Giants of the Earth Heritage Center

Norwegian Ridge Language Camp 2023
2023-08-07 08:30 - 2023-08-11 13:00 (America/Chicago)
Our annual Norwegian Camp moves to August for the first time this year! Come in to our gift shop to get a gift certificate and reserve your spot early for this fun summer event! Children will learn Norwegian language skills through fun games and crafts and make memories that will last a lifetime.

Garden Party Celebration & Fundraiser
2023-09-23 15:00 - 21:00 | Giants of the Earth Heritage Center, 163 W Main, Spring Grove, MN, 55974, United States
Join us on September 23 for a Garden Party honoring Steve and Linda (Nerstad) Kemp, Craig Bergsgaard, Sallie DeReus and the Enger family.
Tickets are $100 per entree for non-members and $90 for members. Choose between Norwegian Salmon, Port Tenderloin or a Vegetarian option for your entree.
Sign up for tickets here: Registration From
Purchase tickets: Buy Tickets

Ole's Uff Da Band
2023-10-06 19:00 - 19:30
Tequila: https://cdn2.me-qr.com/pdf/17835850.pdf
When the Saints…: https://cdn2.me-qr.com/pdf/17838342.pdf

Old-Time Barn Dance
2023-10-06 19:30 - 22:30
7:30-10:30pm • 2nd Annual Old-Time Barn Dance with Bob Bovee, Pop Wagner, Maritza and more!

Presented by Giants of the Earth Heritage Center

Experience eclectic Eastern European music with Maritza, and then learn how to square dance with Bob Bovee, Pop Wagner, and professional caller Rina Rossi as you dance the night away!

Bring your lawn chairs, some cash for beverages and late-night snacks, and dancing shoes. Tickets available at Giants of the Earth Heritage Center & Red’s Liquor Store for $10 until 10/5 or $12 at the barn door. Student tickets for 18 and under or with valid college ID are $5.

Buy Tickets

UFF DA Food
2023-10-07 11:00 - 13:00
The Sons of Norway will have food at Giants on the Saturday of UffDa Fest. The event is from 11am-1pm(or until gone).

Sons of Norway Community Hot Dish Contest
2023-10-08 11:30 - 13:30
Registration Form and Rules

Nordic Skinnfell Ornaments Class
2023-12-12 18:00 - 20:00 | Giants of the Earth Heritage Center, 163 W Main, Spring Grove, MN, 55974, United States
Join local farmer/crafter Heidi Eger to make 3 very special julepynt (Christmas ornaments) for your juletre!
Skinnfell is an ancient Nordic sheep-skin coverlet, made of multiple hides pieced together by knife-tip style needles and decorated with symbolic block-print stamping and repeated motifs.
Our instructor will guide us through this historic cultural art form and lead us into the sewing, stamping, and finishing processes. You will leave with three culturally significant works of art that turn heads and get the stories flowing.
Bring: Your own thimble and sewing scissors, please; and BYOB & snacks! All other materials will be supplied.
Cost: $35 per person covers materials and instructions.
Register soon by calling Giants: 507-498-5070 or through our website or Facebook page. Space is limited.
Click here to register: Register Today!
For more information about our local cultural project guide Heidi Eger, check out Radicle Heart Farms online!

Juletrefest 2023
2023-12-16 13:00 - 16:00 | Giants of the Earth Heritage Center, 163 W Main, Spring Grove, MN, 55974, United States
Join us for Norwegian Christmas crafts, food, and fun! Our annual Juletrefest (Scandinavian Christmas Tree Festival) is always fun for the whole family.

Reminiscing with Dr. Gray
2024-02-06 14:00 - 16:00, 2024-02-13 14:00 - 16:00, 2024-02-20 14:00 - 16:00, 2024-02-27 14:00 - 16:00
Come and bring your friends to these fun filled sessions this month. Share your stories.
Each Tuesday is a new topic.
February 6: Country General Store
February 13: Family Car Trips and Ghost/Supernatural Events
February 20: “My Parents were Unique” and My Personal Collections
February 27: 4-H, FFA County and State Fair and Hilarious and Meaningful Church Experiences

Mabel 6th Grade Academy Reception
2024-03-07 16:00 - 18:00
The Mabel 6th Graders will be presenting their Giants Academy projects to their families.

Peter, Ola, and Per Exhibit Open House
2024-03-16 13:00 - 16:00
We will be hosting an Open House this coming Saturday, March 16th!
Come and check out the updated Peter, Ola & Per Exhibit
Time: 1:00-4:00
Schedule: 2:00 – Bill Fried will give a short talk about Peter J. Rosendahl & the exhibit
There will be REFRESHMENTS! Such as flatbread, rosettes, lefse, rommegrot, doughnuts, coffee and maybe more.
Free! Open to All!

Giants and Sons of Norway Book Club
2024-04-02 17:00 - 18:00
We will be discussing the second book of the “Sister Bells Trilogy”, The Reindeer Hunters by Lars Mytting.
Bring guests! Bring a snack to share!

Beer Choir Sing-Along
2024-04-06 18:00 - 19:30 | Giants of the Earth Heritage Center, 163 W Main, Spring Grove, MN, 55974, United States
Join us for a Beer Choir Sing-Along Saturday, April 6 at 6pm! There will be drinks (available for donation), singing about drinks (for free), and lots of fun with friends.

