June/July 1998 Fálkinn, the ICCT Newsletter

Editor's Corner

Thank you to everyone for your comments and encouragement so far, and most especially, a huge "Thank You!" to Gail Einarson-McCleery. Thanks to Gail's efforts and the networking she has been doing in the last couple of years, the articles and news just keep coming in – even with an 8-page edition we couldn't fit everything in! We've done our best though, and encourage your comments and feedback – please keep it coming!

There are so many exciting things happening right now, and in anticipation of the millennium – This is the perfect time to get more involved with club activities! Icelandic cooking classes are currently being looked into. Much is also being planned for the Vikings group – if you have e-mail, make sure you are on the Vikings e-mail list!

In this edition of Fálkinn, you can also read about the importance of pedigree and plan to do some research on your own with a little help from the upcoming presentation on Genealogy. You may even discover you have relatives in Iceland who are looking for you!

• Islenska Símaskráin, the Icelandic phone book, is now on the Internet at http://www.simaskra.is. If you are looking for phone numbers anywhere in the world you might try the following site (which also includes some explanation to manoeuvre the non-English sites): http://www.contractjobs.com/tel
• According to a June 29^th article in the Los Angeles Times, Microsoft is still refusing to translate Windows into Icelandic.
• Craig Travel is celebrating its 30^th Anniversary with a special Cruise to Iceland and the Atlantic Isles. The cruise takes place aboard the ms Rotterdam August 12-25, 1999 for 14 days. An extra early booking saving is offered if booked by September 30, 1998. Contact Craig Travel for details at: (416) 484-0926.

Sturla Gunnarsson Wins Chalmers Award

The Icelandic language is one of the most precious things Icelanders own. However, when one lives in Canada and speaks English all the time, this fact tends to be forgotten. For all of you who want to read books about Iceland, whether it is in Icelandic or English, there is a solution. You are welcome to call our librarian and arrange to pick up a few books. Our library is divided into fiction, poetry and history. A list of the books is available at all general meetings or by mail. If you are interested, please call our librarian, Kathleen McDermott, and she will assist you (416) 449-6737. We have books in both Icelandic and English and the following books below are examples of a few books we have to offer:

In both Icelandic and English:

• 18^th Century Iceland (Pictures and Text) - features life in Iceland in the eighteenth century

In Icelandic:

• Þjótrú og Þjóðsagnir (Folk Beliefs) - Vivid folk tales

The Intermediate Icelandic classes will continue in the fall, but we are still looking for a teacher for the beginner's classes - we could do with some students also! Call Katrin Jonsdottir at 243-7040 if you are interested.

Club News

Thank you to the following members for donations:

Vince & Ruth Eastman, Everton & Heather Paul (library book), Bob & Barbara Gubbins (library book).

Welcome to new members

James MacPherson (Toronto), Glen & Paula Thordarson (Toronto), Teresa (Carson) & Alfred Beal, Kari, Kristopher & Erin (Milton), Leif Eric Thorsteinson (Waterloo), Karen & Brian Cairns, Robin & Taylor (Ottawa), Dennis Cardiff (Ottawa), Kathy Hanneson (Guelph), Anna (Bjarnason) O'Brien (Ajax), Michael Bildfell (Richmond Hill), Helen Stevenson (Fergus), Hugh & Susan Allward, Lindsay, Karlyn & Hugh David (Uxbridge), David Franklin (Montreal), Alex Borsuk (Scarborough), Ástvaldur Leó Sigurbergsson & Marie-France Pelletier (Montreal).

Births

Our Former Youth Director Joanne Brignoly and her husband Steve had their first child on February 7th - she's a lovely girl named Jenna Lynn, who weighed in at 8 lbs. 10 oz. with blue eyes and dark hair. Bon voyage and good luck to Jo-ann, Steve and Jenna who have moved back to Manitoba, July 29^th. Look out Winnipeg!

Birthdays

Johanna Snydal turns 96 on August 5th and is still going strong and enjoying her memories of the big party last year for her 95^th birthday.

