Article appeared in the Aug 4, 2011 issue of the Interlake Spectator…
Visitors from around the world are drawn to Gimli each year as it celebrates Islendingadagurinn. One of the festival’s most interesting attractions is the Viking Encampment, a replica of a camp from days of yore, set up on the shores of Lake Winnipeg with the Gimli’s Viking statue looming nearby.
The encampment offers visitors a chance for some hands on experience as they take in aspects of the Viking way of life—their dress, their methods of cooking, tool making, weaving, war-making, and more.
The interpreters come from across Canada and the US. They man the exhibits and offer an on-the-spot education to anyone who asks. These men and women share more than a passing interest in the Viking culture. Many of them belong to groups such as ‘Odin’s Ravens’ and ‘The Viking’s Vineland’, a name which was given to North America by early Vikings who made their way here. For the interpreters, the Old Norse culture is a passion. They have put in a great deal of time, not only through the reading of books, but through taking up traditional crafts, such as weaving, woodworking, or blacksmithing. Many of them return to Islendingadagurinn each year.
Loren Schultz, who comes to the festival each year from Denver, CO, is a blacksmith and carpenter, working in ancient Viking tradition. He learned blacksmithing from his father while growing up on a farm. He has had the good fortune of working with a museum curator who allowed him access to artefacts on which to model his pieces. He brought along a vast array of Viking ages tools, laid out on the ground before him, and was generous with his time, thoroughly explaining each piece.
“I love coming, and the people always have a zillion questions. Each tool is based on a real museum piece. The Vikings were very much into their axes. They could be used for chopping wood, for cooking, and for warfare,” Schultz said. He explained the uses of the different parts of the axe, a hammer on one, a hook on another.
Beside him, Nicole Egli of Okotoks, Alta., talked about what tablet weaving is, happily sharing patterns that could most easily be learned. She hand wove replicas of Viking belts, as well as performing cooking tasks.
Across the way, Jamin Schumacher of Edmonton, cooked meat over an open fire as he explained the typical diet of Vikings, which consisted of at least 50 per cent fish, and the balance of other meats: lamb, venison, ducks and chickens, as well as eggs.
Beautiful works of traditional Viking artistry graced every display, providing an inspiring backdrop to the sword fighting and Viking warfare tactics demonstrations.
