Friday, June 02, 2017

IAC Newsletter June 2017

From the President’s desk

Gleðilegt Sumar

We called a Special General Meeting for May 13th with great success.  We accepted revised bylaws, planned and reviewed Þorrablót, started planning our 17th of June celebration (more on that elsewhere in the newsletter), approved one Sholarship grant of $750 and discussed many other things. Indeed a productive and fun meeting hosted by Lena who prepered a yummy breakfast enjoyed by all.

It’s worth noting that at the moment the only income for our Scholarship fund is selling Icelandic water at Scandinavian Day in Vasa Park.  We need volunteers to help us with the booth as Joni and Larry Shaw have retired.  They, along with John Hofteig, have organized and done most of the work for many years with some help from members.  We hope to see recipients of the grant and families and many more this year at Vasa Park Sunday September 10th.

We’re looking for a replacement for our Webmaster Marc Johnson. Marc has done a fantastic job with our webpage and we’re sad to see him leave but also excited that he’s launching his own business and wish him all the best.  Anyone with interest and skills, please contact us.

The 12th Greater Chicago Icelandic Open will take place at Hilldale Golf Club in Hoffman Estate on the 17th of September.  I’ll let you know once registration is open.  Ólafur Ólafsson and Marvin Ray are the 2016 Icelandic Open Champions.  Like Þorrablót, the Icelandic Open has sold out for the last four years!

Enjoy Chicago summer and the Icelandic summer if you’re visiting.  I hope to see you at some or all of our events in 2017.

Einar Steinsson
President


From the Editor

In this Newsletter we have details on several IAC events including 17da Juni Celebration and The Icelandic Open. As always, we welcome original articles for the newsletter. If you don't want to write an article you can send suggestions on topics to cover. Feel free to contact me at kolbrkr@gmail.com

I hope you have a wonderful summer! We are enjoying fabulous weather in Chicago and I look forward to visits from family and friends taking advantage of the direct flights from Icelandair to O'Hare airport. For those of you traveling to Iceland, enjoy the long days to explore the beautiful countryside, take a dip in the outdoor heated swimming pools and natural hot springs or to party in the streets of Reykjavik. Today in Reykjavik the sun rose at 3:22am and sets at 11:30pm.

Kolla Kristjansdottir Fass
Editor

Sautjándi júní - 17th of June Celebration 2017

How cool to celebrate SAUTJÁNDI JÚNÍ on the same day as in Iceland and on the actual date our country got its full independence from Denmark in 1944.  Our Honorary Members, Joni and Larry Shaw will be this year’s hosts of the association’s annual hot dog picnic – pylsupartý.   We’ll enjoy their beautiful, spacious, peaceful garden and deck and in case of a typical Icelandic Seventeenth of June weather, their warm house.  IAC treats everyone to hot dogs (pylsa), Icelandic style, or as we say it ‘eina með öllu’, which for an Icelander means ketchup, SS Pylsusinnep (mustard), raw and dried fried onion, and remoulade! What makes Icelandic hot dogs unique and oh so good, is that they’re made from lamb meat. Please note that other than the hot dogs, the event is a BYO, so please bring drinks, sides, salads, sweets, or other plates you'd like to eat or share.  We’ll give you the exact address when you sign up but so you have an idea, the Shaw’s residence is in Sugar Grove and the party starts at 2 PM.

IAC welcomes all members in good standing and their guests.  Please sign up with Lena by June 12th at koshkuklo@icloud.com or call 773-489-4621.

Hæ, hó og jibbíjey and we look forward to see you on the 17th.

