Norwegian King’s Guard Band and Drill Team to perform at St. Olaf
St. Olaf College will welcome the King’s Guard Band and Drill Team of Norway for a performance on Saturday, May 10 to commemorate 200 years of Norwegian history, culture, and tradition in the United States.
The event is free and open to the public, and all are encouraged to attend.
First established in 1961, the King’s Guard Band and Drill Team offers an experience combining music, formation, and precision-drill. The performance features a wind band, a drum-and-bugle corps, and a rifle drill platoon. The group will perform a 30-minute drill display at 12:30 p.m. in the Tostrud Fieldhouse, followed by a woodwind band performance at 1:45 p.m. in the Skoglund Auditorium. Community members are then invited to a reception with the guard members at 2:30 p.m. in Skoglund.
This event commemorates the 200th anniversary of the first organized Norwegian migration to the United States and coincides with the 150th anniversary of St. Olaf, which was founded in 1874 by Norwegian immigrants. St. Olaf has hosted a number of notable Norwegian visitors over the years, including members of the Norwegian royal family on several occasions. Queen Sonja visited St. Olaf in 2022, her fourth visit to campus; she previously traveled to the college with King Harald V in 2011 and 1995, and first visited in 1978 as Crown Princess of Norway. Other Norwegian royal visits have included Princess Astrid in 2008, Princess Märtha Louise in 2006, Crown Prince Haakon in 2005, and King Olav V in 1987. Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre visited St. Olaf in September 2023.
The college stays connected with its Norwegian roots in several important ways. The St. Olaf Norwegian Department offers the largest number of Norwegian language courses in North America, and St. Olaf is one of few U.S. higher education institutions where students can study Norwegian to complete their foreign language requirement and also be able to further develop their knowledge of Norwegian language, literature, culture, and history. St. Olaf has also hosted the Norwegian-American Historical Association (NAHA) on campus for the last 100 years.