The Stove Network, 100 High Street,Dumfries will host three days of free events which celebrate Dumfries’ connection to Norway. As part of Our Norwegian Story, an on-going project at The Stove, these events will launch a Norwegian Trail and official Website to showcase this connection.
Lead artist, Katharine Wheeler commented, “It feels like we have only just touched the surface, doing the most we can to celebrate and share this significant part of Dumfries’ story with as many as we can. It has been exciting, insightful and humbling to look into our past as well as forward to the growth of future friendships and we look forward to this leading onto a deeper long-term collaborative relationship.”
This is the culmination of a year long project supported by Heritage Lottery and led by Stove curatorial team artist Katharine Wheeler in collaboration with place-making and architecture collective Lateral North. The initial project, to discover a new narrative for Dumfries’ town centre that can instil pride and ownership of our public spaces has led to the Our Norwegian Story project that has been working to collect and showcase Dumfries’ important relationship with Norway, specifically from the time of WWII but also far back into our Viking past.
Over the weekend, members of the public are invited to come along to learn and add to Dumfries’ story and participate in the Norwegian Trail to explore significant places in this journey. We will be looking back to our Viking ancestors and stepping forward through time to Dumfries as the headquarters of Norwegian exiles during WWII, with games, story sharing and celebration of our Nordic neighbours in between.
In partnership with Sleeping Giants and Wordsmithcrafts, Our Norwegian Story Trail Launch kicks off on Thursday 13th at 12pm with a range of free activities, including Viking Maps, and other games for the whole family. At 6pm, Tim Clarkson will be hosting his presentation, ‘From Merlin to the Emergence of Strathclyde’. To conclude the first day of events, The Stove will transform into a Viking Tavern, with a free buffet from 7pm.
Over Friday 14th and Saturday 15th from 11am, The Stove invites all members of the public to explore Dumfries’ Norwegian Trail. Starting at The Stove, participants will be able to collect their individual packs which will lead them through places of significance to Our Norwegian Story. The packs will take you to the Railway Station, Norway House, places of Football played, Rosefield Mills, Troqueer Church and St. Michael’s Church, with something to find at each point. Concluding the weekend events on Saturday, local story artist and performer, Jimmy Russell, will be sharing ‘My Dumfries Story’ at 7pm, followed by an evening buffet.
The Our Norwegian Story website will also launch over the 14th and 15th of April, which will be projected onto the wall of The Stove, where people can add their own points to it if they have a story to share.
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