Get ready for a Viking takeover this weekend

The time has come for Ballard’s annual Viking Days, happening this weekend, August 22-23. The festivities will kick off with the 2nd annual Run-Like-a-Viking 5k on Saturday, August 22, starting at 8 a.m. at Golden Gardens. The family-friendly fun will continue all weekend at the Nordic Heritage Museum (3014 NW 67^th St) with Nordic food, crafts, and music.

The 5k will be along Ballard’s waterfront, starting and ending at Golden Gardens. Viking-inspired costumes are encouraged for runners, and on-leash (and hopefully costumed) dogs are welcome to run with their owners. The organizers tell us the run will be chip-timed, and the field is limited to 500 participants. Participants are welcome to walk instead of run, and participants may push strollers, they say. Packet pickup is Friday, August 21, from 3 p.m. to 7  p.m. at the Nordic Heritage Museum, and the morning of the race starting at 7 a.m. Registration costs $40 and can be done online.

Viking Days at the museum will commence after the run, with Nordic entertainment, food, activities, and plenty of Vikings. Entrance to both the museum and the festival is free all weekend.

There will be a Swedish pancake breakfast each morning at 9 a.m., and the rest of the festival will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days. On Saturday there will be a salmon barbecue from 4:30 to 7 p.m., accompanied by live music.

Vikings will be running rampant throughout the festival; all day and into the evening there will be demonstrations in, “everything from cooking, weaving and woodcarving to weapon forging and a battle re-enactment, in which visitors are invited to participate,” the organizers tell us.

There will be traditional food from each of the five Nordic countries available for purchase at the festival, including “Swedish meatballs, Norwegian lefse, Danish aebleskiver, Finnish voileipä (open-faced sandwiches), and Icelandic sweets like vinarterta, a delicious layer cake.” Also on hand will be beer from Carlsberg and Odin Brewing Company, plenty of live music ranging from traditional folk to rock, and Nordic crafts for sale. There will be family-friendly activities all weekend as well, including “low-cost craft projects for kids.” The “Nordic Spirit ship” will also be set up for photos and viewing.

For more info about the Viking Days or the 5k run, click here.

Fighting Viking photo courtesy the Nordic Heritage Museum