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Proudly Sponsored By:
- The Alberta Government’s CIP Grant
- Torskeklubben Edmonton and Calgary
- Sons of Norway Lodges, Edmonton, Claresholm and Red Deer
- The District 4 Foundation Trollhaugen Language Arts and Culture Society (TLACS) and camp was founded by
Norwegian Canadians in 1973 and incorporated under the Alberta Societies Act in 1983. Classes are held from 9am to 9:30pm and of are
1 or 2 hours in
duration. Depending on age and interest will determine how many activities a ‘camper’
will attend. Mandatory classes are;
• Norwegian language, beginner or conversational
• Folk Dancing-Traditional Scandinavian dances
• Culture-history plays, re-enactments, heritage as well as ‘Norway today’s world’
i.e. government, royalty, resources, values, etc., with comparisons to Canadian systems.
• Sports-Primarily traditional sports but also Nordic walking, orienteering,
horseshoes, Kubb (Ancient Viking game) to provide daily fitness and exercise stressing
sportsmanship and cooperation. Optional classes are;
• Ethnic cooking-Traditional Scandinavian recipes are prepared using traditional
cooking utensils.
• Chip carving-Using specialized carving knives to remove chips of wood in
intricate patterns.
• Rosemaling-A decorative form of flower painting on anything that can be painted
using unique brush stroke patterns.
• Kolrosing-The opposite of chip carving where decorative fine lines are cut into
wood and then coloured by rubbing in coffee grounds, sawdust from a dark wood or
originally coal dust was rubbed in.
• Swedish weaving-Stitching yarn into monks cloth to produce a variety of patterns
• Hardanger-A type of counted thread hand embroidery originally with white thread
on white fabric.
• Perlebroderi-Bead work (similar to Aboriginal bead work) from Scandinavian
origins.
• Plattsom-A type of Swedish embroidery.
• Nature Study-The camp is held in a forested area, with abundant wild plants,
insects, and small mammals. They learn about flora and fauna and the need to preserve
nature.
• Wood shop-Small furniture type items are made such as shelves, hat racks, stools
benches or wooden games and puzzles are made.
• Choir-Participants learn to sing and perform songs in Norwegian. Although the focus is Norwegian culture all things Scandinavian are embraced. A
complete history of the camp from 1973 to 1999 and 2000 to 2006 was written and
published in two books by Astrid Hope. Astrid is a founding member and has attended
every camp. Applicants do not have to be of Norwegian or Scandinavian descent to attend the camp or
a member of any affiliated groups of TLACS, such as the Sons of Norway International,
Sons of Norway Lodges or Torskeklubben. It is open to the general public and is a non-
denominational, multigenerational camp for anyone from age 7 and up may attend. It is
also a family camp being that an adult family member or guardian must attend the camp
with any one under the age of 18. The volunteers, board of directors and instructional staff come from Alberta,
Saskatchewan and B.C. and do not receive remuneration. Registration for the camp
varies from 100 to 150. The camp is held the 2nd week in August, for one week, Sunday
to the following Saturday. TLACS rents the camping conference/retreat/ facility at Dear
Valley Meadows, Box 690 Alix, Alberta T0C 0B0, www.dearvalleymeadows.ca.
