Central Albertans learned about Icelandic poet Stephan G. Stephansson Sunday in the Hamlet of Spruce View.
Bernice Andersen, neighbouring Markerville resident, said she usually makes it to the Harvest Fair and Quilt Show at Stephansson House Provincial Historic Site every year.
“The house is close to my heart because I’m a Canadian with Icelandic heritage,” said Andersen Sunday.
This year’s event was hosted Sunday, with Central Alberta vendors, carnival type games for children, live entertainment, and self-guided tours of the house.
Jenna Berild, a historical interpreter at the Stephansson House Provincial Historical Site, said the annual event has been going on since the Stephansson House Provincial Historic Site first opened in 1982.
The house was once owned by Stephan G. Stephansson, who is known as the Poet of the Rocky Mountains. Born in Iceland, Stephansson brought his family to what is now the Markerville area in 1889.
Berild said Stephansson went on to become one of the famous poets in the western world.
“People in Iceland study him in schools,” said Berild Sunday.
He died in his home at the age of 73 in 1927.
Berild said the museum hosts the event every year to bring the community together and to celebrate harvest season.
“The Stephansson family were farmers – first and foremost – and this community has a lot of farmers in it and so we like to celebrate harvest time,” she said.
Those who came were able to check out the house where the family once lived with artifacts such as the family’s wood stove, a record player, family pictures, bedrooms and study.
Berild said she expects more than 15o people to come by Sunday.
The numbers in the 80s when the event first started were around 2000 range, she said.
“We had a lot of people then because the site was new so everyone was excited about it, early 2000s the numbers were down, but they have gone up in the past few years.”
The site is open until Sept. 3 this year.
mamta.lulla@reddeeradvocate.com
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