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Friends of Lucia 2024

$ 1000
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$ 250
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25%
Updated
13 Apr 2024
 

Friends of Lucia


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Our Partners

Consulate General of Sweden

SACC TX

IKEA

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About Us Print

Welcome to Houston, a great city in the heart of Texas with plenty of Swedish connections.  The Swedish Club of Houston brings together Swedes, Swedish descendants, and all people who are interested in the culture and heritage of Sweden. The club language is English so bring your American spouse, family or friends to our events and introduce them to Swedish culture and Swedish food. We have several events every year as well as a year-round language school teaching Swedish for beginners to advanced level. At our events you will hear a mix of Swedish and English and if you are lucky a Swedish song or two. Every year we sponsor a Swedish Club Lucia and arrange a trip for her to Barkeryd in Sweden. We add prestige to and publicize outstanding work done or being done by Swedes or Swedish descendants in different ways such as via our quarterly newsletter available online; you can also find us on Facebook and LinkedIn. We can help you find Swedish translators, Swedish teachers, Swedish food, travel info to Sweden and much more. We also cooperate with and have personal contacts at all other Swedish organizations in Houston and can help you get in contact with them. These are the Honorary Consulate General of Sweden in Houston, the Swedish American Chamber of Commerce Texas, and SWEA.

 
Objectives Print

The objectives and goals of the Swedish Club are:

* To locate and join together people interested in Swedish heritage: Swedes, Swedish descendants, and others.

* To enlighten others about Swedish culture and traditions through events such as Crawfish Party, Valborgsmässoafton, Midsommar, Smörgåsbord, Christmas Traditions, and Lucia.

* To educate in the Swedish language, folk dance, folk music, folk dress, and Swedish singing choir.

* To arrange special travel, such as Lucia's annual trip to Barkeryd, Sweden, to celebrate Texas Day.

* To promote and preserve the authenticity and tradition of Sweden.

* To add prestige to, and to publicize outstanding work done or being done by Swedes or Swedish descendants.


These are some of the special events held year-round by the Swedish Club:

* Annual meeting

* Crawfish Party

* Valborgsmässoafton

* Texas Folklife Festival participation

* Smörgåsbord

* Dickens on the Strand participation

* Christmas Traditions

* Lucia

 
Our Sponsors Print
The Swedish Club of Houston could not be as successful as it is without the generous support of our sponsors:
[ IKEA.com ]
Thanks to IKEA for donating generously to our Christmas Traditions/Lucia Celebration raffle!


Although they are no longer current sponsors, we would still like to acknowledge the past support provided by the following:
[ Continental Airlines ]
Thanks to Continental Airlines for providing round-trip airfare from Houston to Sweden for our Lucia from 2009 to 2011!
[ SAS Scandinavian Airlines ]
Thanks to SAS Sandinavian Airlines for providing round-trip airfare from the USA to Sweden for our Lucia from 1989 to 2008!
[ skandisk.com ]
Thanks to Skandisk for donating generously to our Christmas Traditions/Lucia Celebration bazaar!
[ polarnopyretusa.com ]
Thanks to Polarn O. Pyret for donating to our Christmas Traditions/Lucia Celebration raffle!
[ hannaandersson.com ]
Thanks to Hanna Andersson for donating to our Christmas Traditions/Lucia Celebration raffle!


If you would like to help sponsor the Swedish Club of Houston, contact Christopher Westerlund.

 
Swedish Language School Print

The Swedish Club of Houston has maintained a Swedish Language School for many years. It is the only source of Swedish language instruction in southeast Texas. Unfortunately the school was forced to suspend operations in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, but it has started back up!

As student enrollment demands, the school offers classes at several levels. Instruction is by native speakers of Swedish, and the approach emphasizes a conversational approach since most persons wishing to learn Swedish want to be able to speak it when visiting Sweden.

The school normally operates on a 15-week semester basis; the Fall 2024 intermediate and advanced classes will operate on a shortened 11-week semester. Beginner classes meet virtually on Mondays from 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM starting 08/26/2024; intermediate classes meet in person on Wednesdays from 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM and advanced classes meet in person on Wednesdays from 7:30 PM to 9:00 PM starting 09/25/2024 at Houston Saengerbund, 1703 Heights Blvd, Houston. The cost is modest, and varies according to the cost of materials, which come from Sweden. Click here to register!

 
Scandinavian Folkdancers of Houston Print

The Scandinavian Folkdancers of Houston were organized in 1972 by native-born Swedes and Texans of Scandinavian descent, most of whom lived in Galveston County. (At the time, the group was known as the Gulf Coast Scandinavian Folk Dancers.) The group's stated purpose has always been to preserve and display not only Scandinavian folk dances from Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Finland, but also other aspects of Scandinavian culture and heritage.

Through the years the group has performed at many events throughout southeast and central Texas. In addition to dancing for Scandinavian churches, clubs, and events, the group has reached a wider audience by performing at festivals such as the Houston International Festival (Houston, Texas), Viking Fest (Georgetown, Texas), and the Texas Folklife Festival (San Antonio, Texas) where the group has appeared 23 times in that Festival's 27 year history. For many years the group has also performed at the biennial Hyllningsfest (Lindsborg, Kansas) to honor that city's Swedish founders.

Many Texans make it a point to seek out the booth the group has every year during Galveston's Dickens on the Strand festival. At that booth, one can buy the authentic Scandinavian Christmas season drink, Glögg. Proceeds from this activity go to help defray expenses when the group travels to Scandinavia. The group has made several such trips, usually at about 5-year intervals. On these trips our dancers stay in the homes of members of local folk dance groups; some of these groups have visited Texas and stayed in the homes of our dancers. In this way, new dances are learned, new friendships formed, and the ties between groups and countries are strengthened. On recent trips the group has performed a program of country/ western dances, described by one host in Sweden as "a breath of fresh air." Most recently, the group travelled to Sweden in June 1998 to take part in Midsommar celebrations near Stockholm, and to visit and perform in Gotland, Dalarna, and Gastrikland.

Although the group is named the "Scandinavian Folkdancers of Houston," members are of various ancestry, including Bolivian, German/Alsatian, Scottish/Hungarian, and mongrel.

For more information, email Kathy Bjork, or call 713-870-3543