Now is the time to mark your calendar for the next festival to be held at Norsewood in the Hawkes Bay, on 25th to 28th February 2011.

Norsewood is located in the heart of what was once the dense and towering forest known as the 70 Mile Bush.  The town was established in 1872, with the arrival of 372 Norweigan and 11 Swedes aboard the Norweigan Ship Hovding, which arrived at Port of Napier on the 15th September 1872.  On the same day the English Ship Ballarat arrived at the Port of Napier, it's passengers including 70 Danes.  Most of these people became Norsewood's Pioneer Settlers, the remainder fulfilled the same role at the bush settlement of Dannevirke, 22 kilometres away.

The Scandinavian Festival plans are coming together and we look forward to a really grand weekend together over the 25th 26th and 27th February 2011. The Scandinavian Club of Manawatu Inc. together with the Norsewood Promotions Group look forward to hosting you in a Rural setting, with some innovative ideas, while acknowledging the Scandinavian Gatherings and Festivals of the past. Accommodation has already been sourced, and is available on the Website, the proprietors have agreed to hold accommodation for attendees of the Festival until June 2010. After that date, it will be that those wishing accommodation will have to search for their own, may be there will be still bookings at the list posted on the website. There is also Campervan facilities available at Norsewood, and Dannevirke.

Over the next several years, hundreds of other settlers found themselves working hard to establish a new life on the bush clad 40 acre farms in the vicinity of Norsewood, which became the district's main town.  These people included many more Norwegians, Swedes, Danes, Germans, and Britons.  Life for these people was very hard as promises made by the NZ Government, the Hawkes Bay Provincial Government, and their agents were not always kept.

Currently in the Norsewood area, the Scandinavian culture is celebrated in a variety of ways.  Norsewood School continues to teach Scandinavian dances. The community ceiebrates Norwegian constitution day annually and Scandinavian relics are displayed in the local museum.  Various local attractions such as Johanas World, The Troll Stroll, Troll Gold event and Scandinavian architecture often visited.