Scandia will celebrate the first anniversary of its sister-city relationship with Mellerud, Sweden, next week with an online ceremony and fika.
The event, which will be at 11 a.m. April 20 at the Scandia Community Center, will include Swedish songs performed by the Bettes drἅgar Choir from Mellerud, American songs by Unexpected Company Chorale and remarks by Mellerud Mayor Karl-Olof Pettersson and Scandia Mayor Christine Maefsky.
The celebration will be broadcast simultaneously via Microsoft Teams. A free fika – a Swedish coffee break with Scandinavian treats such as a kransekake cake, princess torte and krumkake waffle cookies – will follow, said Patti Ray, a member of Scandia’s Sister City Committee. .
Scandia sought Mellerud to be its sister city because many of the city’s founding families came from the area, including the Isaacsons, Abrahamsons, Dahlins, Edstroms, Kunos and Andersons, Ray said.
The committee over the past year has worked on connecting the cities in a number of different ways, including the local Lions Clubs, elementary schools, choral groups, farm programs, tourism exchanges, museums, genealogists, beekeepers, quilters, fishermen and Girl Scouts, Ray said.
A group of seven Scandia residents plan to travel to Mellerud in June; a group from Mellerud plans to travel to Scandia in September for Taco Daze, the city’s annual festival.
“We’re really making a personal connection here,” Ray said. “It’s not just superficial.”