Happy Couples

Congratulations to Honorary ICCT member Bernard (Ben) & Phyllis Einarson of Bracebridge on the occasion of their 50^th Wedding Aniversary, which they celebrated June 6^th with a gathering of family and friends

Doug Goodman and Frederica Von Briese were married at St. John's Lutheran Church in Kitchener-Waterloo on July 11th. Freddi made all the wedding arrangements except for the rullapylsa and brown bread, which Doug organized (with some help from ICCT members). He says he can still remember the first time he tasted it at a family reunion, and decided he would have it at their reception as a surprise for this father!

Saturday, May 23rd, was the big day in Bergen, Norway, when ICCT member Raina Stebelski and Aadland Roar tied the knot in his home town. They report by e-mail that although the weather was a bit grey, they had a beautiful ceremony in the church and a very nice reception afterwards.

Deaths

Unnur Dora Gunnlaugsdottir Hagan - Dora passed away on June 14th after a courageous fight with cancer. It was fortunate for members of the club that, only a few weeks prior to her passing, we were able to acknowledge our gratitude to Dora and her husband Eric at a small ceremony at which they were named honorary members of the ICCT.

Dora and Eric were both born and raised in Iceland; as children they lived within a block of each other, although they didn't know one another at the time. Dora's father was a doctor in Reykjavik and Eric's family was in the jewellery business. As a young man Eric was involved in the film industry and became a director, living and working in England and France. At the invitation of Crawley Films of Ottawa they moved to Canada as a young couple; then spent a short time in Toronto before ill health caused a change in career and a move to Montreal, followed by some time in New York. They then returned to Toronto and became active in the ICCT.

In the early days they never missed a meeting of the club and both were involved with the Executive - Eric served as President in 1985. Dora was always the one with the friendly face who would greet you at the door, and she was very involved with Thorrablót.

In those days, the Executive prepared all the food and Dora would arrive with a trunkload; she really liked making Icelandic delicacies. Arts and Crafts nights were also a feature of the early days, and one year they rented a truck and brought in all of Dora's mother's beautiful wall hangings which she had designed and made. Another of their interests was their life-long love of books, which is reflected in the number of bound volumes, in Icelandic in their home.

Both of their children, Halli and Anna, were born in Canada - now there are four grand-children, two boys and two girls. Members of the club and the Executive offer their sincere condolences to Eric and the family.

Oddny (Sigurdson) Bergman of Brantford died January 14th. She was the dear mother of Joan (Waterous) and Jack.

Presidents Message

I hope all of you are having a marvellous summer! Travels this year started early for seven members of the Executive, when we attended the Icelandic National League Convention in Brandon, Manitoba, May 8, 9 and 10. It featured a jam-packed agenda and a chance to get together and socialize with our friends from all across the country.

Probably the most exciting news was hearing about upcoming plans for the Millennium. It is going to be a very interesting time for us Icelanders, because we'll be celebrating the discovery of North America by the Vikings! Celebrations will focus on Leifur Eiriksson and the other Vikings who landed at Vinland around 1000 A.D. and will include a voyage from Iceland and Greenland to L'Anse Aux Meadows in Newfoundland via a reconstructed Viking vessel. Einar Benediktsson and Kristín Sif Sigurðardóttir (from Iceland) were there to let us know that there will be celebrations all across the country, with Iceland sending many cultural ambassadors. We can expect to see films, art, jazz, poetry, writers, and much more. David Gislason, chairman of our Canadian Millennium Committee explained that each area will be having its own activities as well. Here in Ontario we plan to dedicate a monument at Kinmount to the first group of Icelanders and who arrived 125 years ago and eventually founded New Iceland.

On other fronts, we heard that the Gimli Museum project is going ahead as part of a Cultural Heritage Centre in an expanded Betel Home, and will be built in 1999. The Icelandic Heritage Camp will be going ahead this year in August (Dagbjort Wendover is the lucky child from Ontario who will attend).

The University of Manitoba has announced a major fundraising initiative to build an endowment fund which will enable them to enhance the Icelandic Collection at the Library, and also to fund the second teaching position in the Icelandic Department.

