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Leif Ericson (Old Norse: Leifr Eiríksson) (c. 970 – c. 1020) was a Norse explorer who was probably the first European to land in North America, excluding Greenland. According to the Icelandic Sagas, he established a Norse settlement at Vinland, now tentatively identified as L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland. In 1964, the US Congress requested the President to proclaim October 9 "Leif Ericson Day", a date chosen for its connection to the first organized immigration from Norway to the United States. A prominent statue near the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul commemorates Leif Ericson. (Wikipedia)
Leifur Eiriksson Celebration
Saturday, October 8, 2011
5:30 pm Social Hour 6:30 pm Dinner
To be held at:
Infinite Campus, Inc.
4321 109th Avenue Northeast
Blaine, MN 55449-6794
2011 Leifur Eiriksson Celebration Reservations: pdf
Our speaker will be Birgitta Wallace Ferguson, who was born and raised in Sweden and Denmark, and who since 1997 has been Research Archaeologist Emerita, Atlantic Service Centre, Parks Canada. At Carnegie Museum of Natural History from 1964 to 1975, she curated and researched collections on the Danish Neolithic, Inuit ethnological collection, and an extensive collection of the Egyptian Exploration Society. At Parks Canada from 1975 to 1997, as Staff and Senior Archaeologist, she was archaeologist for the L’Anse aux Meadows site, involving all academic and research aspects of the site, among several other projects and activities. After retirement, she continues as chief archaeological consultant for L’Anse aux Meadows National Historic Site and as a consultant on Vikings in North America for TV and film productions. |
| The 2010 Leifur Eiriksson celebration was held Saturday, October 9, at Infinite Campus, in Blaine. Our guest speaker was Kristinn Guðjónsson, who spoke on Eyjafjallajökull, the Icelandic volcano that shut down air travel in Europe earlier this year. Kristinn, a teacher and tour guide in Iceland, was a guest of the International Visits Program of the Icelandic National League of North America. |
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