There’s a word for it in Africa: sankofa, which means, “If you’ve forgotten something in the

past, go back and get it.” Sankofa. Look to the past to successfully move forward.

The Swedish Cultural Center is going back to retrieve something from our past: our former name, Swedish Club. One of our newest Board members, attorney Vi Reno, has done the legal work to allow us to retain Swedish Cultural Center as our formal name, but to do business as “The Swedish Club.” In a survey several years back, you members overwhelm-ingly said you preferred the name Swedish Club. That’s the name everyone uses anyway. It doesn’t change anything about our nonprofit tax status, but we now have the legal authority to use both names. You’ll see us slowly reincorporate Swedish Club in our material, starting with this newsletter, and our signage, business cards, etc. It’s more representative of what we are, a

community of people who take pride in our shared history, our Nordic heritage, and the pleasure we find in each other’s company. We’re a little bit like a very large family that way, and we think the name Swedish Club fits us better.Continued on p. 2

s w e d i s h c u l t u r a l c e n t e r . o r g

Vol. 51, Issue 2: September 2012 Swedish Club . Seattle . Washington

Our MissionTo promote better understanding

between the United States and

the Nordic countries, with

emphasis on Sweden, and to

perpetuate Nordic culture

and traditions through the

teaching, observance, practice

and celebration of this culture

and its traditions.

Former Club intern Sandra Ohlsson arrived from Hälsingland for an impromptu visit. She’s inviting all of us to come see the decorated farmhouses in her region, recently named UNESCO World Heritage sites. Good idea, Sandra. Hey members, let’s do it! Of course we’ll wear our “We Are the Swedish Club” buttons proudly.

We Really Are the Swedish Club

Come for fun and support your favorite dancers! Saturday, Oct. 13, 2012

See page 6 for

more information!

Swedish Club NewsSwedish Club News

SPONSORED BY

Volunteers Howard Golick, Karen Choyce, Sonja Richter, Pat Dolan and Judy Nilsen Cooper joined to paint the new film room, named the Board Room, on the top floor of the club. The space reverted to the Swedish Club when a new caterer, Arista, began renting our upstairs kitchen. To brighten the room, the group, which has been watching “Mad Men” on Friday evenings, offered to paint the space.

Swedish Club Continued from p. 1We’re making other changes too. You’ll

soon see a new acoustical ceiling in the dining room and lounge. All activities, including Friday evening Happy Hours, and anything else scheduled upstairs will be moved to the lobby floor for about three weeks while we install a fabric ceiling to dampen the noise a bit. Thanks to a generous donation from Jim Lea for a new ceiling, and oversight by the Seattle office of Skanska USA, you’ll hear conversations better in the dining room and bar areas.

The newsletter is undergoing changes. It won’t always be as long as this one—we’ll try to keep most newsletters to four pages—but it will return to a monthly publication focused on events and club news. We have a new interim Board trea-surer, Gordon Fouts. Thank you to Bob Blair, who served in the role for the past several months, and now Gordon, who said yes through the end of 2012! The bylaw review is coming along and will be ready for more input from the Board and the mem-bers later this fall. Our former facilities manager, Kyle Feldman, left for Ohio where his wife is studying, and our new rentals &

facility manager, Doug Newlands, brings a depth of experience to the role.

You’ll see announcements of other changes we’re making around the club: new opportunities to volunteer and to donate, and also to enjoy the food, drinks, and view at the Swedish Club. Sankofa: If you’ve forgotten something from the past, go back and get it.

Opportunities to volunteer!The more activities we plan, the more we depend on volunteers to help us. Reply to rsvp@swedishculturalcenter.org or call us at 206-283-1090 and tell us what you’d like to do.

Pancake Breakfast Volunteers: The longstanding need is for our pancake breakfasts on the first Sunday of every month. The breakfast brings about $20,000 into the Center every year and is run entirely by volunteers. A new role for one or two volunteers will be needed as we begin opening the upstairs bar every Pancake Sunday. Helping at a pancake breakfast is an ideal way for a brand-new member to become involved.