Ray Johnson, who has now taken over as President, filled us in on the handsome new series "The Complete Sagas of the Icelanders" - five volumes, with all the sagas, plus 49 short stories, in a new translation into modern English.

We received a good explanation from Sigrid Johnson, who has just become INL Vice President, of the selection process for scholarships to spend a year in Iceland learning the language (this year Kristján Ahronson is one of the students selected - Kristján won the ICCT scholarship in 1996).

For those of us wanting to visit Iceland, Kendra Jonasson unveiled the new Citizen's Exchange Program for people of all ages which is starting operation this year. We also had news from the Icelandic branch of the INL that they are starting a new work exchange program for young people called the Snorri program (after the first European child born in North America).

And your Toronto delegation had things to talk about too - Fran Moscall showed video and spoke about our Kinmount monument program which will focus on honouring those original pioneers who went on to found New Iceland. In my capacity as Program Director for International Visits, I outlined the three projects I am working on - sending artist Patricia (Guttormson) Peacock to the new Emigration Museum at Hofsos this summer for an art show; to be followed by Einar Vigfusson and his beautiful bird carvings next year; and also bringing world-famous photographer Páll Stefansson of 'Iceland Review' to Canada in the fall of 1999 for a cross country tour. This presentation was enhanced by slides of some of the works.

The Saturday was capped off by a very well-attended Thorrablót at Brandon University. There we met Dennis Anderson, President of the University (uncle of ICCT member Katrina Koven), and danced the night away!

I'll be telling you more throughout the year about these and other interesting initiatives which are going on, but enough for now! Oh, yes I almost forgot - next year you can all attend, as the Convention is in Toronto!

Vigdís Finnbogadóttir Luncheon

The location was the Arboretum at the University of Guelph and seemed a fitting venue considering Vigdís' efforts and accomplishments regarding reforestation in Iceland. She gave the Icelandic forestry initiative invaluable support. Just 17 days after taking office, she planted her first trees in a plantation in the Thingvellir National Park when receiving a delegation of Canadian Icelanders. Tree-planting was a token of her office.

The weather was lovely and made for a beautiful day, as people were able to go for walks on the grounds and take in the rose garden and other foliage.

There was a very good turn-out to the Luncheon, including Jon Johnson (Honourary Consul for Ontario), Sveinn Björnsson (Deputy Chief of Mission, The Embassy of Iceland) and his wife Magnea Sigurdardóttir, Gail Einarson-McCleery (President ICCT), Professor Steven Cronshaw (University of Guelph) and Chris Morden (Vice-President ICCT).

Vigdís was charming and everyone in attendance enjoyed her thought-provoking speech. Her accomplishments past and present are plentiful, and continue to make Icelanders proud. Vigdís spoke to us about the importance of maintaining our Icelandic heritage and the Icelandic language.

Iceland is not the only country which feels the threat of losing their language. Vigdís sited examples from Mexico and Macedonia where the people were not allowed to use their own language. She stated that "When language is taken from people, they lose their identity".

She also spoke of culture being important no matter how small the country. When asked how many Icelanders there are the answers will differ as 1/4 million sounds more impressive than 270,000 (and 300,000 may also sound more impressive). Certainly it would be cheaper in monetary terms to abandon the language, but culture is worth so much more than money!

Halldor Laxness addressed cultural wealth in his speech when he won the Nobel Prize in 1955 - When people stop being independent, then the world has been made poorer. When one thing is lost, everyone suffers. Every piece of history that we lose leaves a hole in the fabric.

Vigdís told of her experiences in Canada, meeting, or rather not meeting, Canadians of Icelandic descent who were ashamed because they could not speak Icelandic. She said it was silly to think like that, and reminded us that the most important thing is to remember your roots, to remember is that you have an Afi and an Amma - remember their attitude and their way of considering life.

