10 // COASTWEEKEND.COM
ASTORIA SCANDINAVIAN MIDSUMMER FESTIVAL — TAKING
PLACE JUNE 15-17 — IS A MULTIGENERATIONAL AFFAIR
FESTIVAL FAMILIES
JOSHUA BESSEX PHOTO
Festivalgoers dance during the Queen’s Ball at the Astoria Scandinavian Midsummer Festival.
history is archived. This year, a
photographer will document the
festival’s memorabilia and activi-
ties to place in this archive.
“We’re very, very honored,”
Lampi, the Festival publicist, said.
By HEATHER DOUGLAS
FOR COAST WEEKEND
J
udith Lampi, a fourth-genera-
tion Finn, thinks of the Astoria
Scandinavian Midsummer
Festival as the biggest family
reunion in the Lower Columbia
Region.
And Friday through Sunday,
June 15 to 17, will mark the event’s
51st year. The all-ages celebra-
tion of the region’s Scandinavian
heritage will be held at the Clatsop
County Fairgrounds on Walluski
Loop.
Last year, the festival reached
a major milestone when it was
chosen by the state to be an Oregon
Heritage Tradition. The recogni-
tion is only given to festivals 50
years or older, and Astoria is one of
two cities in Oregon that holds two
of these titles (the other is Astoria
Regatta).
Scan Fest will be featured in
“The Blue Book” where the state’s
Queen of fun
Carla Oja, along with Tony Lar-
son, is a co-chair of the Scandina-
vian Midsummer Festival Associa-
tion. She was assigned the moniker
“Queen of Fun” by a friend who