Evening Event Volunteers: We also need volunteers for all of our regular events, particularly Friday evening Happy Hours,

s e p t e m b e r 2 0 1 22

Swedish Club1920 Dexter Avenue North

Seattle, WA 98109

206-283-1090 Club Business206-283-1078 Rentals

206-283-2970 FAX

info@swedishculturalcenter.org rentals@swedishculturalcenter.org rsvp@swedishculturalcenter.orgwww.swedishculturalcenter.org

Office HoursMonday–Friday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.

Board of Directors President Terry Anderson Vice President Paul Heneghan VP, Facilities Vince Madden Interim Treasurer Gordon Fouts Secretary Judy Nilsen Cooper Directors Dick Libby Sara Lowe Mary McCann Robin O’Leary Glen Peterson Erik Pihl Vi Reno

board@swedishculturalcenter.org

Center Operations Executive Director Kristine Leander Financial Manager Debbie Smith Rentals/Facilities Mgr. Doug Newlands

Ladies Auxiliary Chair Jean Wirch Vice Chair Susan Aldridge Secretary Karen Abraham Treasurer Bonnie Orr

Swedish Women’s Chorus Geri Damm geridamm@gmail.com

Svea Male Chorus Bob Reetz rebert1@msn.com

Swedish Club NewsEditor: Kristine Leander

Copy Editor: Martin Stillion

Swedish Club News (USPS 533-750) is published monthly as part of yearly membership dues at $12 per person, per year, by the Swedish Club, 1920 Dexter Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98109-2795. Telephone is 206-283-1090. Periodicals post-age paid at Seattle, Washington. Postmaster: send address changes to Swedish Club News, 1920 Dexter Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98109-2795.Deadline for material for

the next issue is Sept. 30.

Bring articles into the office or fax to 206-283-2970. You may also

e-mail articles to kristine@swedishculturalcenter.org.

s w e d i s h c u l t u r a l c e n t e r . o r g 3

and for super-duper special events, such as our upcoming Dancing with Swedish Stars (see p. 6). Again, it’s fun for new or longtime members, as you’ll get to meet and greet many other members during the evening.

Friday Morning Maintenance Volunteers: We’re asking for volunteers for some tasks that our maintenance crew doesn’t have time to do, such as gardening, washing windows, easy painting and cleaning. The regular shift for this job is 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Fridays. As a bonus for helping out our partially staffed maintenance crew, we’ll feed you a meatball lunch with this volunteer role.

Office Volunteers: We have several good volunteers who come during the regular work week to answer phones, file paper-work, show visitors around and generally do helpful tasks for us. We can use more, though.

Library Volunteers: Librarians from the UW coached us on how to handle our really old books, and now we need a Web-savvy volunteer to carry out the assignment.

If any of these roles fit your schedule and your interests, we hope you’ll contact us. We need you!

Opportunities to eat, drink and enjoy the view!It’s always surprising when longtime members don’t even know that we’re open on Fridays for lunch and dinner, so we’re repeating here all the opportunities you have for enjoying the food, drinks and ambiance of the club.

Pancakes on the first Sunday of the month. We offer pancakes from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., with three shifts of live music. Starting with our October breakfast, we’re opening the bar from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. You’re welcome to pick up your breakfast as usual on the ground floor and carry it to the lounge on the top floor, where a bartender will pour your coffee and offer you a libation. We’ll turn on the TV in the bar for the football games, but you can also sit in the dining room. Seating in the bar is only for members age 21 and up. No exceptions—members can’t sign in friends for the Sunday bar. A volunteer will check for member-ships and sell them to those who see the advantage of joining at that moment!