We need to respect diversity rather than feel suspicion towards it. Tolerance is one of the best ways to ensure stability in the coming millennium. The solution calls for education and public awareness campaigns. Improved thinking is taking place about the multicultural society instilling the younger generation with respect for cultural diversity. By 2001 more than half of the world's population will be under 20 years old. The values by which we bring up our young people are increasingly important.

She finished with the words of Havamal, from more than 1000 years ago, "Know this for a friend you have whom you trust well - go often to his house and exchange gifts"

The Convocation Ceremony

The University of Guelph has expanded from its beginnings as an agricultural and veterinary college to a multi-disciplinary facility and this was very apparent at the Convocation Ceremony on Wednesday June 10th at 2:30 p.m. President Vigdís received her honorary doctor of laws degree at a ceremony which also included many proud and happy young women and men graduating in Philosophy, Arts, Commerce and Social Science.

Prior to the Convocation Ceremony, President Vigdís was the honoured guest at a luncheon hosted by President Mordechai Rozanski and his wife Bonnie. Held in their charming historic home, it was a splendid occasion. Catering was again provided by the Hospitality Services unit of the University, headed by Sylvia Willms. Just inside the door, there was a picture of the home being moved to its present location from elsewhere on the campus ... this happened in 1912 and was accomplished by rolling the house over logs - it was pulled by horses. There is a rumour that the dishes weren't even moved, but Bonnie Rozanski wasn't willing to confirm that!

Amongst the guests at lunch were the three professors from Iceland who are involved with the Exchange program, along with the families of two of them. It was lovely to see the fresh young Icelandic faces of the young women and children.

A very proud Professor Steven Cronshaw had the honour of presenting President Vigdís to the Chancellor of the University, the Honourable Lincoln Alexander, to receive her degree. Vigdís then addressed the graduating class. Her speech took as its theme the upcoming celebrations for the millennium of the first landing by Europeans in North America in 1000 A.D. In particular, she focussed on the story of Gudriður Þorbjarnardóttir whose child Snorri Sturlusson was the first European child born in North America. She spoke about how intrepid Gudriður had been, travelling to Greenland and Norway many times, and also to Rome, before finally returning to Iceland to become a nun. The message she left with the graduates was that they should be inspired, as Vigdís herself was, by Gudriður's energy, stamina and talents. Her speech was delivered in Icelandic, English and French!

Iceland-Canada Symposium

The Symposium was also held at the University of Guelph Arboretum, and it explored the relationships of scholars and institutions in Iceland and Canada. The Arboretum is a long term project to preserve a diversity of flora. This is a parallel to the many projects in the University of Guelph/Iceland cooperation: preservation of the northern environment; of the ancient Icelandic language; and of the skills of a diverse body of scholars.

The University was introduced, and the symposium welcomed, by the President, Mordechai Rozanski, and many others, who endorsed the UG/Iceland cooperation, and amplified its many aspects. Steven Cronshaw made some of his remarks in Icelandic, illustrating that the language is a living part of the projects. Responses came from Sveinn Björnsson, Icelandic diplomat from Washington, Jon Johnson, consul from Toronto, Brenda Elliott, MPP, and in particular, Bjarni Tryggvasson. Bjarni described his progression from birthplace in Reykjavik, to a view of it from space, in a short 45 or so years.

Vigdís participated throughout, in an easy interchange with all present, with questions, and finally with a very moving comment on the freedom she had felt in the three days in Guelph, free from the constraints of official position. Vigdís and Bjarni exemplified the ease and simplicity of the Icelandic character at its best.

Don Gislason led the audience from the distress and desperation of the 1700's up to what Neil Bardal called the "choiceless" decision of twenty percent of the population, to leave the "hopelessness" behind, for a new start in the New World which offered hope for the future. The decision to move was forced by dismal conditions, aided by the new steamships which could carry large numbers quickly and with little risk, no ship was lost in the emigration years, and encouraged by enthusiastic descriptions of the life awaiting. Anything was better for the Icelanders who were without other prospects, and even for those who had some semblance of a living on the island.

