Cultural Skills Program

About the Cultural Skills Program

The Cultural Skills Program is open to all Sons of Norway members, both through their lodges or as individual participants. The Cultural Skills Program offered by Sons of Norway serves a variety of purposes:

• To encourage active participation in both traditional and contemporary Norwegian-North American pursuits;

• To enrich the lives of members of all ages;

• To provide the basis for special interest clubs within our lodges; and

• To provide new reasons for people to join Sons of Norway.

The awards are as follows:

• Specialist: One who wishes to go in depth in one area, e.g. Hardanger embroidery or genealogy, etc

• Generalist: One who samples several skills and qualify for the basic level in each, for example: stamp collecting, crafts, and Norwegian foods.

• Mentor: One who is skilled in activities offered in the Norwegian Cultural Skills Program can do a different challenge: mentor others who need formal or informal instruction. The mentor is an extremely important person in passing on the Norwegian heritage to others.

• Master of Cultural Skills: One who has completed at least three levels of three different skills, or nine individual basic activities.

The skills included in the Cultural Skills Program are the following:

• Traditional Norwegian Cooking

• Reading Norwegian and Norwegian-American Authors

• Collecting Norwegian and North American Stamps

• Norwegian Rosemaling

• Genealogy--Family History

• Hand Knitting

• Norwegian Language and Culture

• Hardanger Embroidery

• Figure Carving

• Weaving

• Ornamental Woodcarving

• Chip Carving

• Folk Dancing

• Music and Musicians of Norway

Youth Cultural Skills

• Folk Dancing

• Figure Carving

• Handknitting

• Norwegian and North American Stamps

• Hardanger Embroidery

Visit the international Sons of Norway website to learn more about the Cultural Skills Program and the requirements for each award.