Friday Kafé and Happy Hour dinners. Every Friday from noon to 2 p.m., we serve delicious open-face (smörgås) sandwiches, meatball plates and scrumptious desserts. The bar stays open all afternoon, and then at 6 p.m., the dinner options are wheeled out into the dining room. Dinner is usually three entrees and sometimes

sandwiches, and is available for a couple of hours. We don’t take reservations, but you can find out earlier in the week what’s cooking on Friday by checking www.swedishculturalcenter.org or our Facebook page. All of the food is made on site by Swedish chefs Ann-Margret and/or Malin, and we often hear, “I’ve never had a bad meal on a Friday at the Swedish Club!”

Opportunities to donateAll of the great stuff that goes on at the Swedish Club depends on your donations. It’s a fact that if we charged what a membership is actually worth, there’d be fewer members—particularly fewer young ones. If we charged enough at every event to handle the staff and the upkeep on the building, we’d have fewer attendees. The business model we use is to charge affordable prices and look to donations for the remainder of the funds that keep us operating. We think it’s fair, as those who have more, donate more. Rebecca Cortes, a new member who joined the club at a recent pancake breakfast, said, “If joining this club will keep you in business and doing what you’re doing—which at that moment was serving pancake breakfasts—then I’ll join.” We ask you now to extend Rebecca’s philosophy by suggest-ing that we need more than just members. We also need volunteers and donations to keep this ship afloat.

Donate with renewals. Donate when you renew your annual membership. If you believe that the membership costs are low (and they are, compared with other social clubs), then round up your membership fee by $100 or more to support the club.

Donate to the annual appeal. Within the next month, you’ll receive the first letter of our annual appeal. The letter will present a sound case for donating to the club in order to maintain our 51-year-old jewel of a building and replace our roof next summer. We thank you in advance.

Put the Swedish Club in your will. You don’t have to be rich, retired, or “ready to go” to put the club to your legacy plans. Adding the Club to your will tells everyone what you value and what you intend to leave for future generations.

Donate for specific projects. Members Per and Inga Bolang noticed a need—for new library tables and chairs—and they bought the tables outright and are now matching members’ donations for chairs. Jim Lea is paying for a new ceiling. The Ladies Auxiliary and Carin Steckler learned about the need to restring our loom, and together Carin and the Auxiliary wrote checks totaling $1,000 to make it happen. Talk about doers!

After learning that the club was seeking funds to restring our 19th-century loom, the members of the Ladies Auxiliary wrote a check from the group, matched by Carin Steckler, totaling $1,000 to make the loom usable for classes. Shown here in front are Aina Oscarsson, Jean Wirch, Susan Aldrich, Bonnie Orr and Carin Steckler. In back are Karin Abraham, Jan Sullivan, June Anderson Evanoff and Alana Brandstrom.

s e p t e m b e r 2 0 1 24

Speaking of specific projects, we’re looking for help with a subscription to Microsoft Office 365. This cloud-based e-mail and calendar system will streamline our facility rentals and give us more flexibility for sharing information. Can some of our Microsoft members help with a gift or reduced-rate subscription? Thanks!

Consider a business sponsor-ship. For a big event, your business can donate cash or a raffle prize, and receive publicity in our newsletter and Web site. For instance, Bob Byers Volvo is sponsoring our Dancing with Swedish Stars event.

Get matching funds from your employer. Many Northwest employers (Microsoft and Boeing among them) match their employees’ donations to nonprofits. If you do the paperwork, we get the proceeds. Check with your employer to find out if it will match your donations to the Swedish Club.

Donate items we can sell or auction. If you have items that may hold value for someone, but no longer for you, give them to us and we’ll sell them or add them to our auctions, raffles or antique sales.

Be creative. Is there something you can provide that would benefit the Club, even if we haven’t asked for it? Share your ideas with us. Thanks for all your generosity to the Club.

SCC AnnouncesNews about, or in the interest of our members...The Swedish Club announ- ces 1,040 member households.