Anna Karlsdottir and Hrefna Sigurjónsdottir outlined their work and studies in the economics of the fisheries, the key effort to adjust to changing ocean fauna and markets, and conservation of the northern environment; illustrating the one-on-one relations and contacts between scholars and students. Skuli Skulason made the point that the population difference between Iceland and Canada was immaterial when bridged by personal contact. Vigdís described how she used this network of contacts to establish her own contacts in her new task for the UN in maintenance of the "Genes" of languages.

Jim Mahone and Ron Stolz, of UG, addressed the processes at work in the Iceland/Canada cooperation. Jim's work is in "Sustainable Rural Communities". He dispelled many myths surrounding these three words, concluding with a strong plea for programs to educate and improve the skills and attitudes of "rural" populations in Iceland and Canada, rather than "pumping more billions of dollars into aid and support of the status quo". Ron's forte is "learning efficiency and effectiveness", policies focussed on the student or "learner", de-emphasizing "teaching", emphasizing "learning". In a nutshell "learner centred policy". This is an absolute essential in the modern University. Much of the contact of student, scholar and resources is at a distance, example Iceland to Canada, via electronic technologies. One, interactive television, was demonstrated. A "Human Interaction Course" helps students make efficient use of the technologies.

Apropos the Symposium objective, "the Millennium of the Icelanders in what was to become Canada", Neil Bardal quoted the Western Icelandic poets: Stefan G. Stefansson, "The Candle", to illustrate the contribution made by small groups, the first at L'Anse aux Meadow shines through the ages; and Guttormur Guttormsson, "Sandy Bar", the feelings and aspirations of the New Icelanders. He spoke of the strong cultural "pillars" of Icelandic society in Canada, the need to maintain the heritage, and the projects being considered for the Millennial Year.

In the concluding panel, Michael Risk, in the field of climate change at McMaster, raised the daunting question of global warming in its effect on the Iceland/Canada relationship. Both countries depend on the Gulf Stream, but Iceland has a critical dependency. If the icecaps melt, Mike says that it is almost a certainty that the Gulf Stream flow will be replaced by a Polar Current, taking as little as five years to do so, and the climate of the island will deteriorate. Mike commented that he views Iceland as the "barometer or dipstick" of climate change. Cooperation between the countries should keep this in mind, and needs to be broadened and made much more visible to the scholarly and general population of Canada. Where Iceland's climate goes, Canada's will follow.

The presentations made to the symposium were each worthy of a lengthy review. This is beyond the scope of the newsletter, but the writer hopes that it is the intention of Steven Cronshaw to publish, at least precis' of, the papers.

Archer's Bay Wins Queens Plate:

Within 10 years of receiving and owning her first horse, Iris Bristow has gone on to become the owner of this year's Queen's Plate winning Horse - Archers Bay.

Ms. Bristow of Cathcart/Bristow Stables of Campbellville and her partner Eugene Melnyk are the proud owners of this year's prize winning horse, who's lineage places him as the great great grandson of Northern Dancer, who won this prestigious race in the exact same running time in 1964.

Archer's Bay was purchased in 1996 at the yearlings' sale at Windfrields Farms dispersal sale in Keenlands, Florida. Prior to the sale, Eugene Melnyk, Iris' partner along with her husband Bill, were keenly aware of this Canadian horse who was a culmination of six generations of unbroken bloodlines on the sire side from the great Nearctic, sire to Northern Dancer. On the dame's side, he goes back seven generations, from a horse called Nandi. It was clear to Iris and Bill that this horse was not to be passed over. They were pleased to acquire this fine horse at auction for a bid of $120,000, far less than the average bid on the day of this renowned sale.

Shortly after the purchase, Archer's Bay went to Ocala, Florida, to John Frank's farm to be cared for by trainer, Phil Hronic. After 10 months of preparation and maturing he then went to the well-known and successful trainer, Todd Pletcher, whose training base is at Belmont Park. Todd has had great success of late with a number of two-year-olds. Archer's Bay was Todd Pletcher's first saddling of a contender of the Queen's Plate. Of Archer's Bay, Mr. Pletcher says: He's a push button horse -- you can do whatever you need to with him depending upon how the race sets up.