If you’ve yet to renew your membership or are a new member, please do through our webpage http://www.icelandchicago.org/misc/membership/membershipForm.php


IAC Scholarship Program-2017 Updates

IAC Scholarship Awardee: Sigríður Helga Ólafsson:
Congratulations to our newest USD $ 750.00 IAC Scholarship awardee, Sigríður Helga Ólafsson, the daughter of very active, long time IAC members, Ásgeir Ólafsson and Anna Kardal. For the past academic year and continuing until next autumn, Sigga has been taking an essentially full-time academic load at the highly-respected Menntaskólinn in Reykjavík, Ásgeir’s alma mater. Her academic program includes
Icelandic literature, history, mathematics, science, and gymnasium. Her academic program at the Menntaskólinn is equivalent to enrollment at an American junior college. Virtually all of her instruction, including text books, is in Icelandic, so she is using this wonderful opportunity to greatly increase her fluency in Icelandic, fluency which she had already begun with her parents’ speaking Icelandic in their home and on family vacations to Iceland. Her principal goal is to increase her spoken-, reading-, and written- Icelandic fluency to the point that she will be able to return to Iceland very well-prepared to enroll in a full- time, academic degree program at the University of Iceland. We look forward to her triumphant return, later this year, from her exciting year of total-immersion in Icelandic. We commend her courage and commitment to take on this academic challenge at the Menntaskólinn!

Remaining IAC Scholarship Opportunity(ies):
The IAC Scholarship Program and Academic Liaison still has scholarship or stipend funds available for at least one additional current award at up to USD $ 750.00 for any Icelandic-related academic program at any bona fide academic, cultural, or scientific institution in the United States, Canada, or Iceland OR up to two stipend awards at each up to USD $ 375.00 to support any Icelandic-language study program under the auspices of any bona fide correspondence, on-line, or residential Icelandic language program in the United States, Canada, or Iceland, including Icelandic-language camps, such as the current Icelandic Language Camp in Gimli, Manitoba, a successor to the original Icelandic Language Camp begun by the old, now dissolved, Icelandic Lutheran Synod. The larger stipend award at up to USD $ 750.00 may also be used to partially support enrollment in either the traditional six-week total Icelandic-immersion program for North American young adults going to Iceland under the auspices of the Snorri Foundation in Reykjavík [www.Snorri.is] or the similar two-week Snorri-Plus program for mature adults or retirees. [Please note: Applications to the Snorri programs should be submitted by January preceding the anticipated summer of
enrollment.] Copies of the current IAC Scholarship Guidelines and an Application Form may be obtained from Scholarships@IcelandChicago.org or from the undersigned. The current members of the IAC Scholarship Committee include: Sonja Johnson, Joni Shaw, Haukur Guðmundsson, and Tryggvi Emilsson. Anyone interested in joining our committee and/or helping with our annual fundraiser, selling IcelandicGlacial Water and assorted soda beverages at Scandinavian Day, Vasa Park, 35W217 Route 31, South Elgin, IL 60177 on Sunday, 10-September- 2017, should contact the undersigned. Any help at Scandinavian Day will be very much appreciated! John H. Hofteig, 847-331-9473, JohnHaldor@gmail.com


Vasa Park Events
Midsommar Celebration on June 17th and Scandinavian Day on September 10th. For more information see: http://www.vasaparkil.com/events.html

North Park University's Center for Scandinavian Studies
For several years, North Park College, now North Park University  [www.NorthPark.edu] , has had a very active Center for Scandinavian Studies, which includes representation from all five Nordic countries, including our IAC, for whom John continues as our representative. During the past year, the Center for Scandinavian Studies has engaged a new Project Manager, Greta Rosenberger, and has received renewed commitments from the University’s Provost, Dr. Michael Pensack, and it’s continuing long-time Executive
Director and Academic Dean Emeritus of the College, Dr. Charles Peterson. Programs planned for the next academic year will be announced later. Please stay tuned and know that the Center very much welcomes participation by our IAC and the entire Icelandic-American Community in the Chicago area!

Copyright © 2016 Icelandic Association Chicago, All rights reserved.
FARSÆLDA FRÓN - THE ICELANDIC ASSOCIATION OF CHICAGO NEWSLETTER. EDITOR: KOLLA KRISTJÁNSDÓTTIR FASS, WEBSITE:WWW.ICELANDCHICAGO.ORG. CORRESPONDENCE: THE ICELANDIC ASSOCIATION OF CHICAGO (IAC), EINAR STEINSSON PRESIDENT.