New MembersStacy AndersonMuriel T BarronBobby Bautista & Alan J. GarveyPaula BeckerCindy Bee & Nick EricsonKristian Berg & Hanna RisaDwayne M. BergWilliam E. Blayney & Patricia

Takahashi-BlayneyLisa BotesCollette M BullisMark Burcar & Jennifer ButlerAnna ChangRebecca CortesRoberta Crockett, Robert and Mark

JesokPatricia B. DootsonKris Ekstrand-Molesworth & Carl

MolesworthAllen EngvistLeslie Forsberg, Eric Lucas, Kirsten

ZellerOlivia FredricksonEmily GibianHelen GibsonLizette GradénJon HansonJulia HerbertSven & Pam HolmThomas JohansonBruce & Frankie JohnsonDenise JohnsonRuth & Earl KellerAaron & Beth KitsonMary Lou LaPierreJohn Vidar LjungAdam Margulies & Alison MartiMargo McCormickRenee MontgelasBryan MonsaasAlicia MooreDouglas Craig NorbergEdna Pearson

In MemoriamThe Swedish Club sends its condolences to the families of these former members.

Past President Dick NelsonMy favorite memory of Dick’s service on the Board of Directors was the night he went to call on a member to ask for a contribution for the Club. The weather was miserable, cold and rainy, and the address was hard to find. By the time Dick arrived it was dark and he was soaking wet, but the member responded, “Anyone who would come out on a night like this deserves my support!” and gave a nice contribution. Dick believed that members of the Club should support its maintenance and activities, and true to his Scandinavian character of self-reliance, he met that goal. Dick also

started a travel club that took trips to many attractions, and initiated ballroom dance classes that members enjoyed. Dick worked diligently to help the Club gain its 501(c)(3) tax status, working many hours on the complicated forms to show the IRS that the Club qualified as a charitable organization. I enjoyed 64 happy, successful years as Dick’s wife and in those years, we were often at the Swedish Club. I will always be grateful for the experience.—Susan F. Nelson

John Herbert NordlundA former member of the Swedish Club and Svea Male Chorus, and the son of Swedish immigrants, John passed away at the age of 97 on May 19, 2012. John had been very active in the club, and his wife, Patricia, was the first woman to become a member of the SCC Board. The Svea Male Chorus were special guests at John’s memorial at Queen Anne Presbyterian Church, on June 3.

Per and Inga Bolang have donated for three new library tables, plus matching funds to purchase 18 new library chairs. Members are invited to help us purchase all of the chairs this year. We need members’ donations for four more chairs ($330 each), which the Bolangs will match, and then we’ll get to our total of 18 chairs!

s w e d i s h c u l t u r a l c e n t e r . o r g 5

Lisa PetersonDeborah PorterDannika ReneeCraig RhodesSarah RobertsKelley RoshkaDonna SchlichtingDavid SolsnessAlan SteinCharlotte Still & Patrick KrutewiczBeth Strack & Karen DeskoCaroline Strömberg & Greg WilsonEileen E. SwansonHoa Thai & Jackie ThaiLenny G TilbergAndrew WeaverSuellen WigenAnne Williams & Carlos AristeguietaKelly WilsonJuanita Woelfle & Greg Brett

DeathsThe Swedish Club offers its condo-lences to the families of the following members we’ve lost since our last newsletter. Elmer AndersonLars Holmberg, former SCC Board

memberRoy HolmlundErik LofquistDick Nelson, former SCC Board

president New address? Send your address changes or corrections to:

Swedish Club Attn: Address Change 1920 Dexter Ave. N. Seattle, WA 98109

Or you can e-mail to info@swedishculturalcenter.org. Let us know if we left out your information by mistake.