The Bristows were thrilled to acquire jockey Kent Desormeau for this race. Mr. Desormeau was the rider of this year's winning horse, Real Quiet, at the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness and came within a nose of winning the Belmont and the Triple Crown.

For Iris Bristow, owning a Queen's Plate winning horse is wonderfully exciting. However, for her, horse racing and breeding is a passion and a full-time business that fills her days. The challenge of horseracing is not only the challenge of handicapping, but also experiencing the power and magnificent beauty of seeing a horse run in a race. For her, to see a horse rrace for a purse of $5,000 is as exciting as one where the purse is $150,000, because regardless of the money involved, the winning horse gives all. She is quick to point out that Thoroughbred Horse Racing is an expensive hobby turned business that you have to enjoy. Faced with expenses of maintaining a race horse, the odds of making money are very slim. As her husband Bill Bristow, a stockbroker, points out; winning a race such as the Queen's Plate is like winning the 649 lottery in terms of the odds. For both Iris and Bill, the fascination comes in the fact that so many variables come into play such as the history of a horse and the timing of a race and a committed team working together to make it all happen. If this year's Queen's Plate had been three weeks earlier, Archer's Bay would not have been ready or able to compete.

UPDATE - Archer's Bay has gone on to win the Prince of Wales race at Fort Erie on July 19^th.

Magnafaxi Farm - Icelandic Extravaganza

Featured attractions are: riding lessons with one of the most famous trainers and teachers in Iceland & Europe, seminars on shoeing, dentistry, and saddle fit, TTEAM work, and Icelandic Breeding Evaluation, a 2-day Icelandic Horse Show, Booth displays, and a European style auction.

Magnafaxi Farm (905) 936-2228
Box 183 fax: (905) 936-6333
Palgrave, Ontario e-mail: faxi@icelandics.com
L0N 1P0 website: http://www.icelandics.com/faxi

The Icelanders of Kinmount, Ontario

...After thirteen days on the high seas, many of them sick with gastro enteritis, the passengers from the S.S. St. Patrick were herded at midnight of September 23rd into four rail cars. This was a strange and unsettling experience for most of them as trains were unknown in Iceland. As they sped through the night, the motion, noise of the wheels clacking over tracks and frequent stops made sleep impossible. Early the next day, while crossing the Victoria rail bridge over the St. Lawrence to Montreal, they marvelled at one of the longest spans in the world. They were taken to a large hall for a meal and at 3:00 p.m. changed trains for Toronto. They travelled the rest of the day and through the night, arriving at the city Immigration sheds on Friday the 25^th, under the hopeful supervision of Sigtryggur Jonasson.

The following correspondence sheds light on what happened to the Icelanders at Kinmount, an odyssey which reads like a series of pioneer disasters, confusion and mishaps. Many of the survivors of that ill-fated settlement became the founders of New Iceland (1875) on the shores of Lake Winnipeg, setting the stage for further emigration to Canada from Iceland. It is for this reason, the INL has proposed that a permanent memorial be placed at Kinmount to commemorate these early settlers, and that the ICCT is having its annual picnic there.

As agent and interpreter, Jonasson wrote to the newspaper Norþanfara (Northerner) in Iceland during the winter of 1874-75. He outlined the adventures of the passengers of the St. Patrick before they left for western Canada and Nova Scotia. His first letter of October 13, 1874 outlined their lives up to that point. (trans. by Don Gislason, Katrín Jónsdóttir & Marteinn S. Thórsson)

By the beginning of February, barely four months later, his report changed for the worse. He wrote of hardships omitted in his first letter, events which had dealt a heavy blow to some of the people. All the young children in the settlement succumbed to disease and exhaustion at the beginning of the winter, and many had died. Jonasson was just 22 years old at the time, writing from the cold of the Ontario winter:

In addition to worsening living conditions, ill health, high infant mortality and exhaustion at Kinmount, there was also betrayal around employment, as well as extremely cold weather:

