Sons of Norway - Bernt Balchen Lodge

12/11/2024

Looking for something fun to do this Thursday evening? Dress up as a troll with us for the Ullr Fest at the Alaska Zoo!

Send us a message to learn more 💬🧌

https://www.alaskazoo.org/ullr-fest-adults

This is a 21+ event

12/09/2024

12/09/2024

Don't miss out on Ullr Fest at The Alaska Zoo! Thursday, December 12 from 6 to 9 PM. Adults only 21+. Zoo lights, turkey leg dinner, beer, mead, cider, shot skis, bridge trolls, and more. Buy tickets today at https://www.alaskazoo.org/ullr-fest-adults

12/08/2024

Great news coverage of Ambassador Anniken Huitfeldt’s visit to Anchorage!

The newly-appointed Norwegian Ambassador to the U.S. came to Alaska to present a medal to Anchorage resident Lise Kristiansen on Thursday evening.

12/06/2024

Congratulations to our Honorary Norwegian Consul and life-long Bernt Balchen Lodge member, Lise Kristiansen. Lisa was presented with the Officer, Knight First Class of the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit by Norwegian Ambassador Anniken Huitfeldt at a special reception at Viking Hall on December 5th. We're so proud of you, Lise!

12/06/2024

Tusen takk to the Alaska World Affairs Council for hosting a discussion with the new Norwegian Ambassador to the U.S., Anniken Huitfeldt. This was Ambassador Huitfeldt's first visit to Alaska, but we look forward to many more!

11/27/2024

Our Nordic Gnomes are hard at work in the Sons of Norway workshop making the prizes for the Alaska Mountaineering and Hiking (AMH) Wooden Ski Classic race on January 26, 2025!

Dig out your wooden skis and don your finest woolen Scandinavian gear and join us for a fun day of events sponsored by the Sons of Norway. Competitors who enter the wooden ski race will receive a limited-edition handmade medal. There will also be medals for the "best dressed" category.

See the Nordic Skiing Association of Anchorage website for more information and registration details: https://tinyurl.com/33fxbuh4

11/25/2024

Our Real Live Nordic Gnomes want to remind you to save the date for the Alaska Mountaineering and Hiking (AMH) Kincaid Classic & Wooden Ski race on January 26, 2025!

Dig out your wooden skis and don your finest woolen Scandinavian gear and join us for a fun day of events sponsored by the Sons of Norway. There will be a free pine tar wax clinic, prizes for the "best dressed" skiers, and those yummy Norwegian waffles! But beware! Rumor has it there might be trolls afoot!

See the Nordic Skiing Association of Anchorage website for more information and registration details: https://tinyurl.com/33fxbuh4

11/22/2024

UAA students, here is a fantastic opportunity to study abroad at the University of Stavanger in Norway!

For more information, please contact Mara James, UAA Education Abroad Coordinator, at 907-786-1720 or email at [email protected]. More information can also be found on the UAA Education Abroad website: https://www.uaa.alaska.edu/academics/office-of-academic-affairs/study-abroad/

10/23/2024

Gratuler med dagen, Bernt Balchen!

Happy Birthday to navigator, mechanical engineer, polar aviator and distinguished military leader Bernt Balchen, born 125 years ago today.

Read about Balchen’s life on the Sons of Norway Blog:
https://bit.ly/409OWGe

10/16/2024

This year marks the 125th anniversary of Colonel Bernt Balchen's birth! Our lodge is named after Colonel Balchen, but how much do you actually know about our namesake?

You can read more about the life of this amazing man in the October E-Post from the Sons of Norway home office.
https://www.sofn.com/blog/bernt-balchens-125th-birthday-celebration/

Fun fact #1: There are two other Sons of Norway lodges named after Bernt Balchen - one in Pennsylvania and one in Kristiansand, Norway!

Fun fact #2: Did you know that Colonel Balchen served as commander of the 10th Air Rescue Squadron at Elmendorf Air Force Base after WWII?

10/09/2024

Join us on Thursday, October 10th for our New Member Welcome/Potluck Social/Board Meeting

Potluck Social starts at 6:30pm
8141 Briarwood St

Bring something to share and come welcome our new members. An extra bonus will be a presentation by lodge members, featuring a Hurtigruten cruise down Norway's coast from Svalbard. It's sure to be a fun night!

09/29/2024

What a wonderful day it was!❤️

09/26/2024

We love our Nordic Market vendors!❤️

Mark your calendars for the annual Nordic Market next Saturday 9/28!

Find all things Scandinavian… from Lefse and Vafler, Nordic vendors, cultural demonstrations, music and a silent auction!

We are excited to be a returning vendor at this lively annual market and look forward to seeing many of you there!
Stop by and say hi, check out our NEW items and our first ever SALE table! 🤗

🇸🇪🇩🇰🇫🇮🇳🇴🇮🇸

09/16/2024

Norwegian polar explorer Børge Ousland is giving a talk at the UAA campus today, September 16th, from 4-5pm.

UAA Planetarium Theater, 3101 Science Cir
Admission is free

Parking information:
https://www.uaa.alaska.edu/depts/parking-services/short-term.cshtml

With solo expeditions to both the South and North Poles, and solo crossings of both the Antarctic and the Arctic, Børge Ousland is renowned as one of the leading polar explorers of our time. His 2019 expedition across the North Pole in the darkness of the long polar night has been described as “the boldest polar expedition of modern times”, by National Geographic Magazine.

Børge Ousland will be coming to UAA to deliver a talk about his polar experiences, September 16th at 4pm to 5pm, at the UAA Planetarium Theater, admission is FREE!

Sponsored by Professor Jeff Welker, UArctic Research Chair & Department of Biological Sciences.