Celebrate Syttende Mai with a Parade in St. Cloud

ST. CLOUD -- You can celebrate your Norwegian heritage in St. Cloud Friday. It's Syttende Mai - which means the 17th of May - Norway's Constitution Day and a national holiday.

Frank Haynes is the President of the Nordic Cultural Club of St. Cloud. He says they are planning a parade starting at 5:30 p.m. at the Stearns History Museum.

Which is a very simple thing. In every town in Norway, they gather with their children and they go on a walk through town dressed in their finest.  Here we're going to give out free Norwegian flags to everybody that comes.  At the end of the walking parade, they end up at a common ground where all the kids get ice cream.

It is free for you to attend and participate in the parade.

The club is also hosting a banquet following the parade inside the Stearns History Museum.

And it gets you a traditional Norwegian meal of lamb and cabbage - the national dish of Norway.

The cost to attend that is $20 a person.