Sigtryggur reported that a few of the Icelanders had looked at land in the vicinity, but they showed little enthusiasm for it. He also discussed the need for them of finding a suitable place to settle in the New World, and he cautioned people in Iceland not to emigrate until such a place could be found:

By the spring of 1875, the Kinmount 'colony' began to drift apart. Some had moved away to work in saw mills or as day labourers. And others began hacking farms out of the bush. Indeed, by the beginning of June, thirty-one had taken up 4000 acres in Snowdon and Lutterworth townships. Also, a number of women had gone into domestic service in Lindsay and Toronto. By mid summer, upwards to eighty had left for Mooseland (Markland), Nova Scotia.

But the final break up, of course, happened with the opening up of the West for settlement. Towards the end of September, 1875 almost all of the remaining St. Patrick passengers in Ontario decided to leave. The offer of free land in the West where they could establish a proper colony was powerful. Even those who had taken land around Kinmount walked away from their farms, sold what they could and abandoned their crops. These settlers were, once again on the move, crossing the Great Lakes, and heading for new frontiers and challenges at Gimli, NWT (Manitoba).

If you would like to contribute to the memorial or have suggestions, please contact: Don Gislason.

Viking Chatters

WE'RE BACK AND BETTER THAN EVER!

Welcome everyone! I hope everyone is having a great summer! Our Youth Committee has been busy getting ready for the 1998-1999 year, which promises to be jam-packed full of interesting things for all to do. The biggest change is in our name - we felt we needed a name to distinguish the younger ICCT members - to make us special and unique, and we unanimously decided "THE VIKINGS" would be a perfect name for members from the ages of 15- 35.

We are also hoping to get a "YOUNG VIKING" group together in the next little while to for those ages 5-14, but we haven't found a leader for that segment of the ICCT population. Could this be something you could be interested in? We are looking for an enthusiastic individual with experience with younger children. This job should only take a few hours a month, so if you have some time to spare, and if you are interested, please e-mail Leah Salt at oceanroses@yahoo.com, or better yet, give her a call at (905) 820-2611.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR THE CHILDREN'S CHRISTMAS PARTY COMMITTEE

Yes, we do need volunteers for the Kids Christmas Party this year. The party will be held on the last weekend of November at a new location in Toronto. The first Christmas planning meeting will be held on Thursday, October 8th - so if you have a few hours to spare in the coming months and would like to get involved - please call Leah at (905) 820-2611.

"VIKINGS" COMING EVENTS

Our social calendar is filled right until Christmas! We have a lot of new programs this year that we know you'll enjoy. The Vikings website is close to completion too – if you aren't on the e-mail list, be sure to let Leah know!

Vikings Go To The Movies

We had some troubles at our last movie night, we apologize - but we also want you to have another opportunity to watch the 1995 Fridrik Fridrikson movie entitled "Cold Fever". Popcorn and refreshments will be served. Admission is $4.00 for adults/$2.00 for children under 8 years old.

Movie synopsis as taken from the Icelandic Film Fund website at: www.centrum.is/filmfund/films/coldfever.html

Björk Fan Appreciation Night

Björk is a well-known, very talented musician from Iceland - and we thought we should have a night to recognize her talents. We will be playing her videos, showing a documentary recently done by Bravo on her life, as well as an Icelandic story starring the singer herself! Bring your family and friends, this is one night not to be missed! http://www.bjork.co.uk/bjork/

HEY KIDS! YOU COULD WIN A TY® BEANIE BABY®

Kids, we want to hear what your Icelandic heritage means to you. Tell us what your Icelandic heritage means to you, in one page or less. First place winner receives "Rainbow" the TY® Beanie Baby®. Contest closes on October 18th - the Viking committee will select the best essay by November 1st. Winning essay will be published in an upcoming issue of the Fálkinn. Please send your essay, along with your name, phone number and address in care of:

MY ICELANDIC HERITAGE
2531 Windjammer Road
Mississauga, Ontario L5L 1H7
or email it to oceanroses@yahoo.com