Farsælda Frón
From the President’s Desk
The Icelandic Association of Chicago turns 90 next year!
Next year is going to be big for us Icelanders in Chicago, people of Icelandic heritage, and other members and friends of Iceland. The Association turns ninety years old, which calls for celebration! Our organization is only as strong as its members and for the past 15 years we have flourished thanks to the unselfish work and contributions from all of us. Our members volunteer their time with no monetary benefits; everyone pays a membership fee and everyone who works at the Þorrablót also pays for their Þorrablót ticket. Next year, you can expect it to be different as I will suggest to the board we grant those who organize and help with Þorrablót a complementary admission. I am sure the board and all of our members will agree. We will celebrate our 90th Þorrablót in February and I am convinced it will be the best to date!
But why do we volunteer for the IAC or why even become a member? We may have different reasons but we all share the passion to hold out a strong organization to support the Icelandic-American community in Illinois and neighboring states. We want to maintain a strong connection to our culture and to help represent immigrants and others who show interest in their Icelandic background. We want the children in the community to learn about Iceland and Icelandic culture. Last but not least, we want to enjoy each other’s company and have good times with our friends. That speaks volumes and if at the same time we can create something good and help people to learn about Iceland, that is a bonus. I encourage you to consider an application to the Scholarship fund and if not for you, spread the word.
Einar Steinsson
President
From the Editor
Here is how he described the logo:
The logo features the giant, dragon, eagle, and bull present on the current logo, but given an almost propaganda-style screen printed treatment. I wanted to keep the clear communication of a logo, while appealing to a contemporary audience.
We would love to hear ideas from our members to find out how you would like to use our new logo. Some ideas that came up during the last board meeting were t-shirts, bags, cards ... Post your ideas on Facebook.
Renew Your Membership
Dear members, it's that time again where we ask that we all renew our memberships to keep our wonderful organization running. $20 for family membership and $10 for individuals and students. Please fill out the attached form, or you can pay online via PayPal.
Christmas around the World!
Once again it’s time to decorate our tree at the Museum of Science and Industry. Please join us at 12 noon, Sunday November 4th for this annual tradition and festive event. You must sign up with Lena as this year we’re to enter through the main Entry Hall and must show a wristband for a complimentary admission. Unfortunately, free parking is no longer offered. Parking in the museum’s garage costs $20 BUT there are other options. For example, metered parking in the east parking lot where we used to park; metered parking in the Park District lot just east of the Museum (enter off Lake Shore Drive just south of 57th street – the same lot we use for our 17th of June Celebration at Promontory Point; or free street parking within short walking distance from the Museum in the Hyde Park neighborhood.
Hlökkum til að sjá ykkur!
The 7th Greater Chicago Icelandic Open
Heavy rain forced us to reschedule the original date of The Icelandic Open to September 23rd which turned out to be a good move as we had more players than previously planned. Everyone had a great time at our new location, Hilldale in Hoffman Estate. The Icelandic Open Masters 2012 are the daughter father team, Kathy Mehl and our treasurer, Larry Shaw, with a great score of 34. In second place, a father son team, Dave and David Mehl, not far behind with a score of 35. Third place winners, a wife husband team, Melissa Finley and Eric Thompson with a score of 39, but Melissa also won the longest drive for women. Axel Nielsen won the longest drive for men. David Mehl won the longest putt and Marvin Ray won closest to the pin. No one took the ticket to Iceland this year for a ‘Hole in One’ – Better luck next year!
Heavy rain forced us to reschedule the original date of The Icelandic Open to September 23rd which turned out to be a good move as we had more players than previously planned. Everyone had a great time at our new location, Hilldale in Hoffman Estate. The Icelandic Open Masters 2012 are the daughter father team, Kathy Mehl and our treasurer, Larry Shaw, with a great score of 34. In second place, a father son team, Dave and David Mehl, not far behind with a score of 35. Third place winners, a wife husband team, Melissa Finley and Eric Thompson with a score of 39, but Melissa also won the longest drive for women. Axel Nielsen won the longest drive for men. David Mehl won the longest putt and Marvin Ray won closest to the pin. No one took the ticket to Iceland this year for a ‘Hole in One’ – Better luck next year!
I’d like to thank everyone for playing and hope I’ll see all of you next year.
Message about Scandinavian Day from Joni:
Thanks to all who participated in Scandinavian Day at Vasa Park this year. Lena and Einar represented Iceland in the Opening Ceremonies - carrying the flag and singing our National Anthem. Joni played the keyboard for the Worship Service. A great time was had by all who sold Icelandic Glacial water and pop in our booth - Ole and his boys, Will and Luke; Lena and Einar; Elizabeth, Biggi and Magnus; Kenneth Beckwith, who artistically set up our booth, and his friend Sergio; Joni and Larry; and John. Thanks to John who saw to it that we had the water and Larry, who went and picked it up from the distributor. All this effort goes to the Scholarship Fund to help further Icelandic studies and culture among students both young and "older". And - the weather cooperated. It was a beautiful day.
Have a great day, Joni
INL Convention in Chicago in 2017?
INL meetings are held once a month by Conference Call. Last month they were looking forward to future Conventions and we were asked if we would be willing to host the Convention in 2017. This year it will be in Seattle April 4th - April 7th. They are traditionally held in April or early May to preceed vacation rates. They can host between 150 - 200 people. Some venues are large cities, such as Seattle this year and some are small, such as Wynyard. Each has its own unique flavor - and costs. The larger cities being more costly for the attendees.
Some things we would be responsible for are: speakers; accommodations; publicity; local activities/attractions; general area information; anything one can think of to make a successful convention. Check out these websites to see what Seattle is doing this spring - www.inlofna.org and w
Tentativly they are looking at Wynard in 2014, Vancouver in 2015, Mountain/Fargo in 2016, Chicago in 2017, and Markerville in 2018.
This idea is up for discussion. Please direct input to Einar or Joni Shaw (delegate to the INL).
INL meetings are held once a month by Conference Call. Last month they were looking forward to future Conventions and we were asked if we would be willing to host the Convention in 2017. This year it will be in Seattle April 4th - April 7th. They are traditionally held in April or early May to preceed vacation rates. They can host between 150 - 200 people. Some venues are large cities, such as Seattle this year and some are small, such as Wynyard. Each has its own unique flavor - and costs. The larger cities being more costly for the attendees.
Some things we would be responsible for are: speakers; accommodations; publicity; local activities/attractions; general area information; anything one can think of to make a successful convention. Check out these websites to see what Seattle is doing this spring - www.inlofna.org and w
Tentativly they are looking at Wynard in 2014, Vancouver in 2015, Mountain/Fargo in 2016, Chicago in 2017, and Markerville in 2018.
This idea is up for discussion. Please direct input to Einar or Joni Shaw (delegate to the INL).
FARSÆLDA FRÓN - THE ICELANDIC ASSOCIATION OF CHICAGO NEWSLETTER. EDITOR: SIGGY JONSSON (SIGRÍÐUR ÓSK SIGURÐARDÓTTIR), WEB SITE: WWW.ICELANDCHICAGO.ORG. CORRESPONDENCE: THE ICELANDIC ASSOCIATION OF CHICAGO, EINAR STEINSSON PRESIDENT. LIKE US ON FACEBOOK.