1920 Dexter Avenue North, Seattle, 98109 (on the east side of Queen Anne Hill)

206.283.1090www.swedishculturalcenter.org

Saturday, Sunday Nov. 3 and Nov. 4

Sat. 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.Sun. 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

$1 donation for admission

Three floors of Scandinavian gifts, antiques, baked goods

Free and easy parking

Saturday: Meatballs, pea soup and waffles

Sunday: Traditional Swedish pancake breakfast

Scandinavian Holiday

BAZAAR

The Swedish Club

Membership Has Its Privileges

Member Mary Hillman learned last week that there is a very specific benefit to being a

member of the Swedish Club. She left her purse at Le Panier Bakery in Pike Place Market, and while it didn’t contain an ID with her address or phone number, it did contain her Swedish Club membership card. So the bakery called us to track her down. Coinciden-tally, Mary was headed for the Club to drop off music for her sister singers in the Swedish Women's Chorus. She walked in the door and immediately learned that her purse was waiting for her back at the bakery. We can’t guarantee it for everyone who loses a purse or wallet, but you never know when your Swedish Club membership will come in handy!

s e p t e m b e r 2 0 1 26

Clockwise, from above left: Foxtrot: Capt. Dale Pederson & Monica Schilling. Hambo: Bengt Hag & Kathi Ploeger. Swing: Al Thorslund & Tebby Lavery. Disco swing: Laura Wideburg & Jonathan Mathews. Rock’n’roll waltz: Bjarne Varnes & Jean Gregory. (Not pictured) Waltz: Terry Anderson & Larry Hohm. Dance TBD: Matthew Olson & Rebecca Coenning. At press time, we were still awaiting a commitment from one more couple.

Join us Saturday, Oct. 13, at 5:30 p.m. for Dancing with Swedish

Stars—our biggest fundraiser of the year, and a party like no other! Sponsored by Bob Byers Volvo. Enjoy the dance contest as your fellow Club members compete not just for the judges’ approval, but to raise the most

money. Hors d’oeuvres buffet, silent auction, after party—you’ll be talking about this event for years to come.

Choose the couple you’d like to sponsor, and send in the form below with your donation and ticket payment. We’ll see you with the stars!

Come for fun and support your favorite dancers! Saturday, Oct. 13, 2012

DA N C I N G W I T H S W E D I S H S TA R S — S P O N S O R S H I P & T I C K E T F O R M

1. Choose your dancers.

Foxtrot: Capt. Dale Pederson & Monica Schilling

Hambo: Bengt Hag & Kathi Ploeger

Swing: Al Thorslund & Tebby Lavery

Disco swing: Laura Wideburg & Jonathan Mathews

Rock’n’roll waltz: Bjarne Varnes & Jean Gregory

Waltz: Terry Anderson & Larry Hohm

Dance TBD: Matthew Olson & Rebecca Coenning

2. Choose your sponsorship amount. $25 $50 $100 Other $ ______

3. Buy your event tickets. Dance contest: $25 ea. No. of tickets _______Total: _____ After party: $25 ea. No. of tickets _______Total: _____

4. Send your check with this form to Swedish Club, 1920 Dexter Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98109, To pay by credit card, call 206-283-1090 or visit www.swedishculturalcenter.org.

s w e d i s h c u l t u r a l c e n t e r . o r g 7

Wednesday, Sept. 26. Finnish Film.Kiellety hedelmä (Forbidden Fruit). A teenage girl from a rural Laestadian community decides to break out and test her freedom. $5 donation. Repeats Friday, 9/28, 2 p.m.

Friday, Sept. 28. Scandinavian Folkdance.Come for a quick lesson on the schottis taught by Pat McMonagle at 7:30 p.m., followed by dancing to live music by Folkvoice Band from 8 to 10:30 p.m. Lesson: $5 members, $7 guests. Dance: $8 members, $10 guests. For information, contact pat@folkdancing.com. Just for this evening, we’ll be dancing upstairs in the Three Crowns dining room.

Week of Oct. 1. Swedish Language, History and Culture Classes Begin!This quarter we offer Swedish language classes at all levels, plus a Tuesday evening history class on the development of modern Sweden and a Thursday evening class on Swedish culture. Check our Web site for full schedule: www.swedishculturalcenter.org/Events/classes.htm. To register, come to the first class with your registration form from our Web site. Or, just show up!

