Washington Lodge won the 2023 Large Lodge of the Year for the Third District.

Washington Lodge Festival 2024

December 6 9 AM to 5 PM  (9-11 is for members only)
December 7 9 AM to 5 PM  (9-10 is for members only)
December 8 9 AM to 5 PM

Browse an exciting lineup of giftware, linens, books, cookware, Dale sweaters, and Norwegian foods including cheeses, Freia chocolates, fiskeballer, lefse, Solo drinks, Norwegian coffee, jams, marzipan and more.  Reservation required for indoor shopping.

At the outdoor Norwegian Cafe we'll offer Lefse and krumkakker demos, fresh waffles, pea soup, Norwegian style  hotdogs and baked goods. No reservations needed for outdoor shopping,!

Fall Programs at Norway House

Saturday October 19
Norway and the Iditarod Race. Dr Lee Morgan talks about his experience in this iconic race and the Norwegian participation in the event.

Saturday November 16
Laurann Gilbertson of Vesterheim Museum will give a talk on Norwegian Innovators and Inventors. 

Sunday December 15 at 2 PM
You and your family are warmly invited to our festive Juletrefest gala! Join us for an enchanting evening filled with music, camaraderie, and a delightful feast provided by the lodge. 

 Language Classes Resume 

We are delighted to announce a brand new beginning Norwegian class, along with intermediate and advanced classes, starting Thursday, Sept. 5 at Norway House. The beginners’ class will start “from scratch,” so it is for people with very limited to no experience with the language. Classes will meet every Thursday at 6 pm (beginning), 7 pm (intermediate) and 8 pm (advanced). Lodge members pay a discounted fee of $15/class. Non-members pay $20/class. Students are welcome to stay for other learning levels on the same night for no extra charge. Students only pay for the nights they attend.

Beginners don't need a textbook. Instead, our instructor will use the new edition of last year’s book, På vei, displayed on the TV screen and visible to everyone. She will also provide handouts based on the text.

Intermediate students will continue where they left off before summer break, using the 2012 edition of På vei (blue book), starting at chapter 10 level A2.

The advanced group will consist of fluent/advanced learners for conversation about news and a variety of articles and topics.

Our talented instructor, Anne-Grethe Phillips, is a native Norwegian with many years of experience as a certified Norwegian/English teacher. She was born and raised in Norway, where she lived until moving to Virginia nine years ago. She graduated from the University of Oslo and has worked as a high school teacher in both Norway and the US. She is now a professional language instructor in Washington, DC. Anne-Grethe is looking forward to helping everyone enjoy their studies. As an added bonus, she is a fantastic professional baker and frequently brings treats for the class!

Questions? Email Anne-Grethe at anne@speaknowlanguages.com

Reading Circle, Tuesday, October 15, 7:30 pm, Zoom

The Northern Lights: The True Story of the Man Who Unlocked the Secrets of the Aurora Borealis by Lucy Jago

The Reading Circle will meet at 7:30 pm on Tuesday, October 15th, to discuss The Northern Lights: The True Story of the Man Who Unlocked the Secrets of the Aurora Borealis. 

From the inside flap of the book: "Here is the true story of an eccentric genius held captive by the allure of celestial splendor; of brushes with death on the remote snowcapped mountains of Norway and in the unforgiving, war-torn deserts of Africa; of the rival who cheated Birkeland of a Nobel Prize; and of the brilliant discoveries Birkeland made before his suspicious death in Japan in 1917. Meticulously researched and passionately wrought, The Northern Lights offers an enlightening account of the science behind one of nature's most spectacular displays and a revealing glimpse into the mind of one of history's most passionate and ill-fated scientists." 

Jolene McNamara will lead the discussion. If you plan to attend, contact Christine Meloni atreading@norwaydc.org for the Zoom link.

WWII Norwegian Refugees in London and the UK During WWII

NHR Zoom Meeting, Sunday November 10, 3 PM

King Haakon VII , the Norwegian government, and many prominent Norwegians spent the war years in the United Kingdom. Joachim Gusland of the Nordsjøfartmuseet in Tælavåg, Norway, will discuss this important but often overlooked aspect of the Norwegian war effort. 

Please contact Bill DeRoche at Programs@NorwayDC.org for Zoom information. 

Note this meeting was originally scheduled for October 27 but was changed because Joachim was assigned military service on that date. 

The New GIG Website

The Genealogy Interest Group (GIG) website has been extensively revised. GIG Co-chairs Alexis Steen and Joel Myklebust will demonstrate the site at the October 26 meeting. The site is now live and everyone is invited to check it out and come to the meeting with questions and suggestions for improvements. 

New GIG website. 

To join the GIG mailing list and receive Zoom links, email genealogy@NorwayDC.org.

Welcome to our Website

Are you interested in Norway Literature, History, Folklore, Genealogy, Food, or Language? Do you want to connect to your roots, study the Viking age or the Norwegian Resistance in WWII, or discuss the latest in Norwegian culture?
The Sons of Norway members in the nation's capital, representing a diversity of background and nationality, share an interest in Norwegian and Scandinavian Culture. We trust that all ages will find something of interest -- in our web site and in our lodge. We have almost 400 members. Most are from the local area of DC, Maryland, and Virginia, but we also have members from another 16 states as well as Norway, Canada, and Great Britain.

For information on membership, contact Jeff Jorgenson  at Jas_jorgenson@yahoo.com. 

To Join Washington Lodge Click Here

For other information, contact Dave Brown President@norwaydc.org .

Hint: When you push a brown button, it will open a new tab on your screen. However, if you close the tab, it will return you to the previous screen.

Cultural Skills

This fall the lodge is running a Cooking Pin Challenge.  Photograph the Norwegian treats and main dishes you cook this fall, and let’s see how many lodge members can earn a first, second, or third cultural skills pin before the end of the year!  Email culturalskills@norwaydc.org to find out more about the Cultural Skills program.