EPHRAIM — Scandinavian and Mormon pioneer history and culture will be on display starting tonight in the Scandinavian Heritage Festival in Ephraim, a town that bills itself as "Little Denmark."

About 650,000 Utahns trace their ancestry to Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Iceland, according to various demographic estimates.

Many are descended from 19th-century Scandinavians who converted to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, made their way to the Salt Lake Valley and then fanned out to Mormon colonies around the West.

Sanpete County, particularly Ephraim, was a hotbed of Scandinavian settlement. Some LDS wards in Ephraim held services in Danish until after 1910.

The Scandinavian Heritage Festival attracts people throughout Utah who have roots in Sanpete County, people whose Scandinavian ancestors arrived in the 20th century and people who just want to have a good time, says festival chairman Gary Anderson.

Anderson says the festival is becoming one of the biggest Scandinavian festivals outside California and the Midwest, attracting nearly 10,000 visitors.

Activities begin Thursday evening and Friday morning with a Scandinavian Heritage Conference in the Noyes Building at Snow College. The conference provides an educational component to the celebration, making people aware of "what their grandparents and great-grandparents went through," says Anderson.

Sessions are scheduled on how historical information can be extracted from pioneer artifacts, Sanpete County artifacts and lore, Danish family history, the experience of early Icelandic converts to Mormonism and the history of the Ephraim Power Department, which is celebrating its centennial this year.

Food, entertainment and fun start at noon Friday, when the festival opens along College Avenue (100 North) from 100 to 400 East. Booths selling Scandinavian food and goods, and demonstrating "old world crafts," will line the street.

The Little Scandinavian Dinner, a no-reservation event at the Greenwood Student Center at Snow College, is Friday at 6 p.m. Chef David Hveem, who has Norwegian roots, is preparing a Swedish and Norwegian smorgasbord. The Icelandic Association of Utah will present a program following the dinner.

Activities on Saturday include a parade at 10 a.m., bus tours of historic sites at 1:30 and 3 p.m., Hans Christian Andersen storytelling at 2:15 and 4 p.m., and tours of an elaborately restored 19th century house and of the Ephraim power house throughout the afternoon.

Several music and dance concerts will be presented Friday afternoon and Saturday from 10 a.m. Performers include the J. Mark Bailey Band, a country rock group; and Lincoln Highway, which plays bluegrass. Singer-songwriter Corri Connors will present a free concluding concert Saturday at 7:30 p.m. in the Eccles Center for the Performing Arts at Snow College.

Ephraim is located on U.S. 89 about 110 miles south of Salt Lake City. The quickest route from the Wasatch Front is to take I-15 to Nephi. Then follow U-132 through Fountain Green and Moroni to U.S. 89. Then take U.S. 89 about 10 miles south to Ephraim.

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E-mail: sd@manti.com