Tuesday, Oct. 2. Ladies Auxiliary.

Support the club and enjoy company of other women. Every first Tuesday of the month at 10 a.m. (except summer months).

Wednesday, Oct. 3. Book Club.We’ll discuss the second book in Wilhelm Moberg’s series: Invan-drarna (Unto a Good Land). Read in Swedish or English, and join us to discuss. 5:30 p.m.

Sunday, Oct. 7. Swedish Pancakes.Authentic Swedish pancakes, ham, lingonberries, and all the right fixin’s. Live music for dancing too: Metro Gnomes, Nordic Reflections and Smilin’ Scandinavians. $9 guests, $7 SCC members, $5 children 5–12. 8 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. Stay for genealogy help afterward in the Swedish-Finn offices.

Saturday, Oct. 13. Dancing with Swedish Stars.

Help determine which of our members and friends are the best dancers, while raising funds for the club! Sponsored by Bob Byers Volvo, this is our grandest event of the year and biggest fundraiser!

Eight couples will compete for the judges. Show your support by sponsoring your favorites! Hors d’oeuvres buffet, silent auction, dancing for everyone after the contest! $25 each for advance tickets; $30 at the door. Also, on the same evening, our board is throwing an after party to celebrate with the dancers and judges. Separate admission of $25 gets you into the after party, where you’ll enjoy the classic Swedish dish Jansson’s Temptation, plus aquavit and champagne. Send your check for the dance party ($25) and the after party ($25) to 1920 Dexter Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98109, or visit www.swedishculturalcenter.org and buy your tickets there. Everyone is talking about this event, and you won’t want to miss it! Social hour: 5:30 p.m. Dancing starts: 7 p.m. After party: around 8:30 p.m.

Wednesday, Oct. 17. Kafferep.Monthly Swedish-style coffee party with homemade goodies from

our best bakers. 2 p.m. All are welcome. Bring goodies to share.

Every Friday. Friday Volunteers.

Every Friday morning, you bring the elbow grease and we’ll provide the task list plus lunch. Volunteers who come at 10 a.m. and stay to lend a hand with cleaning, building maintenance, painting, gardening, etc., will get a lunch of Ann-Margret’s meatballs at 1 p.m. Please RSVP to doug@swedishculturalcenter.org or call 206-283-1090 by Wednesday so that we have the tools and tasks ready for you!

Coming Events at the Swedish Club

Wednesday, Oct. 17. Swedish Film.Babycall (The Monitor). A thriller starring Noomi Rapace (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo). $5. 10/17, 7:30 p.m.; repeats 10/19, 2 p.m. Thanks to film volunteer Allison Bishop for selecting and screening films every third Wednesday.

Wednesday, Oct. 3.Members & Friends Dinner.

Scott Larsen is an award-win-ning American journalist living on the west coast of Canada. Since the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, he has covered the Danish communi-ties for Den Danske Pioneer as the paper’s Pacific Northwest editor. Earlier this year, he wrote a six-part series about Danes and Scandinavians aboard the RMS Titanic. Gregarious and with a dose of humor, Scott will present a program based on that series to our Members & Friends Dinner on Oct. 3. RSVP: 206-283-1090 or rsvp@swedishculturalcenter.org. $25 includes tax, tip and parking for a Swedish-ori-ented meal. Late RSVPs and walk-ins $27. Social hour 5:30 p.m., dinner 6:30, program 7:30.

s e p t e m b e r 2 0 1 28

Every Friday. Social Bridge.

Hankering for a hand of bridge? All players welcome, beginners to experts. 1 p.m.

Every Friday. Library & Genealogy.Our Friday librarian and genealogist, Alan McCool, will guide your genealogy or help you find a book. 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.

