Arts and Cultural Heritage

DS artists represent a significant proportion of individuals practicing traditional and evolving Nordic Music and Dance in the region. By placing this event in this new Duluth home, we will be recentering one of the largest gatherings of its kind in North America in a home with a long history of settlers who practiced these traditions from their country of origin. In fact, as we were establishing possible outdoor locations for this year's festival, we found archival photos (see attachments) of hundreds of first generation immigrants, who had assembled in Duluth's parks a century ago to celebrate in a way that reflects our own festival vision. The idea that DS could help descendents of the folks in those photos reconnect with their heritage and history is an exciting and powerful proposition. Placing musicians in our community for this festival will welcome other cultural groups and inspire younger attendees to learn and maintain folk music and dance for the generations to come. DS success will be measured by the degree to which the measurable outcomes were achieved. Outcome measures include: Goal 1 - the number of tickets sold. Goal 2 - sound management, administration and bookkeeping deadlines are met for sound amplification and recording, project administration, tracking income, expenses, and prompt payment for contractors. Goal 3 - attendee satisfaction questionnaire responses. Goal 4 - meeting timelines for providing online access to recordings and tracking numbers of individuals who access the recordings.