GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — Green Bay is home of the Packers, but on Friday, it was all about Vikings at UW-Green Bay.
The Midwest Viking Festival is being held at the campus.
“We have 60 to 70 historical interpreters who are dressed in a very authentic manner in Viking clothing and they are all doing some sort of craft,” said Festival Coordinator Heidi Sherman.
One of those interpreters is Wade Kaiser, who’s a blacksmith.
He makes items from amulets to fire pokers and cooking pans.
“Iron was really an important commodity in Scandinavia 1,000 years ago,” said Kaiser. “It was really hard to get good quality.”
Another interpreter is Mårten Bydén, who came all the way from Sweden.
“The lathing or the turning I’ve been doing for three and a half years,” said Bydén. “But I do a bunch of other crafts associated with the Viking age.”
He’s spending his first time in the United States by making wooden bowls by hand.
Aside from learning about Viking heritage, kids are also able to get more hands on with activities like archery.
The festival is being held at the Viking House on the west side of campus. The house was donated to UW-Green Bay.
“We took it apart, we moved it, we rebuilt it here,” said Sherman. “And so now we use it for community events.”
The Midwest Viking Festival also runs Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
It’s free for anyone to attend.