Every Friday. Weaving Class.For any weaver or weaver wanna-be, from begin-ners to “know-a-little” and beyond. 1:30 to 2:30. $3 per class.

Every Friday. Matinee.

Films with English subtitles. $5 donation. 2 p.m. Come early for lunch in our Kafé (12 noon to 2 p.m.).• Sept. 28. Finnish comedy/drama: Kiellety hedelmä

(Forbidden Fruit).• Oct. 5. Norwegian comedy/drama: Søndagsengler

(The Other Side of Sunday).• Oct. 12. Danish black comedy, directed by

Lars von Trier: Direktøren for det hele (The Boss of It All).

• Oct. 19. Swedish thriller: Babycall (The Monitor).• Oct. 26. Finnish drama: Kohtaamisa (Heartbeats).

Every Friday. New Viking Series.

History buff and Swedish Club Board member Larry Johnson will lead us through an every-Friday series of various Viking films. Eventually, members will have the oppor-tunity to order a DNA test to trace their Viking heritage. There’ll be a cost for the DNA test, but the class series is free and open to drop-ins. 5:30 p.m. discussion and 5:45 film.

Every Friday. Swedish Kafé & Happy Hour!

Smörgås sandwiches, Swedish meatballs and homemade pastries. Kafé starts 12 noon. Evening food with different entrees each week by Chefs Ann-Margret and Malin starts at 6 p.m. Check the menu: www.swedishculturalcenter.org. The bar is usually open until the last guests go home.

SAVE THE DATE

Saturday & Sunday, Nov. 3 & 4.Scandinavian Holiday Bazaar.

This bazaar starts the season of finding wonderful Scandinavian gifts, whether you’re seeking arts & crafts or antiques & great finds. Meatballs with your shopping on Saturday, pancakes on Sunday. Vendor applications at www.swedishculturalcenter.org.

Friday, Dec. 7. Julbord.

Traditional Swedish Christmas food for lunch and dinner.

Sunday, Dec. 9. Luciafest.

Our version of a traditional Swedish St. Lucia pageant, with UW students as Lucias. Bring the whole family. 3 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 15. Lucia Bal.

This one’s more of an evening holiday party, with drinks and dancing. Dress up for this annual Swedish celebration of the return of the light.

Friday, Dec. 21.Lutfisk on the Happy Hour menu.

Our chef Ann-Margret will serve it Swedish style with white sauce and hand-ground mustard, or Norwegian style with bacon and peas. Your choice! Meatballs on the menu too. RSVP for 6 or 7:30 p.m. seating. Cost: $25.

Coming Events, cont.Volunteers?We always need volunteers for our pancake break-fasts: set up, flip pancakes, pour coffee, bus tables, etc. Whatever your skills, we’ll find a place for you!

Our library needs volunteers to record data about donated books. It helps if you read Swedish, but it’s not required.

We need help with Microsoft Office 365. Online e-mail and calendars will streamline our facility rentals and give us flexibility for sharing information. Can a Microsoft employee help with a gift or reduced-rate subscription? Thanks!

You can help the Club by RSVP’ing early for dinners and other events. When you RSVP at the last moment, we’ve already had to guess if you’re coming. Sometimes we overestimate the turnout, and we have to pay for those meals. Tell us early that you’re coming and you’ll help us save money—which is just as good as volunteering!

For more information, or to lend a hand on volunteer projects, e-mail info@swedishculturalcenter.org or call 206-283-1090.

Rentals available at Swedish Club. 1920 Dexter Ave N., Seattle. Call 206-283-1078 or visit www.swedishculturalcenter.org/Venues/venues.htm. If you’ve been a member for at least a year, you get a 20 percent discount.

Wednesday, Oct 24. Finnish Film.Kohtaamisa (Heartbeats). A film about women but not strictly for women. Intersecting lives of a variety of women in the “new” Finland. $5 donation. 10/24, 7:30 p.m.; repeats 10/26, 2 p.m.