world music, and the Risør Wooden Boat Festival, with hundreds of wooden boats as well as street parades and entertainment. In August, Oslo erupts again with the five-day Øya Festival, Norway’s largest outdoor music festival, held in leafy Medieval Park where the city was founded a thousand years ago. A three- hour drive north, the Peer Gynt Festival honors Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen’s major character, with 12 days of theater, concerts, art exhibits, lectures, wilderness hikes and even stand-up comedy.
www.fordfestival.no
Here are five more top Norwegian festivals you shouldn’t miss if you’re headed to the land of the midnight sun this summer!
Grieg in Bergen
At the confluence of several fjords and surrounded by seven mountains, Bergen, on the west coast of Norway, is a stunning setting for the country’s largest classical music festival, a 10-week extravaganza celebrating Norway’s most famous composer, Edvard Grieg, whose home, Troldhaugen, is just outside the city. From June through August, some 40 concerts are staged in Bergen’s 12th century Korskirken, or Church of the Cross, rebuilt in Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque styles with whitewashed walls, dark ceiling beams and stained-glass windows. Performances by symphonies, choirs, chamber groups and soloists might include some pleasant surprises like a saxophone quartet. Artists hail from Norway and every corner of the world. Grieg’s pieces are always on the menu, but they’re joined by Bach, Liszt, Mendelssohn, Mozart and other well-known composers. A Dine & Concert special, which can be purchased online, offers a two or three-course meal nearby, followed by a performance. Held June-August.
Molde International Jazz Festival
First staged in 1961, Europe’s oldest jazz festival and Norwegian’s largest, the five-day Molde Festival is on a par with acclaimed international festivals like Jazz-à-Juan on the French Riviera, the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland and our own Newport Jazz Festival in Rhode Island. Held in various venues throughout the city, concerts have included appearances by such top headliners as Art Blakey, Chick Corea, Dizzy Gillespie and Milt Jackson as well as newer talents like Jamie Cullum, Marcus Miller and Sinéad O’Connor. The festival is also a showcase for emerging Norwegian talent. Take in a few concerts, then drink in the views. Stretching along the north shore of the Moldefjord, an arm of the famous Romsdalsfjord, the city is best known for its Molde Panorama, a dazzling vista of 222 snow covered mountains. Held in July, Molde is a 57-minute flight from Oslo.
Gladmat Festival
Sample the best of the Nordic larder, as well as international delights, at Gladmat, Scandinavia’s largest food festival. Held in Stavanger, Europe’s 2008 Capital of Culture, the four day event draws 250,000 visitors a year, and a hundred exhibitors who showcase various culinary trends using local ingredients and specialty products. There are shows, competitions and even cooking classes focusing on everything from Norwegian dishes to international foods. Mingle with fellow foodies and rub shoulders with well-known chefs. In 2010, Chef Gordon Ramsay was the festival’s guest of honor. You’ll get to explore Stavanger, founded in the 12th century on the picturesque Stavanger Peninsula off Norway’s southwest coast. Or head to Preikestolen—aka Pulpit Rock—and undertake the four-hour hike above the Lysefjord to experience what Lonely Planet calls one of the world’s top 10 viewing spots. Stavanger is a 50-minute flight from Oslo, or a 7 to 8 hour trip by car or rail. Held the last week of July.
St. Olav Festival
Into history and culture? Just a 55-minute flight north of Oslo is scenic Trondheim, where the River Nidelva meets the Trondheimsfjord. The historic city started life as a trading post in 997, was the capital of Viking Norway until 1217 and is now Norway’s third most populous city. Here, the St. Olav Festival, which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2012, honors Norway’s patron saint, Olaf II Haraldsson, killed during the epic 11th-century Battle of Stiklestad. The weeklong festival, Trondheim’s largest, includes concerts, plays, church services, and a lively outdoor medieval market with early victuals, handicraft stalls with stone-cutters and weavers, and, of course, jugglers. Many events are held in the 11th-century Nidarosdomen Cathedral, Norway’s largest. Built on St. Olav’s tomb, the cathedral is a popular European pilgrimage site ranking right up there with Spain’s Santiago de Compostela. Held late July into early August.
www.en.olavsfestdagene.no
Notodden Blues Festival
Scandinavia’s largest blues festival, which celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2012, draws upwards of 20,000 visitors each August. Considered one of the world’s best festivals for pure, unadulterated blues, Notodden attracts big names like Van Morrison, John Mayall, Jeff Healey and Beth Harte. Groups like Lady J and her Bada Bing Band, Roosterhouse Gumbo Band, and Women in Blues are also on tap. And you’ll hear top Norwegian talent, too, like the acclaimed Ida Jenshus. Concerts are held in about a dozen venues in and around town, including the city wharves and local pubs. Perhaps the most stunning venue is the Heddel stave church, Norway’s largest stave church, a few miles outside town. On the shores of Heddalsvatnet Lake, with the Tinn River flowing through town, Notodden is a beautiful venue in itself, and it’s only a two-hour car or bus ride from Oslo. www.bluesfest.no