Seattle Culture
Hip Hip Hip Hurra! Friday is Norwegian Constitution Day
The celebration marks its 50th year in Ballard
By Carly Dykes May 16, 2024
This article originally appeared in the July/August 2024 issue of Seattle magazine.
Where else but Ballard would Norwegian Constitution Day (or Syttende Mai, meaning 17th of May) be a thing?
Well, it’s been a big deal in Seattle’s historic Nordic neighborhood for five decades now, and locals will again celebrate Norwegian Constitution Day — the national day of Norway that celebrates the signing of the country’s constitution on May 17, 1814, that ensured that Norway would be an independent Kingdom.
The 50th annual Ballard celebration, called the 17th of May Seattle, is the third-largest Norwegian Constitution Day celebration in the world, and the biggest outside of Norway.
Festivities kick off at 11:30 a.m. May 17 at the National Nordic Museum with a formal luncheon fit for a Viking, featuring music, special toasts, and two special guests: the 17th of May Parade’s Grand Marshal, Torleiv Opleiv Opland (deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Norwegian Embassy) and Honorary Marshal Jeanne Kohl-Welles, a former state senator who recently retired from the King County Council.
The museum also hosts everything from the parade’s visiting Norwegian Fjord horses to “Nordic Express” rides and other youth activities from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Celebrants can also swing by Ballard’s Bergen Place Park to hear traditional Norwegian music and can munch on Pølse med lompe (a Norwegian hot dog wrapped in lefse, which is basically a potato tortilla) from Ballard’s Scandinavian Specialties. Leif Erikson Hall also features Scandinavian foods and festive entertainment.
Thousands of parade-goers will line the streets of the neighborhood for a parade that begins at 6 p.m.
SKOL!
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