"We can finally have a real Midsummer tradition in the city," said Kerstin Lane, as she watched dancers circle the wreathed maypole.

A street festival had been held in the nearby Andersonville neighborhood, but the park-like setting behind Old Main was much more authentic to the tradition in Sweden, where the festivals often are held in meadows. Even the weather was authentic, she observed.

"I just talked to Sweden an hour ago, and this is the weather they are having there today," Lane said.

The festival is one of the most important in Sweden, Lane says. The festival celebrates the longest day of sunlight, but also marks the day separating the time when farmers have finished planting and when they begin cultivating crops.

Typically, dancers gather around the maypole decorated with greens and flowers. Participants at the North Park event learned the traditional frog dance among others.

The university's Center for Scandinavian Studies sponsored the event that drew an estimated 400-plus individuals from the community and Sweden. Charles Peterson, the dean of faculty, said timing was everything in deciding to hold the event.

The Bjurtjarn Theatre Group from Varmland, Sweden, had asked if it could perform at the school, and a gospel music team also had been scheduled to perform, Peterson says. "We just started adding pieces together and we were able to hold the festival. It also seemed like the thing North Park should be doing."

The drama group presented the musical, They Sold their Homes, that describes the harrowing journey of 200 Swedish immigrants to Moline, Illinois, in the mid 1800's.