First Lutheran hosts Arts Festival

By Times staff | Friday, May 09, 2008

First Lutheran Church, located at 18th Avenue and 17th Street,  Rock Island, will hold a celebration of Scandinavian Arts from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. May 17 and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. May 18.  The festival will take place in the Parish House, Fellowship Hall and on the church lawn.

The congregation has deep roots in Scandinavia with earlier members coming from Sweden and Norway. The congregation was formed in 1870 as First Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Church of Rock Island.

Members and friends of the congregation will have displays in needlework, paintings, woodcarving and weaving. Joanne MacVey, renowned rosemaler, will demonstrate Norwegian rosemaling.

Local artist and member Bill Gustafson will draw caricatures of people. Vocal and instrumental music, including fiddlers and a Bell Choir, will be heard in the church as well as on the church grounds. Scandinavian food specialties will be for sale in the picnic area. A Kaffe Stuga (coffee shop) will sell baked goods and coffee in Fellowship Hall. Vendors will have crafts items for sale. The American Scandinavian Association, the Sons of Norway, the Swenson Immigration Center and Augustana College Scandinavian Club will be represented. In addition, antique and contemporary Swedish quilts, copper, glass and pottery will be on display.

The church can be contacted at (309) 788-9661 for additional information.