Spring Grove 6th Grade Academy Open House
2024-05-09 16:00 - 17:00
The Spring Grove 6th Graders will be presenting their Giants Academy projects to their families.

The Annual Children's Parade
2024-05-17 13:00 - 14:00
The Annual Children’s Parade down Main Street from Spring Grove School to Viking Memorial Park.
The Norwegian name for this is Barnetoget.
Kindergarten children ride in the Viking Ship made by Ivan Dahle. Grades 1-6 will follow singing and waving Norwegian flags and singing. One of the classes will be sporting a hand-made, paper-maché giant mask. Once they arrive at the park, they will weave a Maypole made by Dr. Gray, and play games like Kubb, rope pulling, and sack races, etc. before enjoying treats such as Varme Pølse (hot dogs in lefse) and Spring Grove soda served from the Syttende Mai Hus by Sons of Norway before returning to school.

Barnetoget
2024-05-17 13:00 - 14:30
Watch the schools kids march down main street to the Viking Memorial park where they will be playing games and eating varme pølse.

Olaf Kjome Retrospective Exhibit Opening In May
2024-05-17 15:00 - 16:00
Celebrate the life of Olaf Kjome with the Kjomes’ and friends.
Ribbon cutting event and refreshments at 3:00 pm, Friday May 17.
Due to a family celebration the exhibit closes at 4:00pm on Friday.
The exhibit reopens at 10:00am on Saturday.
Sunday, May 19 hours are from 11:00am-3:00pm.
If you don’t have time to see the exhibit during Syttende Mai, don’t worry, it will be in it’s space on second floor for many more months.

Celebration of Immigrants Ceremony
2024-05-17 17:00 - 18:00
Celebrate the newest additions to the walls of Immigrant halls.

Taste of Norway
2024-05-18 16:00 - 19:00
Join us for some scrumptious Norwegian food.
Where: Giants of the Earth Heritage Center
Date: Saturday, May 18
Time 4:00, 5:00 and 6:00
Advance tickets will be sold for each time slot. When you purchase your ticket, you will need to pick your seating time.
Purchase online: click here
Cost: $25
What will you get? There will be buffet style tables of Scandinavian appetizers, main course items and dessert items. Note, this is a taste, so there will be many different foods to choose from, serving sizes will be smaller so you can have a TASTE of many! We may even have “shots” of lutefisk! There will also be a donation/cash bar.
Entertainment: The 1st Brigade Band will be playing in the Enger Garden area from 5:00 to 6:00.

Giants Open
2024-05-19 11:00 - 15:00
Giants will be open Sunday May 19th from 11:00am-3:00pm.

Sons of Norway Book Club
2024-05-28 17:00 - 19:00 | Giants of the Earth Heritage Center, 163 W Main, Spring Grove, MN, 55974, United States
The monthly Sons of Norway Book Club will be meeting at Giants this evening at 5pm.

Norwegian Ridge Language and Culture Camp
2024-06-17 08:30 - 17:00, 2024-06-18 08:30 - 17:00, 2024-06-19 08:30 - 17:00, 2024-06-20 08:30 - 17:00, 2024-06-21 08:30 - 17:00
Register now for this year’s camp: June 17-21, 2024!
Our 2024 theme is “Dragons, Boats, and Trolls, Oh my!”

Looking for the perfect summer camp for your kids? Register now to join us for exciting indoor and outdoor adventures from June 17-21 in Spring Grove, MN. We will conjure and build unique Troll creatures for our Norwegian Ridge Birding & Nature Trail, explore how to build and navigate Norwegian ships, build and train our very own dragon, and learn a hearty dose of Norwegian language, culture and history along the way in charming and historic Spring Grove, MN! We will even get a visit from some live goats!
Your child will eat delicious and authentic Norwegian foods each day, develop Norwegian language skills, and deepen their cultural awareness via engaging activities throughout the week. This session we are excited to feature themed days on Trolls, including creating our own from recycled materials; create and study Dragons from Scandinavia and beyond; and explore the history of the first TransAtlantic crossing by the Norwegian crew of the Restauration ship as we head into the 200th Anniversary (2025) of this historic journey that brought so many Norwegians to America. As a bonus, our campers will check in daily with a real Norwegian ship restoration crew in coastal Norway to learn more about this practice!
Who is in charge? Great question.
We look forward to welcoming back our wonderful camp leaders Wendi Storhoff and Rachel Storlie (both Nordic cultural ambassadors and licensed educators), as well as Nordic folk dance specialist Carol Sersland from the Twin Cities and a special visit by Viking-Era guest instructor and performer Kari Tauring. We are also thankful for additional help by veteran NRLCC camper-turned-counselor Josie Staven, Brit Eddy plus our local Sons of Norway and Giants of the Earth Heritage Center volunteers.
Due to the generosity of an anonymous donor, scholarships are available for any campers for whom cost is a barrier. Please indicate on your registration form if this would be helpful for your camper and we will take care of the rest–up to 100% coverage! Your NRLCC adventure could be FREE!
Cost: Ages 7-9: (half day + hot lunch, 8:30-12:30PM) $195; Ages 10+: $295 (full day + hot lunch and snacks, 8:30-3:30PM).
Register: Registration From

Sons of Norway Monthly Meeting
2024-09-12 18:00 - 20:30
This month’s program will be by Rebecca Hanna, a woodcarver.
