Around Swedish America in 
Day 33 - Vasa Lund
Close to the Assiniboine Park in Winnipeg lies an idyllic Swedish enclave.
Vasa Lund Park started off as the perfect venue for picnics and celebrations for Swedes in Winnipeg some 65 years ago. Today the acres at Vasalund house the Swedish Canadian Home, built in 1965, and the 64 luxury apartments in Vasa Lund Estates that were ready for 55-plus couples in 2000. The recent project did not necessarily attract many Swedish-Canadians but it provided a secure long-term cash-flow for the volunteers who run what is left of the park and the rest home.
The most common place where Swedes in Winnipeg meet is the downtown Scandinavian Centre (764 Erin Street, phone 204-774-8047 scandinaviancc@shaw.com. This is where the Nordic groups meet in the downstairs or upstairs auditoriums or in each country's individual room furnished and decorated in distinctive styles. The Swedish Cultural Association (204-774-8047 or President Ellen Boryen e_boryen@shaw.ca) has a monthly get-together as well as a Midsommarfest, Lucia and other events, sometimes co-arranged with the Strindberg Vasa Lodge (204-488-8018).
One of the best times to visit Winnipeg (www.travelmanitoba.com, 1-800-665-0040) is during the first two weeks of August when Folklorama turns the city upside-down with 40-plus cultural pavilions from around the world. Folklorama (www.folklorama.ca) is the longest running and largest multicultural event of its kind in the world, highlighting the many ethnic groups with food, performances and cultural displays. There is always a Nordic Folklorama program at the Scandinavian Cultural Centre. A recent program included food galore and "trolls, huldras, H.C. (pronounced Jos!) Andersen, Pippi Longstocking, Moomin and numerous other creatures of the imagination" to reflect on that year's Folklorama theme of "Once Upon a Time".