FROM THE PRESIDENT’S DESK
Gleðilegt sumar! It is a nice custom in Iceland to wish people 'Happy Summer' on the first day of summer, which this year was celebrated on the 20th of April. Spring has arrived in Chicago, although, on Icelandic standard, this weather would be considered a good summer. It is time for our newsletter, which this time is full of information about what is happening and what already happened - exciting things we can tell you all about! Rumor has it that some people had so much fun at the Þorrablót that they will not party till next year, but that is a different story... We are currently working on the 17th of June celebration. This time we will meet in the Cantigny Park for a family picnic and we hope to see a lot of people there. We are also setting up a class in Icelandic, a monthly book club meeting, and updating the Website. Next on the agenda will be the Scandinavian Day in Vasa Park and the Annual Meeting. For an organization with sixty families this is pretty good - don't you think? If anyone has ideas that he or she would like to pursue, please contact us or feel free to write in the newsletter. This year Iceland celebrates 1000 years of Christianity with lots of festivities in Iceland. For more information check out www.kristni.is. This year is also a celebration of Leif Eriksson's discovery of America and in honor of the Vikings several cities in the US have organized exhibitions and other events. For more information visit the website www.leifur-eriksson.org For those of you who do not have access to the world wide web we have phone numbers and addresses for further information. To make this newsletter as interesting as possible help us out with materials, advertisements, and information. Please contact our editor Sóley Runólfsdóttir at: 847-640-0472 or email soley@poweruser.com. Have a wonderful and safe summer, Einar Steinsson, President
ÞORRABLÓT 2000
We do hope that everyone enjoyed themselves at the Þorrablót as much as we did. We thought it went over very well and were very happy to see so many of you there. We have already started talking about next year's event and are thinking of ways to make it even better than ever. If anyone has any suggestions please let us know, give Einar or Sóley a call and we will take anything into consideration. Here are the numbers for the last 3 years of the Þorrablót. The Þorrablót is the event that we spend most of our income on.
SUMMER EVENTS
17th of June approaches quickly. This year we want to invite everyone to join us at Cantigny Park!! Cantigny is located in Wheaton, Illinois, a western Chicago suburb, approximately two miles north of Interstate 88. We will have it picnic style, so everyone bring a picnic basket-nothing will be provided. Let's meet at 2.00PM at the main entrance. If you are planning to attend give Einar and Lena a call @ 773.489.4621. We want to see how many of you will be able to attend so we can plan on either meeting everyone at the gate or put up signs to lead the way to where we will be.
VIKINGS IN AMERICA
As Einar mentioned before, there are many events surrounding Vikings being the first to come to America. Check out this website www.leifur-eriksson.org
DUAL CITIZENSHIP IN ICELAND
The following information was taken from the home page of the Embassy of Iceland ( www.iceland.org ), February 1997. The main principle under Icelandic law is that Icelandic nationals have only Icelandic citizenship. There are several exceptions: Rule I: Children born abroad of (a) married Icelandic couples or (b) single Icelandic mothers acquire Icelandic citizenship and in many cases also the nationality of their country of birth, such as children born in the USA. Exception A: children that are born abroad and never reside in Iceland lose their Icelandic nationality at the age of 22. They can apply before they reach that age to retain their Icelandic citizenship. They may maintain dual citizenship in such a case. Rule II: Children born of parents of mixed nationality (Icelandic and a foreign nationality) acquire Icelandic and, in most cases, also the foreign nationality if (a) the parents are married, (b) the mother is Icelandic and single, or © the father is Icelandic and single and subsequently weds the mother. This applies to unmarried children under 18 years of age. Exception A: The above rule does not apply to children born before July 1, 1982, if the mother is Icelandic and she was married to a non-Icelandic national. Such children did not acquire Icelandic nationality at birth. Exception B: children that are born abroad and never reside in Iceland lose their Icelandic nationality at the age of 22. They can apply before they reach that age to retain their Icelandic citizenship. They may maintain dual citizenship in such a case. Rule III: Foreign nationals who are naturalized in Iceland by law are not required to renounce their foreign nationality and can thus have dual citizenship.
WEBPAGE
We want to remind everyone of our webpage that has been updated with pictures from the Þorrablót. www.simnet.is/chicago If you have any pictures to share and want them on the webpage you can always have them scanned and e-mail them to Orri Hallgrimsson [ohallgrimsson@hotmail.com]. We also want to remind everyone that we always welcome new faces in our organization.
OUR NEWEST MEMBER
Congratulations to Anna María Kárdal and Ásgeir Karl Ólafsson on their new baby girl. Sigríður Helga was born on February 25th. Icelandic Artist @ the Art Institute Olafur Elíasson is a well known contemporary artist who has two pieces on display at The Art Institute of Chicago from May 10th until 13th of August.
PARTY
Pat Michalski is a special assistant to the governor for ethnic affairs and ethnic media. This coming Sunday (May 21st) the ethnic communities are throwing a surprise party for her to which You are invited. The party is held at Hanging Gardens Banquet Hall (13 Colonies), 8301 W. Belmont, River Grove from 3pm - 6pm. Please RSVP at Onesti Entertainment Co. 773-625-0506.
